BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIAN ALCHEMY COVERING PRE-VEDIC TO ... · asthe Indian alchemy, i.e, pharmaceu-tical chemistry retaining the objective of rejuve nation, and in course of time a

Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XXIII pp 151 to 166

A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIAN ALCHEMY COVERINGPRE-VEDIC TO VEDIC AND AYURVEDIC PERIOD

(CIRCA 400 B.C. - 800 A.D.)

MOMIN ALI*

ABSTRACT

History of Indian alchemy can be traced 10 prn-Ve dr-: period. The

Ar cha co l oqic al excavations at Mnl1"niodaro and Har aop a in II", Indus valley

have hr o uqh t to light ihat . Ihe people in ancient India were pos ses s inq

chemical knowledge as early as in the pre-historic period. In Vedic per ion

single herbs were prescribed. Minerals and animal substances were also

prescribed but no compound perparations Were in use. /,Ichemy in India,

was started for the preparation of an elixir of life for impar tinc imrnor t al it v

and later for the tr an srn ur a t ion process for converting base metals into qo ld.

Indian alchemy derived its colour and flavour to a .arqe extent from the

Tantric cult. Then, during the iatro-chemical period all the pr ev iou s

ac cu mulat ed alchemical ideas were put into somethrng more practical andt anqib le , A number of preparations of mercury and o th er mct al s vv c.t «:

evolved as helpiul accessories in me d ic.n c.

Here a brief history of t he Indian alchemy is pr esenr ed whi c h will

qiv c an idea about the development of "he,mi":11 kn()wlotigo in l"d,.l ,n i t:

multiple aspe c rs

Introduction:

Alchemy the forerunner of modernchemistry was very much popularin different periods of history inIndia, Chin a, Egypt Greece, Arabiaand Western Europe." The Indianalchemy, which is an art as well as ascience, owns a very ancient history

than irnaq ine d until now. Mineralpitch and other drugs found evenafter thousands of years of oblivionat Mohenjo-daro excavations, revealthat, as early as 2500 years B C. inpre-Vedic period. the Indus valleypeople had n knowledge of themineral drugs of preventive and

* Res.,arch Otf icer I/C. Indian Institute of His rorv of r,'~d:cine. OiviC Buildings, Putlibowli,

Hvc erabac - 500195.

1. A Concise History of Science in India'. Bose. D.M. et al (1971) Indian National Science

Academy. Bahadur Shah Zefar Mar q , New Delhi-1 p, nos. 309-310

152

curative value In Vedic period mostlysingle herbs were used as medicines.Minerals and animal substances werealso prescribed but no compoundpreparations were in use." Apartfrom the art of treating diseasesthere also existed the art of rejuvena-ting the aged. Atharvaveda containstwo kinds of hymns - one for thecure of diseases and possessionby demons of disease, calledas 'Bhaisajvani', and the other, forsecuring of long life and preservationof health and youth, named as'Avusvani' -a term later on, was knownas 'Rasavana'. the Sanskrit equivalentof alchemy. In Vedic literature thefermented juice of 'Soma' plant wasconsidered as 'Arnrta' (ambrosia) i.e.the drug of rejuvenation cum-immor-tality. It can therefore be said thatthe Hasavana system of Indian medi-cine, i.e. the Indian alchemy wasfounded with the aim of prolonginghuman life, and later on it becamethe art of rejuvenation and even ofimmortality.

Among the two kinds of medicines,as described in Caraka Sarnhita.priority is given to 'Rasavana: forpromoting the strength, vitality, health,and virility, and then comes next inrank, the medicine proper, for curingdiseases (ca.ci1/13-14). In this

Bull. Ind. lnst . Hist . Med. Voi, XXIII

WiJY, Indian alchemy was evolved anddeveloped to achieve two objectives,firstly to prepare the elixir of life forattaining immortality and, secondlyto transform base metals into highermetals. To achieve these objectivesthe alchemists developed complicatedprocesses and secret practices invol-ving the metals, minerals and herbs.Later on 'Rasavana' was almostexclusively applied to the employmentof mercury and other metals in medi-cine. So it is believed that in India,more so than in Europe, chemistryhas however, been evolved chieflyas a handmaid of medicine, andsomewhat later on, as an adjunct ofthe Tantric cu It. S

Systematic evolution of Indianalchemy in the form of 'Rasasastra'took place since the time of Nagarjuna,and the mercury, sulphur, mica andother metals and minerals as well aspoisons assumed great importance.From the second century onwards,the Indian alchemy progressed moreand more into a regular science andreached its peak during the next sixcenturies which was incorporated inAyurveda. Thus, 'Rasasastra' startedas the Indian alchemy, i.e , pharmaceu-tical chemistry retaining the objectiveof rejuve nat ion, and in course of timea number of pharmaceutical prepara-

2. The Charaka Sarnhi t a, Vol. 1, Shree Gulab Kunvaraba Ayurvedic Soceity, Jamnagar, India,

(1949), p. No. 321.

