/ H

ji-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

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

Page

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 .... 32

CHAPTER II Chakrapani (Circa ro6o A.D.)

Bl-ACK SULPHIDE OF MeRCURY (KaJJALI)

OR ^thiops Mineral Tamrayoga (lit. Powder of Copper Compound; Process of Kill-

CONTENTS

Page

ing Iron — Mandura or Rust of Iron — Recipe for a Soap to be used

as a Depilatory— Preparation of Caustic Alkali .... 34

THE TANTRIC PERIOD

{From 1 1 00 A. D. to circa 1^00 A. D.)

CHAPTER I

Chemistry in Kasarnava

Extracts from Book IV — On Apparatus and the Colour of Flames — Dola Yantram — An Apparatus for Killing Metals — Garbha Yantram — Efficacy of the Apparatus — Hawsapaka Yan- tram— Crucibles — Colour of Flames— Tests of a Pure Metal — Kosh/T Apparatus — Colophon to Chapter IV — The Alkalies — The Maha- rasas — Copper from the Pyrites — Brass from Calamine and Copper Mistaken for Gold — Extraction of Zinc from Calamine— Saurashtri — The Metals— The Killing of Metals— Purification of Quicksilver —Killing of Mercury— Killing of Gold— Tests for Killed Mercury- Colouring of Metals 36

THE lATRO-CHEMICAL PERIOD

{From ijoo A. D. to circa 1^50 A. D.) CHAPTER I

Chemistry in Rasaratnasamuchchaya

Colophon — The Rasas — Abhra — Vaikranta —Copper Pyrites — Vimala — 5ilajatu— Sasyaka — Extraction of Copper — Chapala — Rasaka — Extraction of Zinc — The Uparasas or Inferior Rasas — Sulphur — Gairika — Ka.i'isa — Tuvari — Talaka — Manasjila — The Anjanas — The Common Rasas — Navasara and other Rasas — The Gems — Vajram — General Process of Reducing Gems to Ashes — On Metals— Gold— Silver— Copper— Iron— Tin— Lead — Brass —Bell- Metal, &c. — Initiation into Discipleship — On the Laboratory — On Technical Terms— Tests for Killed Iron— Antimony from Stibnite — Certain Other Technical Terms— On Apparatus (the Yantras) — Dola Yantram — Svedani Yantram — Patana Yantram — Adhaspatana Yan- tram—Dheki Yantram — Valuka Yantram (Sand-bath) — Lavana Yantram — Nalika Yantram— Tiryakpatana Yantram — Vidyadhara Yantram — Dhupa Yantram — On the Ingredients for Crucibles, &c. — Vr/ntaka Crucible — Calcination, Roasting, &c. — The Metals — The Salts— The Alkalies— The Oils— The Fats— The Urines— The Acids— The Earths— The Poisons — The Solvents— On The

CONTEN rS

Page Purification of Mercury — Fixation of Mercury — Incineration of Mercury ............ 42

Notes on the Minerals .... 74

Alum and Green Vitrol 80

ON METALS AND METALLURGY 83

Zinc 85

Dc la formation dcs inctaux 88

On the Essence of Minerals ... 92

Calamine — The N'itriols — Blue Vitriol 93

ON GUNPOWDER, SALTPETRE AND THE MINERAL ACIDS

Gunpowder — Saltpetre — Mineral Acids 95

KNOWLEDGE OF TECHNICAL ARTS AND

DECLINE OF SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT 104

The wastage of Gold in the course of Preparing

Jewelry in Bengal

Soldering— Filing and Cutting— The Chemical Operations of the Goldsmith : Cleansing, Colouring and Polishing— The Pro- cesses of the Rungwala — Chemical Explanation — The Restorative Processes — The Neharwala — The Jamakwala — Conclusion 109

Note on the Salts 133

Note on the Killing of Metals 135

On the Hindu Method of Manufacturing Calomel ; The — Hindu and Japanese Methods Compared — The Explanation of the Reactions Involved 137

APPENDIX I

Analysis of some Preparations used in the

Hindu Medicine

/Ethiops Mineral — Sulphide of Copper — Calomel— Rust of iron — Achyranthcs aspcra — Trianlhcnia ntonoi^yrta . . . 143

APPENDIX II I llu stations 15'

INDEX

Index of Proper Names .....••• '67

Index of Subjects • • '7i

SANSKRIT TEXTS .... 1— 4>

Introduction

CHAPTER I

Alchemical Ideas in the Vedas

In tracing the progress of chemical know- Dawn of ledge among the civilized nations of old, one al- chemy. ways finds it intimately associated with medicinal preparations, metallurgical operations, the tech- nical arts and the belief in the transmutation of metals. In India, more so than in Europe, chemistry has, however, been evolved chiefly as a handmaid of medicine ; and, somewhat later on, as an adjunct of the Tantric cult. The efficacy of the drug alone was by no means considered sufficient unless backed by the kindly interposi- tion of the deities. Thus in the Riorvcda we find the Aj-vins, the divine physicians, invoked, who oive sioht to the blind and make the lame walk. These twin gods have many points in common with the Dioskouroi of Greek mytho- logy. One very curious myth is that of the maiden Vi^pala who, having had her leg cut off in some conflict, was at once furnished bv the A.svins with an iron limb.

The hioher oods of the Riovcda are almost entirely personifications of the elements and the other natural phenomena, such as the fire and the wind, the sun and the dawn. But we often find also herbs and plants endowed with potent and active properties, raised to the dignities of the gods and addressed as such.

The Soma plant is an object of particular adora- tion and the Vedic worshippers are in ecstacy over the exhilarating- effects of the fermented juice expressed from it.^ The Soma 7'asa (juice) bey;"an even to be regarded as tlie ai)irita ; this immortal draught, allied to the Greek anibi'osia, is "the stimulant which conferred immortality

upon the gods it is medicine for a sick

man and the god Soma heals whatever is sick." It will be seen later on that in the Soma rasa and its attributes we have the dawn of Hindu Alchemy (/^Vrt't'pp. 43-44).

Other plants were likewise invoked as di\i- nities. Thus one entire hymn is devoted to the praise of plants [oshadhi) alone, mainly with regard to their healing powers,^

Again, in another hymn we read : "O King

(1) See Roth; Ueber den Soma: Zeit. deut. morg. Gas. XXXV. pp. 680692; also ibid, XXXVIII. 134-139: Wo wachst der Soma ? And Windischmann : Ueber den Somacultus der Ariel- : Abhand. d. Miinch. AK. d. Wiss. IV. B. Abh. 2.

(2) One or two typical hymns may be quoted here : —

sTft ft ^»^ '^\M\\'^ flf^^ ft T?: I X. 97. F.

