Minerals and Metals in Sanskrit literature

by Sulekha Biswas | 1990 | 69,848 words

This essay studies the presence of Minerals and Metals in Sanskrit literature over three millennia, from the Rigveda to Rasaratna-Samuccaya. It establishes that ancient Indians were knowledgeable about various minerals and metallurgy prior to the Harappan era, with literary references starting in the Rgveda. The thesis further examines the evolutio...

6. Metals and Alloys discussed in Rasaratna-samuccaya

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Rasaratnasamuccaya provided a definition and classification for the metallic systems. The word metal or loha was defined as dhatula he luha iti matah sa api karsarthavaci (Rasaratna-samuccaya 5.1) 'derived from the root luha which means to be extracted. Four suddha or pure lohas were named: suvarna rajata, tamra and loha (iron). point metals such as naga (lead) and Vanga Low melting (tin) were known as putilohas. Pittala (brass), Kamsya (bell-metal) and vartaloha (five metal alloy) were known as misralohas or alloys. It is noted that by the time of Rasaratna-samuccaya, iron came to be known as loha or lauha, and brass as pittala or pitala, derived from pita tala or yellow metal. Along with bell-metal, brass was known as a Krtrima loha or misra loha (10.66).

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IX-15 Gold was categorised; it could be prakrta (native), sahaja (natural), vahni-sambhuta (fire-produced), khani-sambhuta (from the mines) or rasendravedasanjata (transmuted from a base metal). One method of purification was to heat gold leaf with salt and red ochre (5.2) Silver was described as 'compact, clear, bright, heavy, white on cutting, soft, free from fissures, like sankha (conch) in colour (5.26). Silver melted with lead and borax undergoes purification (5.34). The process is practically that of cupellaCopper or tamra used to come from Nepal (nepalaka) or some other foreign country (mlecchaka) (5.44). Nepalaka is soft, red and resistant to strong hammering. tion. White, Vanga or tin was stated to be of two kinds: khuraka and misraka. The former is endowed with superior qualities: soft, cool (to the touch), readily fusible and bright, and does. not clink when bent or struck (5.154). Misraka variety of tin is dirty white and was used after killing as an anthelmintic and a curative for urinary disorders (5.155). Naga or sisa has been described as drutadravam mahabharam cchede krsnasamujvalam 'putigandham bahih krsnam suddham sisam atah anyatha 'readily fusible, very heavy, presents a black and bright appearance on fracture, is of foetid odour and black exterior' (5.171). Apart from gold and copper, the three other metals which played important roles in the history of the ancient India were

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mercury, zinc and iron, and we would discuss their references in Now we would discuss some of the alloys Rasaratna-samuccaya later and separately. mentioned in Rasaratna-samuccaya A composition of bronze known as Kamsya or ghosa was described as astamagena tamrena dvibhaga kutilena ca vidrutena bhavet kamsyam || twenty percent tin bronze is obtained by melting eight parts of copper with two parts of tin, 'best done at Saurashtra' (5.205). There was a process for recovering copper from ghosa or bell-metal svalpatalayuktam kamsyam vamkanalena tada़िtam muktaramga hi tat tamra ghosakrsta udahrtam 'when molten bell-metal is heated with a little tala or orpiment and blown with a bent tube, it is freed of tin or ranga, and what we get is ghosakrsta tamra (copper extracted from bell metal)' (8.37). IX-16 Copper-lead alloy made from maksika or pyrites was known as sulvanaga (8.18-19). 16 parts of silver and 12 parts of copper melted together was known as chandrarka (8.23). Varanaga was probably an iron antimony alloy; ticnam nilamjanopetam matam hi bahuko drdham | mrdukrsnam drutadravam varanagam taducyate || Varanaga, a low melting alloy was made by melting cast iron or steel with nilanjana or antimony sulphide. Varaloha was obtained by melting copper with cast iron or steel (8.12).

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IX-17 Vartaloha has been described as kamsya arka riti loha ahinanam tat vartalohakam | tadeva pamcalohakhyam lohavibhih udahanam || 'an alloy of five metallic systems (pancaloha) of Kamsya, copper (arka), brass (riti), iron and lead'. (5.212). Fused mass of multi-metallic alloy, if grey or yellow, used to be called pinjari (8.21) .

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