3. A History of Hindu Chemistry, P. C. Ray (1903), Vol. 1, The Bengal Chemical & Pharma-

ceutical works Ltd. Calcutta, p. nos. VIII - IX

A Brief History of Indian Alchemy-Momin A/i

tions of mercury, sulphur and othermetals and minerals as well aspoisons were incorporated in it, forthe treatment of various diseases.

The word 'Rasa' as used in thealchemical literature is in generalreserved for mercury, though it isequally applicable to a mineral or ametallic salt also. In its fully deve-loped form, the mercury - basedalchemy in India, relates to male-female symbolism (Siva and Parvatt). 4

Now, the use of mercury both inalchemy and in medicine is wellknown, which is found only in laterliterature i.e. the earliest Tantric textsin the 5th or 6th century A.D. Mercuryis entirely unknown in earlier literature.It is mentioned only once in Car akaSarnhita. once in the Bower Manus-cript of 4th century A.D. and twice inSusruta Sarnhita But if calcinedmetals were alchemical preparations,then Indian alchemy is ancient."

The history of Indian alchemycan be divided into prevedic orpre-historic, vedic. post-vedic orAyurvedic, Tantric and iatrochemicalperiods.

Pre-Vedic Period(Circa 4000 B.C. - 1500 B.C )

Alchemy in the Indian subconti-

153

nent owns a very ancient history,which can be traced to as early asthe prevedic or prehistoric period.The pre-Harappan settlements ofBaluchistan and the neighbourinqareas of Sind are the earliest commu-nities, known so far, belonging toabout 4000 B.C. Archaeologicalevidences show that these peoplewere knowing the art of extractingcopper from the ores of copper,working the metal into various articlesand pottery making and also colouringthe same with two or more colours,so it can be said that these people ofpre-historic period laid the foundationof chemistry of metallurgy in Indiansubcontinent.

Archaeological excavtions havebrought to light an another prehistoricsettlement in India at Mohen-jodaroin Sind and Harappa in Punjab,known as Indus Valley Civilizationor Harappan Culture, flourished atabout 2500 B C and continued toabout 1800 B C (According to otherauthorities this civilization existedbetween 2600 BC. and 1700 B.C.which seems to have ended between1700 BC. and 1500 BC.)6 Thepottery vessels, articles of faience.beads. metallic objects etc. found atthese sites have revealed the know-ledge of chemistry possessed by

4. A concise Hist o-v of Scie nce in India, Bose D.M. er. al (1971) Indian National ScienceAcademy. New Delhi. p nO.317.

S. Indian Alchemy or Rasayana. S. Mahdihassan (1979). Vikas publishing House Pv1. Ltd.New Delhi. p. Nos. 50- >1.

6. 'The fall of Harappa·. D. Balasubramanian. Published in THE HINDU. news paper. Wednesday,September 22.1993. p. no. 19.

15·1

these people. They were using varioustools and weapons made of copperand bronze Lead and tin were alsoused, though tin was always occuredalloyed with copper in the formof bronze. Gold was used formaking jewellery and silver was usedfor jewellery and also for ornamentalvessels. They were using a largenumber of minerals, ores and rockssuch as; lapislazuli. turquoise, rockcrystal, limestone, soapstone, alaba-ster, haematite, amethyst. slate,agate, jasper, chalcedony, onyx,bitumen, steatite, sodalite, jade,follingite, arsenical pyrites etc. Mostof these were found in the form ofbeads pendants etc. Cerrusite andCinnabar have also been found therewhich were probably used for plasters.eye-salves and hair-washes. Galenawas employed for the preparation of

eye-salves and paints Further,evidence has also been obtained thatthey were acquainted with the art ofdyeing cotton with the red colouringmatter of the madder root."

In this way the people of Indusvalley were using a variety of mine-rals for ornamental. cosmetic andmedicinal purposes. However, a f actof special siqnific ance is that. themetallurgy of iron was unknovvn totile Hnrappan metal workers. It is

Bull. Ind. inst . Hist. Ivled, VOl. XXIII

believed that, iron was introduceciinto India by about 1000-800 B.C.The remarkable achievements of theHarappan people in the field ofpractical chemical arts of pottery,metal working, use of minerals andthe like have been brought to lightthrough the archaeological excava-tions S

The Indus valley civilizationdeclined most probably around2000 B.C. due to the attacksof Barbarians from the north-west.As a result of which migration of theIndus valley people started towardsthe Gangetic plains and the hillyregions to the south-east mostprobably after 2000 B C. but before1500 B C. Dur inq this period whichis known as post Harappan period,very little evidence of any intellectualarid cultural activities is found tillthe advent of the Aryans, at about1700 B C. However. a large numberof pottery, iron, silver and copperimplements, containing some percen-tage of lead and silver articlesadmixed with some percentage ofgold were found belonging to thisperiod, in the Gangetic basin andon the uplands to the south-east,notably at Gungeria, Balaghat (c p.)in the valleys of the Ganges andthe .Jarnuna and at or about theRanchi unlands.!