Saya;/a's commentary to the above is : — f^Tj <5Jrg ^*f^ T?T?fq JfTfi? %^'Ji: I ^^ H^TTit ^H^^,T*Tt *imT^'7^>ft^t

f '^ji^ flifTT: ^qv?7: fl ^w# >?wif^ w\w['[^ ^^ifsr ^t s!<t

'V^ai'Li/za ! ;i luinclretl and a ihousaiid medicinal drugs are thine."

It is in the Atharva-veda, however, that plants and vegetable prcjducts in general are fully recognised as helpful agents in the treat- ment of diseases, though their use is invariably associated with the employment of charms, spells, and incantations. Thus the plant apanidrga (Achyranthes aspera), which still occupies a pro- minent place in the Hindu system of medicine as a di-uretic and laxative etc., is invoked as the "mistress of remedies" (IV. t^, i.) and "sole ruler over all plants." In another hymn the Soma plant is thus referred to : —

"The strength of this amr^'ta (ambrosia) do we give this man to drink. Moreover, I prepare a remedy, that he may live a hundred years !"

Again, "as many (plants), as the human physicians know to contain a remedy, so many, endowed with every healing quality, do I apply to thee !" ^ Here is a spell for the cure of leprosy by means of a dark-coloured plant : —

Born in the night art thou, O herb,

Dark-coloured, sable, black of hue :

Rich-tinted, tinge this leprosy.

And stain away its spots of grey ! (1.23,1).

— Macdonell

There is also a distinct reference to a remedy for promoting the growth of hair.

"As a goddess upon the g(xldess earth thou wast born, O plant ! We dig thee up, O nitatnl, that thou mayest strengthen (the growth) of the hair.

(1) liluomfleld . //viinis i>f //jc A/iiiiri'ii'^'ri/n \i\-> ^\ ^4.

"Strengthen the (old hair), beget the new !

That which has come fortli render more hixiiri-

ous !" \'I. 136. 1,2.

The Healing Although ill the Vedic age caste as a heredi-

Ibte.i'^'^^"^^" tary system did not exist, the healing arts had

evidently acquired sufficient importance to be

pursued by particular members of the patriarchal

families. Thus with that charming simplicity

which is the characteristic beauty of the Ri£;-

vcda, one /?/shi says pathetically of himself :

"Behold I am a composer of hymns, my father is a physician, my mother grinds corn on stone. We are all engaged in different occupa- tions*" (IX. II 2, 3).

"Princes like Divodasa, and bards and lead- ers of the tribe of the Angiras, achninistered medicines and gfloried in effectinof cures. A skilled physician is distinctly defined as one who lives in a place abounding with medicinal plants, and who assiduously devotes his time to the acquisition of knowledge-."

Thus not only in the Athaii^an but even in liSaivTJcord the Rik, we can trace the earliest literary record "/ Indian |- i,^^|i.^j^ Medicine.

Medicine.

The Alharva-veda deals chiefly with sorcery, witch-craft and demonology. There are deadly imprecations against evil-doers ; magical incan- tations for bringing about ruin, death, dementa- tion and stupefaction of one's adversaries ; and charms intended to secure the love of women through the potency of various herbs. Some of

(1) R. C. Dutt : Civilisalion in ancient India, p. 65. (Calc. ed.)

(2) Introduction to the Astangahridaya of Vagbha/a, by A;/«a Morsvar Kunte. B. A., M. D., p. 2.

tliem are of hostile character, being meant to injure rivals. Tlie picture here presented has its counterpart in the ancient Egyptians, who were noted for their magical lore to which the Greeks were no less attached. There is a close resemblance between the contents of the A. V. and those of the Papyrus of Leyden in some essential features. In the latter also there is an intermixture of magic, astrology, alchemy as well as recipes for love philters.^

The A. v., on account of its frequent calling- in-aid of super-natural agencies for selfish and malevolent purposes, has not generally been accorded the canonical sanctity of the Vedic Triad — The Rik, the Yajus and the Sdiiian ; the very authority of the fourth Veda as a scripture has been questioned in the several law-books of the Apastamba, the Vishnu, the Ydjnavalka and the I\Iami schools, and the practices it sanctions stron^K^ condemned.

As Hindu medicine has seldom been able to shake itself completely free from the influ- ence of magic and alchemy as auxiliaries, phy- sicians, as practicers of the "black art," have been given an inferior position in the legal treatises. The Mahdbhai'ata, reflecting the spirit of the above law-books, regards the physicians as im- pure. In spite of this "the y^Z/^c^re'^z/^ retains in a measure its place by virtue of its profound hold upon popular beliefs, because the Atharvan performs, especially for the king, inestimable

(i) The reader may compare this portion with Berthelot's Les O) igines de T Alcliiiuic, pp. 81-83.

Vi

services in the injury and overthrow ol ene-

mies." *

In the A. v., the hymns for the cure of dis- eases and possession bv demons of disease Aichcinv. are known as bhaishajyani, while those which have for their object the securing- of long life and health are known as ayushydni — a term which later on gave place to rasayana, the Sans- krit equivalent of alchemy (see p. 44). We shall quote two under the latter heading as in- vocations to pearl and its shell and gold respec- tively. "Born in the heavens, born in the sea, brought on from the river (Sindhu), this shell, born of gold, is life-prolonging amulet."

"The bone of the gods turned into pearl ; that, animated, dwells in the waters. That do I fasten upon thee unto life, lustre, strength, longevity, unto a life lasting a hundred autumns. May the (amulet) of pearl protect thee!"

"The gold which is born from fire,^ the im- mortal, they bestowed upon the mortals. He who knows this deserves it : of old age dies he who wears it."

"The gold, (endowed by) the sun with beau- tiful colour, which the men of yore, rich in descendants, did desire, may it gleaming envelop thee in lustre ! Long-lived becomes he wht) wears it !"

While gold is regarded as the elixir of life, lead is looked upon as the dispeller of sorcery :

(i) liloomfield's Hymns of lie A//.a7-7 a-7ei!a : — Imnxku- tion, p. XLVI.

(2) Among the five kinds of gold referred to in Rasaraluasatnu- ihcJuiVit (p. 5S', ^f^fi^fi born from fire is one.

"To the lead Varu/^a gives blessing, to the lead Agiii gives help. Indra gave me the lead : iinfaiiingiy it dispels sorcery." *

It is of interest to note the alchemical notions which had g'^thered round gold and lead^ at the time of the A. V.

To the student of Hindu medicine and al cliemy, the A. V. is thus of special interest as the earliest repository of information on the subject.

CHAPTER II. The Ayurvedic Period.

We now alioht upon a period when we find „, ,,. ,

^ r V The Hindu

the Hindu system of medicine methodised and system of med-

■' icine method -

arranored on a rational basis, with a scientific ised and ar-

^ ranged on a

terminology. rational basis.

