A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century, A.D

/ Hji-r-^~ HISTORY OF HINDU CHEMISTRY A HISTORY OF HINDU CHEMISTRY THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE MIDDLE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. D., WITH SANSKRIT TEXTS, VARIANTS, TRANSLATION AND ILLUSTRATIONS PRAPHULLA CHANDRA RAY, D. Sc, PHOfl-^SUH OF CHEMISTRV, PBESIDENCT COLLEGE, CALCVTT.I VOL. I WILLIAMS AND NORGATE 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON AND 7, BROAD STREET, OXFORD 1902 5Q15i:07 PREFACE Since the days of Sir W. Junes, Sanskrit literature, in almost e\ery department, has been zealously ransacked by scholars, both European and Indian. As the results of their labours we are now in possession of ample facts and data, which enable us to form some idea of the knowledge of the Hindus of old in the fields of Philosophy and Mathematics including Astronomy, Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry and Geometry. Even Medicine has received some share of attention. Wilson in a series of essays published in the Oriental Ma^s,azi)ie (1823), Royle in his Antiquity of Hindu Medicine (1837), and Wise in -his com- mentary on the Hindu System of Medicine (1845), were amongst the first to bring to the notice of the European world the contents of the ancient medical works of the Hindus, and recently the Thakur Sahib of Ciondal has added his quota. The.se contributions are, however, of a fragmentary nature. A comprehensive history of Hindu medicine has yet to be written. Materia Medica has also found, in Udoy Chand Dutt, an able exponent. One branch has, however, up till this time, remained entirely neglected—namely, Chemistry. Indeed, it may be assumed that on account of its complex and technical nature it has hitherto repelled investigators. The progress of chemical knowledge among the ancient nations has always had a fascination for me. The classical works of Thomson, Hoefer and Kopp have been my favourite companions for the last twelve years and more. In the course of my studies in this field I was naturally led to an inquiry into the exact position which India occupies therein, and with this view I undertook a systematic examination, from the chemical standpoint, of the Charaka, the Sui-ruta and the various standard works of the Ayurvedic and latro-chemical Periods, which have escaped the ravages of time. It was at this stage that Iwas brought into communication with M. Berthelot some five years ago — a circumstance which has proved to be a turning point, if I may so say, in my career as a student of the history of chemistry. The illustrious French savant, the Doyen of the chemical world, who has done more than any other person to clear up the sources and trace the progress of chemical science in the West, expressed a strong desire to know all about the contributions of the Hindus,* and even went * "Cependant il serait necessaire d'examiner certains documents qui m'ont ete re- ceitimenl signales par une lettre de Ray, professeur a Presidency College (Calcutta). D'apres ce savant, il existe des traites d'alcliiniie, ecrits en sanscvit, remontant au xiii^ — ii PREFACE tlic length of making a personal appeal to nie to help him with information on the subject. In response to his sacred call I submitted to him, in 1898, a short monograph on Indian alchemy: it was based chiefly on Riisendrasara Sanig/aha, a work which I have since then found to be of minor importance and not calculated to throw much light on the vexed (question as to the origin of Hindu Chemistry. AI. IJerthelot not only did me the honour of reviewing it at length! but very kindly prest;tited me with a complete set of his monumental work, in three volumes, on the chemistry of the Middle Ages, dealing chiefly with the Arabic and Syrian contributions on the subject, the very existence of which I was not till then aware of. On perusing the contents of these works I was filled with the ambition of supplementing them with one on Hindu Chemistry. Although I have written all along under the inspira- tion of a master mind, it is not for a moment pretended that my humble production will at all make an approach to the exemplar set before my eyes. When I first drew up the scheme of the present work, I had deluded myself with the hope of finishing the study of all the available literature on the subject before I took to writing. But I soon found that the task was one of vast magnitude. Some of my friends, whose judgment is entitled to weight, advised me under the circumstances, to curtail the scope of the work as originally planned out, and present a first instalment of it in its necessarily defective and imperfect shape (see Introduction, p. xlix), reserving for a subsecjuent volume the working up of the materials which are accumulating from time to time. In the present volume only one or two representative works of the Tantric and latro-chemical Periods have