7. History of Cb e m ist rv in '\nci€nt and Medieval India. P. Ray (1956). Indian Chemical Society.(alcLJtta, p nos. 29-30.

8 A Concise History of Sc ie n c e ;n India, Bose DM ct al (1971), National Science Academy,New Delhi p no. 283.

9. History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, PRay (1956). Indian ChemicalSociety, Cntcu na p. n o s. 31-33.

A Brief History of Indian Alchemy-Momin Il/i

Vedic Period(Circa 1500 B.C. 600 BC )

After the pre-vedic period, startsthe next phase of the history of Indianart and culture of a new set of peopleknown to be as the Indo-Aryans,which gives a glimpse of the chemicalknowledge possessed by them. TheH.gveda (1500-1200 B.C. or possiblyof an even earlier period), which isthe earliest record of the sacredhymns. rituals, thoughts followed bythe Aryans and as well as the medicineand alchemy prevalent then, mentionsthe use of various metals like silver,copper bronze, and gold. The term'avas was generally used for themetals, viz. copper, bronze, or lead,later the word 'av as' was specificallyrss iqn ed to iron Gold was used forornaments and it was b-Iievad by theVedic people that, it possessed super-natural powers They were producinqthe utilitarian appliances using copperand bronze They were knowing verywell, the methods of fermentation.There is plentiful mention of a numberof fermented drinks, such as Somajuice, madhu and sura Soma juicethe divine drink of irnmortalitv findsan honoured place in l\gveda It wasalso called arnrt a (ambrosia) and theSoma plant was extold a s beingdivine. The Vedic people had alsodeveloped the art of making varioustypes of pottery as well as paintirg

155

the same with different colours. Theywere also well aware of art of dyeingwith certain natural vegetable colou-ring matters. Following the Rqveda,there are the other three Vedas viz.the Sarnveda. the Yajurveda, and theAtharvaveda, composed probablyduring the 1000 B.C. to 100 B.C,Atharvaveda being the latest.

In the Sukla Yajurveda, six, metalsviz ayas (gold) hir anva (silver), loha(copper) Syama (iron), sis a (lead)tr apu (tin) are mentioned. But inthe Atharvaveda, gold has beenreferred to as harita (yellow), andlike that silver as rajata (white). andcopper as lohita (red) 10

At several excavated sites, anumber of iron objects dating backto about 60C 200 B.C. have beenfound Manv iron objects have alsobeen found in the iron aqe burials(megalithic burials) in many parts (Ifpeninsular India. The probable dateof the advent of iron in South Indiais reqarded sorrevc here between1050 B C ·950 B.C. It is be lieve dthat, by about 1000 B.C - 800 B.C.the iron smelting operations were invogue in India and by the fifth orfourth century B.C. the Indian metalworkers had attained a high de qreeof oe rf ecticn in the techniques ofproducing iron and steel objects II

10. "Hist o rv at Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India'. ". Ray. (1956) Indian ChemicalSociety. Calcutta, p. Nos. 36 - 37

11 A Concise History of SCience in India, Bose D.M. et , al (1971) Indian Ndilonal Scienre',,;Jdl.lol'i 8ahadu Sliah Zal ar MJr\.:. New Deihl 1. p . No. 2'39

156

The Atharvaveda consists mostlyof charms, spells, incantations, magic,sorcery, demonology and witchcraft.It also deals with plants and veqetableproducts as helpful agents in thetreatment of diseases and for theprolongation of life. The juice ofSoma plant is referred to as arnrra(ambrosia), gold was regarded as theelixir of life and the lead was lookedupon as the dispeller of sorcery. Inthe Atharvaveda, the hymns for thecure of diseases and possession bydemons of disease are known as'bh aisajvani' while those, which havefor their object the securing of longlife and health are known as 'ayu:;yani'a term which later on gave place to'Hasavana' the Sanskrit equivalent toalchemy. The alchemical notions,which had gathered round gold, lead,Soma juice and other medicinalplants at the time of the Atharvaveda,are of special interest, thus, Atharva-veda is the earliest repository ofinformation on Ayurveda and alchemyIn the Vedas. medicine and for thatthe chemical knowledge were notfree from the influence of magic andreligion So, it is believed that,chemistry in ancient India. wasevolved chiefly as a hanrlmaid ofmedicine and somewhat later on, asan adjunct of the Tantric cult.

The Post-Vedic or Ayurvedic Period(Circa 600 B.C. - 800 A.D.)

After the Vedic period, in whichthe knowledge of medicine, as well

Bull. Ind. tnst . Hist . Med. Vol. XXIII

as alchemy was jn chaotic state,starts the post-Ve dic period. Thiswas the period 0: systematic andscientific compilations, so it can becalled as Ayurvedic period also. Thisage pertains to the most flourishingand fruitful period of ancient India,with regard to the accumulation anddevelopment of chemical knowledge,which was then, closely associatedwith Ayurveda, which is considered asa subsidiary branch of Atharvaveda.