The two ofreat works of this period are the

^ ^ , r 1 I The Charaka

Charaka and the Sui-ruta. In them we find the and the Su-

1 1 1 T • sruta.

Study of the subject to have been made a distmct advance and to have evolved out of the chaotic state it was in during the V^edic period. Of the two, the Charaka is by far the more ancient.^

(1) The quotations are from Bloomfield's A. V. pp. 62-65.

(2) In the alchemy of the West, lead, as is well known, is asso- ciated not with beneficient l)ut "Saturnine" influences.

(3) Cf. "The theological doctrine of the nature of disease indicat- ed its means of cure. For Hippocrates was reserved the great glory of destroying them both, rephncing them by more practical and material ideas, and, from the votive tablets, traditions, and other sources, together with his own admirable observations, compiling a body of medicine. The necessary consequence of his great success was the separation of the pursuits of the physician from those of the priest. Not that so great a revolution, implying the diversion of profitable gains from the ancient channel, could have been accomplished without a struggle. We should reverence the memory of Hippocrates for the complete manner in whi* h he

There must have been a wide gap between the age of the ^rl. F. and that of the Charaka — • an interval of probably a thousand years or more. In the latter the humoral pathology is fully developed, the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases described at length, and an elaborate mode of classification adopted. We have seen above that the physicians were assigned rather an inferior status in society ; the healing art was, in fact, never recognised as a division of the Vedas. ^ Still the claims of the indispen- sable science of medicine, which can be distinctly traced to the A. V., could not altogether be ignored, and ultimately a compromise was arrived at. In the Charaka itself the Science of Life {Ayurveda) is regarded as a secondary or sub- sidiary branch {npdnga) of the Athait'an and as a direct revelation of the gods (sutrii. Ch. XXX. 8-9).

The Su.sruta even goes a step further and asserts that the self-existent {Bralwi^'i) created Ayiui'cda, as an 2t/>cinoa of the Atharvan (sLitra. I. 3.) The age of We shall now^ concern ourselves with finding the time of Charaka within approximate limits. The task is not a light one, as it is one of the most abstruse questions of Indian chronology.

M. Svlvain Levi has recentlv unearthed

eftected that object." — Draper's Hist, of the Intellect. Dev. in Europe, i. p. 393 (ed. 1896). The services rendered l)y Charaka, Siuruta and their predecessors were equally valuable.

(I) The six limbs or divisions of the Vedas are siksha (phon- etics), kalpa (ceremonial), -••yakarana (grammar^ nirukto (ety- niology\ ch/inniiifi ^metre and /r< '//>//(/ ^istronomy .

from the Chinese IVipitaka the name of a physician named Charaka, who was attached as spiritual guide to the Indo-Scythian King Kanishka, who reigned in the second century A. D. The French Orientahst would have this Charaka as the author of the famous Hindu medical work, specially as it would offer an easy explanation of the supposed Greek influence discernible in it.

"Les elements traditionnels mis en oeuvre par les conteurs peuvent se resumer ainsi : le roi devaputra Kanishka, de la race des Kusha??as, regne sur les Yue- tchi. sept cents ans apres le Nirvana ; il est assiste de ministers eminents, nommes Devadharma et Ma/hara. I.e bodhisattva Aj-vaghosha est son conseiller spirituel ; I'ljlustre medecin Charaka est attache a sa personne."

"La mention de Charaka est la premiere indication positive obtenue sur Ja date du savant praticien qui dispute a Su^yruta la gloire d'avoir fonde la science medicale dans I'lnde. Les influences grecques qu'on avait cru reconnaitre dans les doctrines de Charaka s'expliquent aisement, s'il est vrai que ce grand medecin vivait au temps et a la cour des Indo- Scv'thes, alors que I'hellenisme semblait penetrer en vainqueur dans la vieille civilisation brahmanique."

Journ. Asiatique (1896), T. VIII. pp. 447-51-

We confess we are by no means convinced of I\L Levi's theory. If we are to go by naiite alone, we can claim a still higher antiquity for our author. The appellation of Charaka occurs in Vedic literature as a patronymic ; in short. Pa;/ini felt it necessary to compose a spe- cial s'ara for deriving the "Charakas" /v. the

followers of Cbaraka.^ Then again, Patanjali, who is now generally admitted to have lived in the second century B. C, is known to have written a commentary on the medical work of Charaka, thus further proving the anticjuity of our author \^ and both Chakrapa;/i and Bhoja agree in allud- ino: to him as the redactor of Charaka.^ Indeed, in such matters we would do well to set store by native traditions. It would be beside our pur- pose, however, to enter into any lengthy discus- sion on the grounds on which we are inclined to place Charaka in the pre- Buddhistic era, but we shall summarise below the salient points. Evidence J,-, j.j-|g handlino" of the subject-matter the

based ujion '^ -'

the handling Charaka is not so systematic as the Sujrruta, but

of the siiljjcct- _ ■'

matter, indulges in random, hap-hazard and irrelevant discourses, which make the reader often lose the thread of the main narrative, llie author, when- ever he has an opportunity, boldly and with evi- dent relish, launches into metaphysical disquisi- tions, which, he believes, make up for lack of ex- periments and observations.* In this respect the Sujrruta is far more scientific than the Charaka. The Ny^Fya and the Vai.yeshika systems of phi-

(i) ^r^^^^Il^^ I 4- 3- I07-

<2) '^iT^Tm ^f^t^ w^fi^^ ^?T'#'r fiT^?nH, ^iTf^i^j^fxr

*ITHniF^^ g: ^ ^r[ =^T% q?T^f<«T: I Quoted in tlie L(ii;;/iit .]/,i/l- ju'iha of Xagefa Hhatta.

(S^i qm^^-fTf WFq-^<* Mfd't^t: I

»1^Hl^-^IJj^Hijt '?(i'sf?'TfR 'TH: II /7V/r Salutation in tlie coniincntary named ^^n^^'^-ftfcT^T on the Charaka by Chakiapa«i.

(4) Tliis lias given ample scope to a recent commcniator, the late Kaviraja Cianj^adliara Kaviiatna, who in his 5prq^^rT«», rus- passes Charaka himself in ])hilosophical dissertations.

losophy, which have been interwoven into the body of the text, again remind us of a stage when they were more or less in a state of tiux, but had not crystalhsed into the well-defined form and shape of the stitras in which they have come down to us — this also goes towards proving the high antiquity of the Charaka.^

Again, only Vedic gods and mantras figure Absence of in the Charaka, not a trace of Pauranic mytho- tifoTl^gy*^ '"^ logy being discernible in it.^ Charaka follows closely the Vedic authority ^ in counting the number of bones in the human body ; the limit of childhood he takes to be thirty years— quite in keeping with the conception of the heroic age.