been noticed at length. As regards the transliteration, I have not rigidly adhered to any particular system, but, in the main, I have followed that of the Sacred Books of the East. Before concluding, I must acknowledge the valuable assistance I have received from Pandit Navakant^ Kavibhusha;?a with whom I have toiled si^cle, et qui renfemient des preceptes pour preparer les sulfiires de niercure noir et rouge et le calomel employes comme medicaments. Ccs indications s'accor<icnt avec celles des alchiinistes arabes sitjnalees plus haul. II est a desirer que ccs traites soient soiunis i une etuile approfondie, poiir en determiner I'origine, probablement attribuable a une tradition persane ou nestorienne." Journal de Savants, Oct., 1897. \ '' Miit^riaux pour nn chapilre vt'gligi! de fhistoire de la Chiiiiie ou contributions ii r Ahhimic indieiiiu (Memorie manuscrit de 43 pages), par Prafulla Chandra Kay, profe-isenr a Presidency Cullege, Calcutta". — r/(/f JouKNAi- UE Savants, April, 1898. PREFACE iii through many an obscure passage of the Mss. of the Tantras. His sound knowledge of the Ayurvedas has also been of much help to me. It would be invidious to single out any particular name amongst my circle of friends and pupils, who have ungrudgingly lent their services, whenever required, either in the transcribing of the copy or in revising proofs. I am, however, bound to make an exception in the case of my esteemed friend, Mr. Prithvl^a Chandra Ray, author of the Poverty Proble^n in India, and proprietor of the Cherry Press, who has all along taken a personal interest in the execution of my work, and who has done every thing in his power in piloting it through the press, notwithstanding the peculiar difficulties which the use of a large variety of special types have necessarily involved. Mr. Mohini Mohana Ghosha, Manager of the Cherry Press, has also laid me under deep obligations in this respect. And now it only remains for me to discharge the grateful duty of ex- pressing my thanks to the Government of Bengal, which at the instance of Mr. Alexander Pedler, F. R. S., Director of Public Instruction, placed a liberal grant at my disposal to enable me to meet various incidental expenses, chiefly in the matter of collecting rare Mss. Presidency College : ] Ca/cutta. June ist, igo2, j PC RAY TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I Alchemical Ideas in the Vedas i CHAPTER II The Ayurvedic Period vii CHAPTER III The Transitional Period xxx CHAPTER IV The Tantkic Period xxxv CHAPTER V The Iatro-Chemical Period lii CHAPTER VI Indebtedness of the Arabians to India Ixii THE AYURVEDIC PERIOD (Fjoiu the pfe-Buddhisiic Era to circa 800 A. D.) CHAPTER I The Constitution and Properties of Matter : The Atomic Theory Page Tanmatra or Particles — Five Elements—Animated Atom Grosser Body—Earth —Water—Light^Conception of the Simple, Binary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Atoms—Quality of the Substance viz., Colour, Savour, etc.—Gravitation — Levity— Fluidity— A'iscidity — Sound—Theory of the Propagation of Sound— A;/us or Atoms —Dates of the Philosophical Sutras —The Question of Priority CHAPTER II Chemistry in the Charaka and the Susruta The Charaka The Tastes —The Metals and their Calces —A Discourse on the Tastes — their Relationship to the five Primal Elements— the Nature of the Alkali —The Five Kinds of Salts — Minerals for External Application—The Eight \'arieties of Urine— Preparation — CONTENTS Page of Kshara CAlkali) — Pill Iron Compound—A Collyrium — Powder of Pearl Compound— Iron, Gold and Silver Tonics —Rasayana Defined 13 The Sii»riitR Preparation and Use of Alkalies and Alkaline Caustics Lixiviation of the Ashes—Rendering the Alkali Caustic—How to Store up the Alkali — Characteristics of the Good and the Bad Alkali— Why the Acid Neutralises the Alkali —Mild and Caustic Alkalies — Description of Blood—On the Collection of Drugs—The Salts—The Alkalies — Internal use of Lead and Tin— Minerals for External Application — Roasting of Iron and other Metals so as to Render them Fit for Internal Administration —The Origin of Bitumen— Iron Pyrites—Gold Dust—The Poisons—Use of Mer- cury— Note on The Metals and their Salts 17 CHAPTER III Chemistry in the Bower Ms. The Alkalies — Fumes of Horn— Ksharataila— Formula for Hair-Dye—Rasayana Defined—The Doctrine of Bitumen—A Linc- tus— Formulae for Eye-ointment . 28 CHAPTER IV Chemistry in the Vagbhata Preparations of Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron and Lead— Prepara- tion of Alkali and Caustic Alkali —Use of Mercury ... 30 THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD (From 800 A. D. to circa iioo A. D.) Chemistry in the Sidoha Yoga of Vrinda AND ChAKRAPANI CHAPTER I Vrinda {circa goo A.D.) Preparations m which Sulphide of Copper and ytthiops Mineral Figure —A collyrium —A process of Killing Iron ...

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