The medicine and chemistry,during the post-Vedic period weredominated by the abstract theoriesof the Upani-ads and the systems ofphilosophies developed during thisperiod. I~ There are many workscomposed during this period, contai-ning valuable information on variouschemical practices most notableamong them being the Car aka Sarnhita.Susrut a Sarnhita and A~t;:-lI·lgahrdaya.Progress in the knowledge of chemicalcompounds and of their preparation.clearly seen in the Car aka andSusruta Sarnhitas. These classicshave given due importance to thecornoosittons used for increasingvirility and longevity For this purposea number of compositions are men-tioned in these works. Essentiallythe'Rasayanas' are herbal, althoughsometimes references, however aremade to the use of metals along withother substances of vegetable originas components of certain e l ixir s.!"

12. History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, P. Ray (1956) Indian Chemical Society.Calcutta. p. nos. 34·40.

13. A Concise History of Science in India, Bose P.M. et. ill. (1971) Indian National Science'Academy. New Delhi. p. nos. 315 316.

A Brief History of Indian Alchemy-Momin Ali 157

Upto the period of the Carakaand Su-ruta Sarnhitas. substancesfrom the vegetable, animal andmineral kingdoms were utilized. But,in the case of inorganic remedies,the choice, was limited to the fewlocally available metals and mineral,the synthesis of new inorganic com-pounds being still unknown. Inspiteof the wide range of available varie-ties, in many conditions, more thanone drug, sometimes of differentgroups Or sometimes in combinationwith animal and mineral matters wererequired. Even in tile earliest texts,elaborate directions for extracting theactive constituents of organic subst-ances and homogenizing them isfound. Thus. developed th~ remar-kable and elaborate precesses metwithin the Sari1hitas. There is littleevidence of svnthstic prepar ation s ofeither inorganic-or orqo nic compounds.

The extant Car aka and Su-irutaSarnhitas represent not only thechemical and ther apeutic al knowledgeof the time of their final redaction,but they are also repositories ofinformations accumulated on thesubject durinq the earlier periodsdating back to the Vedic age.

some gleanings from the works ofBhela and Harita. bringing the subjectup to date Ii

From the second century A. D.onwards, an increasing interest in'Ras akriva' (Pharmaceutical chemistry)is found. During the following sixcenturies this study developed ;.;,toa regular science which was .ncorpo-rated into Ayurveda. upro about1000 A.D. the 'Ra~dYllnas' as existingwere in 'Cc.akaa' age, mercurialdrugs ar.;.i alchemy as the art of goldmakir.q were not yet popular. In,lI.i(ha~ii.strJ. among different kindsof gold, artificial gold made fromother metals by chemical processusing mercury is mentioned. The useof mercury both in alchemy and inmedicine is found in India only inlater literature, i.e in the fifth or sixthcentury A D. in the earliest Tantriccult. In the medicinal works mercuryis mentioned only once in CarakaSarnhita , once in Bower Manuscript(4th century A D.) and twice inSu-ruta Sarnhitf

Later mercurials as drugs ofrejuvenation were specifically called'The Pasavanas whereas the previousherbomineral preparations. or calcinedme tals fename·d 'Bhasrnas' (burnt).

The treatise of medicine, n~--So, Sir P C. Rav rightly remarked that.the Caraka a~, corlt2ining 'Later on Rasayana' was almost~I informations worthy exclusively aoplie d to the ernnlovrne ntof note is AClai':gahrdaya, which rnav of mercury And other metals inhowever be represented as an epitome medicine arid at present it also meansof the Car aka and the Susruta with alchemv.!"

14. A History of Chemistry in Ancient an d Medieval ln dia . P. Ray (1956), lndian ChemicalSociety. Calcutta, p. No. 70.

15. Indian Alchemy or Rasayana, S. Mahdihasson. (1979). VI::~l' Pub.i shinq house. Pvt L:L!.new De!hi. p, no. 70.

758

Caraka Sarnhi ta

It is believed by the authoritieson the subject that, there must havebeen a wide gap of about one thou-sand years or more between the ageof Atharvaveda and that of the Car aka.During this period many medical

" s might have been composedreflec ,. the spirit and progress ofthe particu ~ age. Such as thesignificant works isted at the timeof the Car aka itself w the worksof Aqnivesa, Bhela, Jatlikar, Para-sara. Har it a and K~arapalli. Ca. karnduct.,d nnd rOll10dnllorl the Aqnivn~ClSamhita. to which later on the lastforty-one chapters were added byDrolhaba\a,IC, a Kashmiri physician,who flourished either in the 8th or9th century A.D, 17