It should, however, be borne in mind

(i) The Nyaya of Gotama enumerates t6 padarthas (cate- gories), while Charaka under his (medical) disputation, ^TcrTTTiT, mentions 44 categories (Vide Vimdna. Ch. VIII. 22., also A. C. Kaviratna's Eng. trans, pp. 564-65). Bodas in his learned Intro- duction to the Tarkasaingriha of Anna/z/bhaZ/a (pp. 12-14) places the aphorisms of Gotama and Ka;/ada in the period between 400 B. C. to 500 A. D.

(2) The names of Kr/sh//a and Vasudeva occur in a salutation in the supplement added by Dr/V/avala. {Chikitsita. Ch. 21. 92-93. ed. Gawgadhara). But Krishna-worship was in vogue at the time of Pa^zini ; 4. 3. 98. See also Lassen's Alterthiimskunde i. p. 648. Biihler also points out that "the earlier history of the pura;?as, which as yet is a mystery, will only be cleared up when a real history of the orthodox Hindu sects, especially of the Sivites and Vish//uites, has been written. It will, then, probably become apparent that the origin of these sects reaches bark far beyond the rise of Buddhism and Jainism." — Intro, to Apastambha^ &c. p. XXIX.

(3) Namely 360 ; J>'arira. Ch. VII, 5. According to the [nsti- tutcs of Vishnu "it (the human frame) is kept together by three hundred and sixty bones" (XCVI. 55). This has been ad- duced by Jolly as a "reason in favour of the high antiquity of its laws." Vide Intro, to Vish/m, pp. XVIII-XX.

that the Charaka, as we now possess it, can by no means lay claim to be the first compre- hensive and systematic treatise on Hindu medi- cine, it represents rather a more or less final development of the subject, just as the elaborate grammar of Pa/^ini is based upon some twenty previous works of his predecessors, notably of Yaska. ^"akalya, vSakatatayana, Gargya and others, and intern.ii Of internal evidence the first notable feature

evidence. • i i

IS the style.

The simple, unvarnished prose of the Charaka reminds one of the Brdhmanas of the Vedas. Thanks to the researches of Biihler and Fleet, we have now some idea of the prose Kdbya style as it existed in the second century A. D. The lit- erary prose inscriptions discovered at Girnsr and Nasik, although less ornate and artificial than the romances of Subandhu and Va;/a (seventh cen- tury A. D.), abound in long-winded metaphors and alliterations and thus stand in bold contrast with the simple prose of the Charaka.

Between the period ot tne A. V. and that of the Charaka there must have been composed several medical treatises, each reflecting the spirit and progress of its age. At the time of the Charaka itself there existed at least six standard works by Agnivei'a, Bhela, Jatukar;/a, Para^ara, Harita. and Ksharapawi, respectively. Charaka simply based his work on that of Agnive^ya,^ which he completely recast and re-

(ii Charaka himself naively assigns his reasons for giving preference to the treatise of .\gniveja in the words :— "of the six (authors) Agnive^a was the most "sharp of intellect" (sutra. Ch. I. 2.)

modelled. Later on. Dri<;/avala added the last forty-one chapters.^ The other five works seem to have perished.^ Vagbhata, the epitomiser of the Charaka and the Su^-ruta, mentions the works of Harita and Bhela, which were probably- extant in his days.

On reading the Charaka, one often feels as if it embodies the deliberations of an international Congress of medical experts, held in the Hima- layan regions to which even distant Balkh (Bac- triana) sent a representative in the person of Ka;//khaya;/a (see p. 13). The work professes to be more or less of the nature of a record of the Proceedinos of such a Congress.^

Bodas in discussing the philosophical disqui- sitions of the Brdhinanas observes :

"It was a special function of the BraJund priest to give decisions on any disputed points that ma}- arise in the course of a sacrifice, and this he could not have

(1) f^'tfl^f^f %?tt# ^■f^^f?!f^«tl\"«T I

€^Tif ^^?r cT¥ ^TIW ^ i^^^»T II Siddhi. Ch. XII. 28. Also Chikitsifa. Cli. XXX. 112: ed. D. N. Sen and U. N. Sen.

(2) Cf. "We know how often in India the appearance of a convenient abstract has led to the neglect and subsequent loss of all earlier works on the subject.'' — Intro, to Stein's Rajaiarvghn., p. 25. In Burnell's Tanjore catalogue Pt. I. pp. 63-65, a full analysis is given of Bhelasawhita, from which it would appear that this work is still extant, though in a mutilated form. Dr. Burnell remarks ; "the most superficial comparison shows how much Vagbha/a was indebted to this ancient work."

An H('irita Sainkitd has recently been published ; but its authenticity is questionable.

(3) Cf. "La lecture de cet ouvrage nous initie aux compte- rendus de veri tables congres philosophiques et medicaux, dans lesquels des maitres accourus des points les plus eloignes de I'Inde et meme de I'etranger, prennent successivement la parole." — Quel- ques Donnees Nouvelles a propos des Traites medicaux Sanscrits anterieurs au XI He si^cle, P. Cordier, p. 3.

done unless he was a master of ratiocination. Such decisions, which may be hkened to the chairman's ruHngs in a modern assembl)', are scattered through the ancient Brdhmanas, and are collected together as so many Nydyas in the Pfirt'a Mhiidtusd aphorisms of Jainiiiiir *

We would invite the reader to o'O throuoh the "Discourse on the Tastes" (pp. 13-15) and he will naturally agree that the above remarks apply with equal force to our author. In short, judg- inof both from the manner and the matter of the work, we have little hesitation in placing it in the pre- Buddhistic era. We shall revert to the subject under Siucruta. The age of As regards the Sujruta we are on more solid

Siuruta. ' . .

grounds. Its termuioiogy and tcchinque, \\\ oeneral, do not differ much from those of the Charaka. In style the Su^ruta is rather dry, pithy, laconic, and matter-of-fact, as the Charaka is discursive and diffuse, and its composition altogether would point to a much later date. This is easily accounted for, The Su.?ruta, such as has been preserved to us. is generally held to be a comparatively modern recension by the celebrated Buddhist Chemist, Nagarjuna.^ who is said to have added the Uttaratantra or the Supplement. ^ Here for the first time in the

(1) Intro, to Annawbha//a's Tarkasaiui:;ralia, p. sS.

(2) "sr^ 7y=3, qrt% f^^Pri^ ?1^^ flftT?i^'^^^''gm5)fiTfcT ^rf^nR^Tttftf IWF^T T^ 1" Vide /Jalvawa's commentary.