The chemical informations foundin the Caraka Samhita. particularlywith reference to metals and metallicpreparations, are of less advancedcharacter than those in the Kaui ilvasArthasa-tra. composed somewherebetween 321-296 B C.18 Accordingto Caraka, each oftT1e grc~s~hC~tas(rnahabhutas ) is a peculi ar ultra '.'chemical compound of five original

RII/!. Ind. tost His t . Med . Vol. X XIii

subtile Bhut as. In this sense,every substance is penta Bhautic,but for purpose of chemical analysisand synthesis i.e. consideredwith reference to the Mahabhiitas.All substances in their chemicalconstitution belong to one or otherof the following classes: mono-Bhautic, bi-Bhautic, tri-Bhautic, tetra-Bhautic, and penta-Bhautic. Corn-pounds of different Bhrrtas. againmay combine to form more complexsubstances and these in their turnhigher compounds still, .HId so on in'progressive transformation as is more-

" specially the case with organics. stances and otoducts.!'

Swee, our, salt, pungent, bitterand <lstringe~ regarded as thesix fold catalogue otjasles. Objectsare classified again into three groupsviz. animal products, vegetable prod-Ur.1S and products of mineral origin.The animal products used as drugs<He, honey milk and its products,bile, fat, marrow, blood, flesh, faeces,urine, skin, semen, bones, tendons,horns, nails, hoofs, hair, bristles andthe bright pigment called (Gorocana).'Ine ~·,;;:;:!~Jct?mentioned appertainingto the earth for use as "::,:.:;_ are six

._---------------- -

16. A History of H'ndu Cherrustrv. P C. Ray (19:3). Vol 1. The Bengal Chemical & PharmaceuticalWorks Ltd, Calcutta, p. nos. xi xx & x x i.

17 A Concise History of Science in India, Bo se , 0 M. et al (19711 Indian National ScienceAcademy, New Oeihi, p. no. 53.

, e. History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, P. Ray (1956). Indian Chemical Society.Calcutta, p. no. 60.

~9. The Positive Sciences of the Ancient Hindus, Brajendrana!h Se al <1958;, Motilal Bafl"rasiDa~. Oc:'h' p No. 57.

A Brief History of Indian Alchemv-Momin AI:

metals and their calces viz. gold,silver, copper, lead, tin and iron,sand, lime, red arsenic, yellowarsenic, gems, salt, red chalk andantimony.

The five varieties of salts asdescribed in the Caraka Samhita are:sauvarcala (nitre). saindhava (rocksalt), vi.la (black salt), audbhida(vegetable salt) and samudra (seasalt) .

A number of minerals viz. sulphateof copper, sulphate of iron, realgar,orpirnent and sulphur have beenprescribed in combination with vege-table drugs for external applicationin ringworm, eczema and leprosy etc.

Preparation of ksar a (alkali) hasalso been described, i.e the ash ofButea frondosa is lixiviated with fouror six times its weight of water andstrained (through linen) 21 times,which obviously gives rise to asolution of potash carbonate.

For a powder (Navavasa powder)iron powder (bhasma) is mentionedas one of the ingredients

For a pill, iron compound (mall-,lClravai ak a) rust of iron and pyriteshave been mentioned for use asingredients.

15.9

In a powder (pitaka curu a) usefulin the diseases of mouth and throatrealgar, vavak-ar a, orpiment, rock-saltare given.

For a collyrium calces of conch-shell, coral, lapis, lazuli, iron, copper,the bones of the pelican, sulphide ofantimony have been described asingredients. At another place crustof hen's eggs, sulphate of iron, ironpowder and samudraphena are givenamong the ingredients of a varti. Fora powder of pearl compound, pearl.sulphur, powder of iron, copper andsilver are given as ingredients. Themetals are always used after subjec-ting to a particular process, called'killing of metals'.

For use of iron, gold and silveras rasav ana drugs, a process hasbeen described i.e. their thin sheetsare to be made red hot and plungedinto one of the decoctions of themyrobalans, cow's urine, the solutionof the salts, the solution of the alkali(Potash Carbonate) at a time and tobe powdered.' 0

Car ak a mentions vegetable aswell as animal oils. The viscous(oily) substances are classified underf ou r groups, butters, oils, fats andmarrows." 1

20. A History of Hindu Chemistry. P.C. Rav (1903:. v-». I. The Bengal-::hemical &

Pharmaceutical Works Ltd .. p.nos. 24-32.21. The Positive Sciences of the Ancient Hi nd us , B.N Se al (1!l~8)

Motilai f\3n~rasi D~s. Delhi. p.no , 68.

160

Nine sources of spirituous liquoror fermented drinks have been men-tioned in the Caraka Sarnhita whichare cera Is, fruits, roots, wood, flowers,stems (stal ks), leaves, ba rks of pia ntsand sugar from various suqar-vieldinqcanes. From these the preparation of84 different kinds of asava (wine)have been described. The nine mainclasses of liquors from the abovenine sources, are called - dhanvasava,phalasava, rnulas ava. sarasava, puspa-sav a, patrasava, kandasava, tvaqasavaand sark arasava respectivelv.v-

Finally, it can be said, that, thepost-ve dic period was started withCarak a, who is to Ayurveda whatHippocrates is to that of Greek medi-cine. Caraka a practising physician,is also the first to codify medicine inIndia, representing rather a more orless final development of the subject.Sir P.C. Ray is inclined to place (p xv)him in the pre-Buddhistic era, a muchearlier period that does Svlvain Levi,the French ori entalist who makes himthe court phvsici an of the Indo-Scythian king. Kani-k a, who reignedin the 2nd century A.D. (Circa 150A.D.) However. there is generalagreement in placing him in c. 100A.D.,3

Caraka defined 'Rasavana ' as-therapeutics are of two kinds: _The

Bul!. Ind. lnst . Hist. Med. Vol. XXIII

one which promotes the strength andvitality of the healthy, the other whichcures diseases. Whatever promoteslongevity, memory intelligence, healthand virility etc. is called Hasavana.Here priority is assigned to Rasavanawhich represents drugs of rejuvena-tion, and the medicine proper curingdiseases has been put next in rank.Nothing corresponding can be foundin any other system of medicine,certainly not in the codex of Hippo-crates.

The foremost among the Hasavanas.in Caraka Sarnhita comes 'Cyavanaorasa' which was conceived and triedupon himself by the sage Cyavana,who by its use though grown veryold became young once again. It iscelebrated as the highest Rasavan a.Carak a gives a long receipt of Cvavana'spreparation with all ingredients asherbal (cikitsastha n a, adhyava 1 (1);66,69).

Another vitalizer given in theCar ak a Sari1hita is called 'Brahrnara-savan a' containing Emblic myrobalansand iron (cikitsasthana. adhvava 1(') 58 and (3; 3) This declarationof its contents pinpoints a herbo-rnetalli.. preparation. I n this wayanother preparation' Lauhadi- ra savana'(iron vitalizer) is given (ciki tsa sths naadhvav a 1 (30; 15-23).

22. History cf Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, P. Ray (1956)

Indian Chemical Society. Calcutta, p.no. 62-63.

21. A Consise History of Science in India. Bose, D.M. "t al {1971), Inrlian National

Science Acadernv. N"w Delhi, p.no 53.

A Brief History of Indian Alchemy-Momin Ali

After pure herbal preparations asvitalizers, next comes herbo-rnetallic.usually called 'calcined metals' andthen thirdly there is mention of silaja-turasavana (mineral pitch vitalizer) inCaraka Samhita. which is by itsmake-up a herbo-mineral preparation(cikitsasthana. adhvava.t (3),48-65)

The all herbal and herbo-mineralrasavanas here, are the naturalproducts, whereas herbo-metallicrasavanas were not found in nature,and thus alchemy made it its concernto make them, and in this way, thealchemy was started as pharmaceuticalchemistry, retaining the objectives ofrejuvenation. So, it can be saidthat, Carak a's rasavana when extendedto metals becomes alchemy. Rasayanatreats an infirm old patient, whilealchemy ricketly metal first andthrough it the same old patient Thus,the chief objectives of the two wereto acquire the pow ir of transmutingbase metals into gold and to preparean elixir, which could impart immor-tality to human beings.' 4

Susruta SalilhitaAs regards the age of Susruta

Samhita, its style comparing to Carak a

161

indicates a somewhat later date ofits composition. The extant Susrut aSarnhita is generally believed to be acomparatively modern recession by acelebrated Buddhist 'Nagarjuna' whois said to have added the Uttaratantraor the supplement. The age of Susrurahas been the subject of animatedcontroversy for a long time past.According to Dr. Hoernle, it musthave been copied within the periodfrom about 400 A.D. to 500 A.D.Susru: a Sarnhita also like CarakaSarnhita is a repository of the chemicaland therapeutical informations accu-mulated from the Vedic age to thedate of its final recasting.: 5 Thoughthe original Susruta Sarnhita wascomposed somewhat later than theCaraka Sarnhita, there cannot be agreat interval between these two.' f,

Thus, it can be said that, the date ofthe finally redacted text may be put.somewhere between 3rd & 4th centuryA.D. as the commonly accepted dateand the original Susruta Sarnhitaorobablyexisted during the last fewcenturies befo.e the Christian era.: 7

According to Su-rura. alkaliesare of two kinds viz for externalapplication for escharotic use is given

24. Indian Alchemy or Rasayana's S. Mahd.hass an. (1979\ Vik as Publishing House, Pvt. Lt d .

New Delhi, o.n o s. 20·28 & 44-45.75. History of Hindu Chemistry, P·C. Ray (1933), Vol. I. The Bengal Chemical &

Pharmaceutical Works Ltd, Calcutta. p.nos. xxiii-xxviii.