(3) Cf. "It is said by Z>alva/7acharya, the commentator of Su.$Tuta, that at the time of war between the liauddhas and Hindus, the Siuriitatantra was re-edited and rendered more com- prehensive bv the renowned chemist Siddhanagarju//a with a sup- plement called uttaratantra. Since that period it has been known

history of Hindu Medicine and Cliemistry, we come across a personage who is historical rather than mythical (see below). That the redactor thoroughly recast and remodelled the Sui'ruta is evident from the fact that there are numerous passages in it which agree almost verbatim with the Charaka, and which appears to have been amply laid under contribution.

The Su^ruta is par excellence a treatise on surgery * as the Charaka is on medicine proper. Ancient India must have acquired considerable skill in the handling of the lancet ; for in the Charaka we find a distinction drawn between the Kdyachikitsakas, i. e. the physicians properly so called, and the Dkanvantvarisaiupradayas i. e. followers of Dhanvantvari or the Chirur- g'eons — a distinction which we have already seen in the beoinninor of the Vedic Age.

The age of Su^ruta has been the subject of animated controversy for a long time past. The Hindus regard this branch of Ayurveda as a direct revelation from the Ajvins or the Divine Surgeons (see p. i, intro.). The origin of this myth can be traced to the Rigveda as already seen. In the Mahabharata, Su^ruta is spoken of as the son of the sage Vi^^vamitra and in the Vdrttikas of Katyayana (about 4th century B. C.) we also find mention of the same name. It is not, however, easy to estab-

by the name of Siuruta Sawhita." Introduction to Vaidyaka- sabtiasindhu p. 6. Ijy Kaviraja Unie^achandra Gupta Kaviratna.

(0 For a description of the surgical instruments witli Draw- ings, see Wise : Coiiiiiicntary on the Hhidu System of medicine, (1845) pp. 168-170.

lish any connection between these names and OLM- present author. That there was a Yr/d- dha (old) StL^ruta, existing as early as the fifth century A. D., has now been established almost beyond doubt. Dr. Hoernle, to whose profound scholarship and indefatigable labours the world is indebted for the excellent edition of the Bower Ms., has deduced from palseographic evidence that it must have been copied within the period from about 400 A. D. to 500 A. D. ^ — a con- clusion at which Prof. Blihler has independently arrived. The w^ork professes to be by Su.^ruta, to whom it was declared by the Muni Ka^iraja. The origin of the Ayurveda as given in the Bower Ms. is on much the same lines as in the Charakaand the mention in it. amono- others, of such names as Harita, Bhela, Para^ara. and the A.s'vins as founders of the science of medicine, would go to prove that even so early as the 5th century A. D., the old Su.!rruta had come to be regarded as of mythical origin, and that there- fore it must have been composed many cen- turies anterior to that time. Several important recipes as given in the Bower Ms., e.g. those of the chyavajiaprdsa, silajatuprayoga (the doc- trine of bitumen p. 28) etc., occur in practically identical recensions in the Charaka. This is easily accounted for. The Charaka, the Sujrruta, and the Bower Ms., and even the Astafigah;7daya of \'agbha/a have more or less a common basis or substratum. In order to understand this

(l) On the date of the Bower Ms., Sec [ourn. As, Soc.

LX. I't. I. p. 79.

point more clearly it is only necessar)- to refer for a moment to the leyal literature of the Hindus. The Mctnava Dharniasastra or \k\fi Ins- titutes of Manu, which still exercises a [xjtent influence in the regulation of the social life of the Hindus, is by no means the ancient work that it pretends to be. Modern research has shown that it is only a recension, or rather a recension of a recension, of Dharniasiitras connected with the \^edic Schools, incorporating at the same time the laws and usaoes of the a^e at which it was remodelled.^

It would equally be a great mistake to sup- pose that the knowledge — chemical and thera- peutical— which our Su.sTuta embodies is only representative (A the time ot its final redaction. As a matter of fact it is a repository of the informations on the subject accumulated from the \'edic age to the date of its final recasting.

The remarks of M. Berthelot regarding a Greek technical treatise, which, from pakeo- graphic evidence, seems to have been written about the iith century A. D., apply with still preater force to the Su.?ruta.

o

"En effet la date de redaction originelle n'est cer- tainement pas le meme pour les divers articles que !e traite renferme : les uns etant plus anciens et remont- ant parfois jusqu'a I'antiquite greco Eg)'ptienne ; tandis que les autres reproduisent des recettes posterieures et fles additions peut-etre contempDraines du dernier copiste. En tous cas, ce traite continue la vieille tra- dition de I'orfevrerie alchimique, qui reinonte aux

h \'ide Miihlcrs Imrodurtion to the Laws of Mann . ]ip. X\'III ct seq. Siured Pxioks of tlic E;ist, A'ol. XX\'.

aiiciciis Egx'ptiens." — Coll. dcs ancicus alcli. Grccs. t. Hi. /rn</. />. joy.

The period wlien tlie Sujrruta received its hiuil cast must always remain an open question. X'^a^bha/a in his Astanoa;7daya makes copious extracts both from tlie Charaka and the Su.sruta. The bitter must therefore liave existed in their present form prior to the 9th century A. D. Madhavakara in his iVit/d/za quotes bodily from the Uttarataiiti-a, and as the Nidana was one of the medical works which were translated for the Caliphs of Bagdad (see below), it can safely he placed in the 8th century at the latest. It is thus evident that the present re- daction of the Sujruta must have existed anterior to that date, and that it had become at that age stereotyped as it were. The Vagbha/a and the Nidana are simply summaries of the Charaka and Sui^ruta,-^ and were written at a time when the latter had become very old, and were therefore studied by few experts, and their abstracts were likely to be prized by the general practitioners.

Vagbha/a concludes his masterly treatise with the following- observation, which is highly significant :— Vagbha/as "If a vvork is to pass current as authoritative

apologia '

simply because it is the production of a sage of old, why are not the treatises of Bhela

(i) This statement we make in a qualified sense, and we fully agree with Roth when he observes "Udoy Chand Uutt in seiner Mat. Med. bezeichnet das Werk als eine methodisclie j^eordnete Compilation aus Charaka und .Su.vruta. Ich giaube er tinit ihm damit Ihirecht ; \'ayl}ha/a dcr sich iibrigens melir an Su?ruta hJill, ist nichl so iinselbstrindig." Zcit. duut. niorg. Cics. 49. p. 184.

and others^ studied except those ot Charaka and SiksTLita ? It thus follows that whatever is reasonable [methodical and scientific] is to be preferred." ^

Read between the lines the above is to be taken as an apology on the part of our author for appearing in the field ; it further establishes clearly that even during his lifetime^ the Charaka and the Sui-ruta were regarded as hoary ivith the prescription of age, and their memories had passed into the region of tradition.^

The earliest commentary of the Sui'ruta that The commen-

11 -11 1-1 1 '^'"''^ °'' ^'i-

has been partially preserved to us is known as the vruta

Bhdniuuati by Chakrapaf^J Datta, the celebrated author of the medical work which goes by his name (about io6o A.D). The other well-known commentary, the Nibandha Sanigraha, is by Z^alva/^a, who lived in the reign of Sahanapala Deva whose kingdom was situated somewhere near Muttra. Z^alvawa acknowledges his obliga- tions to the previous commentators, namely Jejja/^a, Gayadasa, Bhaskara, and Madhava ^whose dates it is not easy to ascertain.