26. History of Chemistry in Ancient and Meriieval India, P.Ray (1956),

Indian Chemical Society, Calcutta, p.no. 61

:n f. Concise History of Science in India, Bose, D.M. et al (1971),

tnrl.nn National Sci enc e Ac ad ernv. New Dulh}. [1.00. !'i1.

162

like other alkalies by straining alkalinesolutions. They are made of threestrengths, namely weak, moderateand strong.

Nutralization of the alkali by anacid is also given in Susruta Sarnhita.

Distinction has also been madebetween the alkalies, yavaksara(factitious carbonate of potash) andSar jiksara (trona or natron), Boraxtoo has been mentioned under alkali.

Thirty seven classes of vegetableare mentioned, which chiefly consti-tute the Materia- Medica. In onesloka six metals, namely, tin, lead,copper, silver, kr~naloha (iron) andgold, and their calces are also reco-mmended for use as drugs. Lead andtin are described as vermifuge - aproperty also accepted by the lateritro-chernists.

Six types of salts are mentionedviz. sainchava (rock-salt) sarnudra(sea-salt), vid a, sauvarcala (nitre).romaka and audbhida.

Among the minerals, sulphate ofcopper, sulphate of iron, alum-earth.red-ochre, orpiment and realgar etc.are prescribed for external applicationProcess of roasting of iron and othermetals has been given to make themfit for internal administration. By this

Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist . Med. Vol. XXiII

method, metals are converted intotheir respective oxides, or oxvchlo-rides as the case may be. Thus,Susruta describes a practical method,though crude and imperfect, for thepreparation of metallic salts. Themuch reputed 'potable gold' in theshape of the chloride of the metalwas probably obtained in this way.

In Susruta Sarnhita. the origin ofbitumen is much the same as in theCaraka Sarnhita and the Bower Manus-cript The only difference being that,according to Susruta, bitumen isrelated to six instead of four metals(gold, copper, silver and iron).

Two varieties of iron pyrites ofthe lustre of gold and silver respec-tively are mentioned (containingcopper a nd free from copper respec-tively) .

The poisons are classified asanimal, vegetable, and mineral respec-tively. Phenasrna x Bhasma (whitearsenic) and orpiment have beenrecognized as mineral poisons : ~

A large variety of liquors preparedfrom the juice of fruits like grapesand raisins, from date-palm juices,from rice-paste and barley, fromsugarcane juices, treacle and honey,as well as from flowers and bark oftrees are also described in SusrutaSarnhita.' 9

28, A History of Hindu Chemistry. P.C. Ray (1903). Vol. I. The Bengal Chemical andPharmaceutical Works Ltd, p.no s. 33. 34. 40. 44-49.

29. History of Chemistry in Ancjent and Medieval India. P.Ray (1'156).I"dia" Ctu-mic al Society. CaICUT;), p.no . 66.

A Brief History of Indian Alchemv-s-Momin Afi 163

The mercury was not well knownin Susruta's time, as it is used at oneor two places only in Susruta Samhltathat too as an ingredient of a cosmeticpreparation for the treatment ofVvanqa, etc.30

In this way, long before the 5thcentury, probably as early as the 1 stcentury A.D. the prevailing school ofmedicine and surgery, the Caraka andSusruta respectively had founded andelaborated theory of inorganic andorganic compounds. The knowledgeof chemical compounds and of theirpreparation continued to make progressin both of these schools. A study oftreatises of the Caraka and the Susrut a.makes it clear that, the materia medicaof Ayurveda is extensive, and utilizessubstances from the animal. vegetableand mineral kingdoms and the drugsincluded had each been selected aftercareful clinical experiments and longexperience The specific propertieslike taste, assimilability, potency,physiological actions are describedin almost all cases A statisticalbreak-up of the materia medica inthe Caraka Samhita shows 341 plantsubstances, 177 drugs of animalorigin and 64 mineral substances.metals etc. The corresponding num-bers for the Su-ruta Sarnhita are 395,

57 and 64 respectively. The drugs ofanimal origin are found less and lessin the later works. But in case ofinorganic drugs, the choice was limitedto the few locally available metalsand minerals. Process for the disso-lution of finely divided iron. gold.silver, gems, minerals etc. in vegetableacids for medicinal preparations arefound in some passages. After theage of Caraka and Susruta, a steadilyincreasing complement of inorganicsubstances among Ayurvedic medi-cines is found. Most of the incomingmaterials differed from the readilyavailable and naturally occuringinorganic drugs mentioned in theearlier works. as these drugs weresynthetic substances or minerals andores transformed by chemical proce-sses or metallurgical treatment. Thebeginning of this trend is seen in thework of Vagbha\il.31

A~~~i1\ga HrdavaNext to the Car aka Samhita and

Susrut a Samhita in importance, is theA~~ariga Hrdava (lit. heart nr thekernel of the eight limbs or divisionsof the Ayurveda). The author of thiswork is Vagbhata, who was a Buddhistby religion and a medical authorityof his time. He is comparable withGalen in Greek me dicirie.s-' He lived

30. The Sushruta Samhita. (English). Kun j alal. (1963). Vol. II. The Ch a uk ha rnb a

Sanskrit Series Office. Var an asi , p.n o: 508.