Since a remote period the text of the Sui"ruta The pnriiy of

^ . the text

has been jealously preserved and no tampering with it tolerated. Thus Z^alva;/a refuses to recoo- nise the authenticity of a passage, because an ancient commentator, Jejja/a, has not noticed it.*

(i) e.g: Jatukaiv/a, Parai'ara, Kshaiapani, etc. see p. xii.

(2) '^f^R^n ftf^^^^^T 'sr?:^^??! I

(3) On llie age of XTii^ljha/a see below p. XXIX

CliikitsUa. VII.

ige of SiiMUla

H;iasontiic We li.'ive been at some pains in anivini^ at

an approximate age of the composition of tlie Su.sriita, because attempts have been made now and then by a certain school of European scholars to prove that the medical works of the lliiulus are of comparatively recent date. Haas has propounded the bold and astounding theory that the systematic develo[)ment of Hindu medicine took place between the tenth and six- teenth centuries A. D.^ We shall see later on that this is precisely the period which marks the decadence of the Hindu intellect in the field of medicine and mathematics.^ We should not have thought it necessary to discuss seriously the various arguments which Haas adduces in support of his views, some of which Dr. Hoernle curtly disposes of as "an elaborate joke," were it not for the fact that this German critic represents a school, which cannot or will not see anything in India, which can claim originality or antiquity. In his blind zeal to support this theory. Haas has been led into the most egregi- ous blunders. He comes to the strange conclu- sion that the works of Vagbha/a, Madhava and ^"arngadhara and others supply the germs, out of

Many such instances may be cited. For the pinity of the text \ve are much indebted to these commentators.

ii) Kehren wir nunmehr wieder zur historischen Frage zuriick, so konnen wir jetzt einen .\nfanj,'^s — und einen Endpunkt aufstellen, zwischen welche wir mit eini^^er Sicherlieit das Entstehen der systematischen Wissenschafft der Mcdizin bei den Indiern verlegen miissen, niimlirh den Zietraum von der .Mitte des lo. bis Zur Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts. — Ueber die Urspriinge der Indischen Medizin, mit besonderem Bezusf auf Sujruta. Zeit. deut. morg. Ges. XXX. p. 642.

i2\ F/</<' "Ueclinc of Scientific -Spirit" pp. 104-107.

XXI

which the Chardka and Siij>ruta have been elaborated, fori^ettin^' <>r ij^iiorino- that the former repeatedly and oratefiilly acknowledge their in- debtedness to the latter.

Haas is anxious to prove that the Hindus an.itheoiig-

' in nf Indian

borrowed their notions of humoral pathology mdicine. from the Greeks, and that the origines of Indian Medicine are to be looked for in the writings of Galen and Hippocrates ; indeed he goes so far as to suggest that the very name of Sui'ruta is derived from the Arabic word Sukrat ( = So- krates), which is often confounded with Bukrat, the Arabic corruption of the Greek Hippocrates.^ Tiiere is certainly a strange similarity between the chapter on "Initiation" in the Charaka and the "Eides" of ^sculapius as pointed out by Roth, ^ and there is also 'much in common be- tween the doctrine of humoral pathology of the Greeks and the Hindus respectively — suggest- ing that borrowing may have taken place on one side or the other. But the Hindus would seem to have priority of time in their favour.

The doctrine of humoral pathology or at The doctrine

, , , . . c . \ 1 of humoral

any rate the hrst begninmgs oi it can be traced pathology: so far back as the time of the Rigveda}

(1) No less preposterous is the etymology of Ka^-T (Benares), which Haas derives from Kos, the native place of Hippocrates.

(2) Indische Medicin : Charaka, Z. D. M. C, Vol. 26. p. 441. Roth, whose knowledge of the Vedic and, to a certain extent, of the Ayurvedic, literature was encyclopedic, simply points out the analogy and stops short there. M. Lietard, who evidently borrows his infcrmation from Roth's article, jumps at once to the conclusion that the Hindus owe their inspiration to the Greeks 1 — Bull, de I'Acad. de Med. Paris, May 5, 1896 and May 11, 1897.

(3; ^;;= =;'? =;s f^\^T?I sw ^¥ct -ar^^fft l| I. 34. 5. Saya//a's commentary to the above: —

pre-Bu<i<ihisiic EaHv Hiicldliist literature also furnishes us with

in origin. . ' , . .

evidences ot an nv^rained behet in the causation of diseases by the disturbance of the humors. On .^oiiig through the chapter on "Medicaments" in the Mahavagoa. we are often reminded of the contents of the Su.?ruta.^ From Pa//ini also we can glean technical terms as used in the Ayurveda, suggesting that a system of medicine existed in his life time.^ Positive' his- We have thus what amounts to positive

torical evi , . . .

dence. historica! evidence that durmg the life time of

Buddha and even much earlier the doctrine of

(ij One or iwo instances may be quoted here : — "Now at that time a certain Bhikkhu had a superfluity of humors in his body" — Vhiiiya 'J'l'xts : pt. II. p. 60.

"And the blessed one said to the venerable A'nanda : '.A. dis- turbance, .Vnanda, has befallen the humors of the Thathaji^ata's body'— z7;/V/, p. 191.

The various kinds of salts used in medicine as also the eye ointments, to wit, black coUyrium [stibium], rasa ointment [rasa«jana], sota ointment [SrotawjananJ Sec. ibid. p. 50, are exactly the same as prescribed in the Suj-ruta and other works on Hindu Medicine. iSee also under aJijanas, p. 52 of this book).

Note specially the reference to Ttifi/iikainina which is a Pali corruption of the Sanskrit ^nistikarma :

"Now at that time the Chhabbaggiya Bhikkhus, since a surgical operation had been forbidden by the Blessed One, used a clyster."

No body has yet been bold enough to suggest that in the Mahavagga Greek influence can be traced.

(2) The very terms Ayurveda and Ayurvedika /'. e. expert in the Ayurveda occur in Pani//i. We give below a list of some of the technical terms.