31 A Concise History of Science in India. Bose. D.M. et al (1971)

Indian National Science Academy. New Delhi. p.nos.251-253.

32. Indian Alchemy or Rasayana. S. Mahdihassan. (1979).

Vikas Publishinr, House Pvt. ltd. New Delhi. pnos 50 & 57.

164

most probably in the 1st half of 7thcentury A. 0.33

Astanga Hrdaya is an epitome ofthe Caraka Samhita and the SusrutaSarnhita with some gleanings fromthe works of Bhela and Harita.Mineral and natural salts chieflyfigure in the prescriptions along withvegetable drugs. Mention of mercuryis made incidentally, but in such aperfunctory manner that, it wou ld notbe safe to conclude about the know-ledge of its compounds. There arehowever, some metallic preparationsrecommended in it, which wouldpresuppose an advanced knowledgeof chemical processes.

In A.~jaIiga Hrdava minerals likesulphate of copper. redochre, realgar,orpiment, sulphate of iron etc. arerecommended in a receipe for externalapplication for genital sores.

A number of preparations of qold,silver. copper, iron, tin and lead havebeen given in it. At one place thereis direction for roastinq in a closedcrucible (aridhamu-a or a cruciblewith the lid on) a mixture of 64 partsof stibium (Srotoujana}, which isevidently stibnite or the native

Bull. Ind. lnst, Hist . Med. Vol, XXIII

sulphide of antimony and one parteach of copper. iron, silver and gold.

In another case, direction hasbeen given to roast in a closedcrucible mixture of 30 parts of lead,5 parts of sulphur, 2 parts of copperand orpiment each, 1 part of tin and3 parts of stibium.

With regard to the preparation ofalkali and caustic alkali, Vagbhatahas borrowed this almost word forword from the Susruta.

For use of mercury, direction hasbeen given at one place (Uttar asthana,chap XIII) to take equal parts ofmercury and lead and to make themup into a collyrium with their equalweight of stibium and camphor. H

Thus it can be said that, theremust have existed in the very begi-nning herbalism, promising immorta-lity. Then came a herbo-mineralpreparation to produce an enhancedeffect. Then, mercur ials as drugs ofimmortality were used and in thisway alchemy came into existence.The herbal and herbo-metallic rasavanaand mercurial alchemy all becameidentical with regard to 'Rasavana'ie. alchemy.35

33. Ayurveda Ka Vaijnanika Itihasa, 2nd Edn, P.V. Sharma, (1981).

Chaukhamba Or ien t alia , Varanasi, p.no. 127.

34. A History of Hindu Chemistry. P.C. Ray (1903), Vol. I,

The Bengal Chemical & Pharmaceutical Works ltd. p.no s. xlvii & 55·57.

35. Indian Alchemy or Rasayana. S. Mahdihassan (t979).

Vlkas Publishing House Pvt. Lt d , New Dr=lhi , p.nos. 46 & 72.

A History of Indian Alchemv=-Ivlomi n All

1. Anonymous 1949

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165

2. Bose, D.M. et al 1971

3. Kulkarni, D.A. 1969

4. Kunjalal, B. 1963

5. Mahdihassan, S. 1979

6. Ray, PC. 1903

7. Ray, P. 1956

8. Seal, B.N. 1958

9. Sharma, P.V 1981

10. Sharma, P.V. 1983

The Charaka Samhita, Vol. I,translated in English and edited bySree Gulab Kunvarba AyurvedicSociety, Jamnagar (India).

A Concise History of Science inIndia, Indian National ScienceAcademy, Bahadur Shah Zafar Mar«.New Delhi-1.

Rasaratnasamuchchaya, (Hindicornrnentarv). 2nd Edn. Vol I,Maharchand Lachman Das, OrientalBook Seller & Publisher, 2736Cahilan Darvaqanj, Delhi-6.

The Sushruta Samhita (Englishtranslation). Vol. II, The ChaukhambaSanskrit Series Office, Varanasi.

Indian Alchemy or Rasavan a,Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.,5, Ansari Road, New Delhi-11 0002.

A History of Hindu Chemistry,The Bengal Chemical & Pharmaceu-tical Works, Ltd. Calcutta.

History of Chemistry in Ancientand Medieval India, Indian ChemicalSociety, 92, Upper Circular Road,Calcutta 9.

The Positive Sciences of theAncient Hindus, Motilal BanarasiDas, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-6.

Ayurveda ka Vaijnanika ltihas a2nd Edn, Chaukhabh a Orientalia,Varanasi.

Charak a Samhita (Text with EnglishTranslation) 1st Edn, Vol. 11,Chaukhambha Orientalia, P.B.No.32Gokul Bhavan, K 47/109, Go palMandir Lane. Varanasi 271 001.

166 Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XXIII

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