^s^fi^:'?im <i.\X\<m. ; ^flif^RTH i r< Pm ^Tf^«i : sh 'ji ^ : jti^u^o ;

Immoral pathology and the Ayurvedic method of treatment were in vogue. ^

In the Frtr////^^?5of Katyayana also (4th to 3rd century B. C.) the three humours of vat a (air), pitta (bile) and sleshinan (phlegm) are ranked totrether.^

Regarding' the age of the Vinaya Text, Rhys Davids and Oldenburg say :

"Tiie Vibhanga and the Twenty Khandhakas were at that time (circa 350 B.C.) already held in such high repute that no one ventured to alter them ; a sanctity of this kind is not acquired without the lapse of a consideiable time : and we think it is not going too far to say, First]}', that these books must have been in'exis- tence, as we now have them, within thirt}' )'ears, ear- lier or later, of, at least, 360 or 370 B.C." (Intro, p. xxiii).

It is therefore evident that almost before the birth of Hippocrates, the Hindus had elaborated a system of medcine based upon the humoral pathology. And yet Hass would have it that the Greeks, in the field of medicine as in several others, were the "pioneers and the first teachers of the world. "^

(i) The Jivaka Komarabhachcha, who treats Buddha, derives his surname from "kaumarabhr/tya," a technical term for one of the eight divisions {iista.noas) of Ayurveda, meaning ireaiment of infants. Vide the Mahavagga., Ft. 11, p. 174.

In Aj-vaghosha's Life of Buddha we also read : "Atri, the/i'/shi, not understanding the sectional treatise on medicine, afterwards begat .'V'treya, who was able to control diseases." — Deal's trans. p. II. This A'treya (Funarvasu) is very probably the same sage who taught Agnivei-a.

(2) Weber's Hist. Sansk. Lit. p. 266, Eng. trans, ed. 1892.

(3) "VVenn aber einmal der Boden von der Vorstellunggeraumt ist, dass die Araber den Suj-ruta und Charaka schon im 9. Jalirh. gekannt haben miissen, und wenn auf der andern .Seite sich herausstellte, dass die Theorien der indischen .Autoritalen in ihren Grund/u^en mit denen des (ialen ubereinstininiten. so btunde

remarks.

CnciiKimg The Ciipacity of a nation must be judi^ed by

what it has indejicndently achieved in the several helds of knovvlediJe and branches of literature — Mathematics, including Arithmetic and Algebra, Geometry and Astronomy ; Phonetics, Philology, Grammar, Law, Philosophy, and Theology.

Cantor, the historian of mathematics, was so much struck with the resemblance between Greek geometry and the 5ulva sutras that he, as is natural to a European, concluded that the latter were influenced by the Alexandrian school ofHer<j(2i5 B. C). The .S'ulva sutras, however, date from about the 8th century B. C, and Dr. Thibaut has shown that the geometrical theorem of the 47th proposition, Bk. I., which tradition ascribes to Pythagoras, was solved by the Hindus at least two centuries earlier. ^ thus con- hrming the conclusion of v. Schroeder that the Greek philosopher owed his inspiration to India. Nor must we forget that the most scientific grammar that the world has ever produced, with its alphabet based on thoroughly phonetic principles, was composed in India about the 7th or 8th century B. C.^ As Professor Macdonell

remarks : "we Europeans 2500

years later, and in a scientific age, still employ an alphabet which is not only inadequate to represent all the sounds of our language, but

nichls der Annahme iin Wej^e, class audi auf dieseni Fclde, wie auf so vielen andern, die Griechen wieder das balinl)rechende Volk und die ersten Lehrineister der Welt gewesen sind." — Z.D.M.G. Vol. 30. p. 670.

(1) Journ. As. .Soc. Beng. 1875, p. 227.

(2) See Goldsliicker on Ta/zini : his pla* c in Sanskrit Litera- ture.

even preserves the random order in which vowels and consonants are jumbled up as they were in the Greek adaptation of the primitve Semitic arrangement of 3000 years ago."

It is curious to reflect that the upholders of the "Greek Culture" are often found ready, thouoh unconsciouslv, to twist and torture facts and conclusions to serve their own purpose, and reserve to themselves the benefit of doubt as regards date ; but whenever the priority of the Hindus is unquestionable, an appeal is made to the theory of common origin and independent parallelism of growth.^ These scholars seem to smart under a sense of injury if they have to confess that Europe owes an intellectual debt to India, hence many a futile attempt to explain away positive historical facts. ^ It may not be superfluous to add here that Alberuni, before he took to the studv of Sanskrit, entertained

(i) Cp. "une affirmation nouv^elle de I'unite de I'espril humain. Chaque fois que rhomme au meme degree de culture se retrouve dans le memes circonstances, il tend k penser, a croire, a sentir, k agir de la meme fagon." — Cioblet d' Alviella on "Classical Influ- ence in Literary and Scientific Culture in India'' ; Bull, de r Academie Royale de Belgique, 3rd. Series, T. 34, pp. 484 et seq.

(2) The late Prof. Maxniiiller, who always lield the balance evenly in deciding between tlie rival claims of the Ea-^t and the West, in his last work, thus gives expression to the European sentiments : "In some respects, and particularly in respect to the

greatest things India has as much to teach us as (ireece

and Rome, nay, I should say more. We must not forget, of course, that we are the direct intellectual heirs of the Greeks, and that our philoFophical currency is taken from the capital left to us by them. Our palates are accustomed to the food which they have supplied to us from our very childhood, and lienre whatever comes to us now from the thought-mines of India is generally put aside as merely curious or strange, whether in languaj^e, mythology, reli- gion, or philosopy. — Auld Lang Syne : second sries, p. 161.

notions similar to those of Haas. d'Alviella and others, but after his intimate acquaintance with the literciture of the Hindus he had to change or modify his views. We are here reminded of the essay written by Dugald Stewart "in which he endeavoured to prove that not only Sanskrit literature but also Sanskrit language was a forgery made by the crafty Brahmans on the model of Greek after Alexander's conquest" (INIacdonell).

Those who attempt to prove that India owes lier civilisation^or at any rate such advance and progress in the arts and sciences which make civiHsation worth the name — to Hellenic influence seem to be only one degree removed from a Dugald Stewart. The analogy After all, we are afraid, too much has been 'S'tiian^'reii "i^^^^^ of tile rcsemblancc between the Greek and the Hindu theory and practice of medicine. The analogy is more superficial than real, and does not seem to bear a close examination. The Hindu system is based upon the three humors of the air, the bile and the phlegm, whilst that of the Greek is founded upon four humors, namely, the blood, the bile, the water and the phlegm — a cardinal point of difference.* Vaghhata. Next to the Charaka and the Suj'ruta, the

medical authority, who is held in the highest estimation throuohout India, is Vaobha/a, the author of Astdilgahridaya {lit. heart or the kernel of the eight limbs or divisions of the Ayurveda).

(i) Cf. "II y a dans le corps quatre humeurs : le sang, la bile, I'eau et le phlegnie." — CLuvres d'Hippociate, T. vii. p. 475, ed. Littre, (1851). Again : "Les quatre humeurs, sang, bile, plilegme et eav!, j'ai demf)ntre comment et pourquoi toutes s'augmentent dans le corps par les aliments et Ics boissons." — Ibid, p. 557.

Indeed, in many parts of the Deccan the very names of Charaka and Su^vruta were forgotten, and Vagbha/a is looked up to as a revealed author, and this is one of the reasons which led Haas to conclude that the former succeeded, and owed their inspiration to, the latter^ (see ante p. xx).

The treatise of Vagbha/a may be regarded as an epitome of the Charaka and the Su^ruta with some gleanings from the works of Bhela and Harita, and contains little or nothing that is original.^ In Surgery alone the author intro- duces certain modifications and additions. Mineral and natural salts chiefly figure in the prescriptions along with vegetable drugs ; mercury is inci- dentally mentioned, but in such a perfunctory manner that it would not be safe to conclude that any compounds thereof are referred to. There are, however, a few metallic [)reparations recommended in it, which would presuppose an advanced knowledge of chemical processes.

The opening salutation of Astaiiga, which is adressed either to Buddha or some Buddhistic emblem, clearly reveals the religious faith of its author ; there is a tradition current among the learned Pundits of S. India, "that Vagbha/a. formerly a Brahmin, was persuaded by a Baud- dha priest to adopt his religion, which he embraced in the latter part of his life." ^ Inter-

(i) An die Stelle des seines V'orranyes Ijeraublen Su.sriita vviirde ich unbedenklicli das .-Vsh/ai/galv/daya sctzcn. — Hip|)(jkrates und die indische Medizin des Mittelalters. Z. D. I\I.(i., Vol. 31, p. 649.

(2) See, liowever, ante p. xviii. foot note.

(3) I'reface to Vaidyaknsaiiihtsindhii. p. 6.

nal evidence also tull\- supports our author's proclivities towards Buddhism. ^ and he seems to have Nourished at a time when the religion of 6"akya Muni held its own in India. The Chinese pilgrim I'Tsing speaks of a compiler of the eight divisions of the Ayurveda — possibly this may refer to Vagbha/a. ^

Cordier, following no doubt the authority of Vaidvakasabdasindim, states that, accordino- to Rajatarangi/^i, Vagbha/a lived at the time of King Jayasiwha (i 196-1218 A. D) ; this view is quite untenable, and it is one of the many in- stances which would go to prove that Kalha;/a in writing his Chronicles had often to draw largely upon vague traditions, and hence his dates are to be accepted cum grano salis. ^

Csoma de Kords was the first to announce

(i) See the numerous passages quoted by Dr. Kunte in liis Introduction to V'agbhaAi, pp. 14-15.

The remarkable passage wfe have cited above, in whicli our author asserts the right of every man to think for himself p. xviii >, is quite in keeping with the rationalistic age in which he lived, and he further observes in the same place that a medicine will have its efficacy all the same by whomsoever it is prescribed, be he Brahma himself or any body else. It should be commended to those who are lost in admiration over the "keen edged intellect" of 5awkara, who does not find a better weapon to fight with his opponents than an appeal to the Vedas and other scriptures, see foot note to p. 107.

^fTf W'SIT HR^ "S^^ ^T

Uiiara. XL. «5. 86.

(2) "These eight arts formerly existed in eight books, but lately a man epitomised them and made them into one bundle." — I'Tsing : Records of Ihe Buddhist Religion by Takakasu, p. 128.

(3J The eminent Sanskrit scholar, the late A. M. Barua, in

that the Thibetan Taiijiir ccjiitains amoiio others translations of the Charaka, the Su^ruta, and the Vagbha/a. ^ Georg Huth, who has recently critically examined the contents of the Tanjur, concludes that the most recent date at which it can be placed is 8th century A. D. ^ This is in aoreement with the fact that the Vaobha/a was one of the medical works translated by order of the Caliphs. But no positive informa- tion as regards the most distant date is yet available ; ^ Kunte, from internal evidence, is in- clined to place him "at least as early as the second century before Christ."

That Hindu Pharmacopoeia in the 7th century ran on the lines of the Charaka and the Su^ruta, macopa-ia in and did not include any elaborate metallic pre- imy. parations is evident from the testimonies of Va;/a and of the Chinese pilgrim, I-Tsing. Thus, we read in the Harsha-Charita : "among their number, however, was a young doctor of Punar- vasu's race named Rasayana, a youth of about eighteen years of age, holding an hereditary position in the royal household, in which he had been cherished like a son by the King.

discussing the age of Kshirasvami discards the authority of Rdja- tarangini and observes : — I do hot see any vaHd reason for regard- ing it as a historical authority for all its statements and the more I learn the more my view is confirmed." The name of Vagbha/a, however, does not occur in Stein's edition of Rdj.^ which may be pronounced as the most reliable that has yet appeared. (i) Journ. Asiatic Soc. xxxvii. (1835).

(2) Zeit. deut morg. Ges, T. Ixix, pp. 279-284.

(3) Regarding the bibliography of Vagbha/a, see two short monographs, by Dr. Palmyr Cordier ; also Julius Jolly : Zur Quellenkunde der indischen Medizin, I. 'Vagbha/a.', Zeit. deut. Morg. Ges. LIV. pp. 260-74.

He had niaslered Ayurveda in all its ei.L;ht divisions, and, being naiurally ot an acute intellect, was perfectly familiar with the diagno- sis of diseases :"^ I-Tsing" also records: "I made a successful study in medical science, but as it is not my proper vocation, I have finally given it up"^ In his rules on giving medicine he further lays stress on abstinence and fasting, and recommends such drugs as the myrobalans, ginger, pepper, liquorice, etc. In both instances, in vain do we look for any metallic salts, which form the leading features of the later Tantric and latro- Chemical Schools.

CHAPTER III The Transitional Period

Circa 800 — mo A.D. V/vVXDA AND CHAKKAPAAI

We now come upon a period which determines the [>arting of ways in the progress of Hindu medicine. Hitherto we have been chiefly concerned with herbs and simples and a few readily available products of the mineral king- dom. About the year 1050 A. D. Chakrapa;n Datta, himself a learned commentator oi both the Charaka and Suj'rata, wrote the cele- brated medical treatise which bears his name. Since the days of Vagbha/a, metallic prepa- rations had begun slowly to creep into use, and at the time of Chakrapawi and his predecessor Vr^'nda, they had so fully established their claims

(i) Cowell and Thomas' Trans, pp 143-144.

(2) Takakasu : Records of the Bmiiihist Rclii^ion,^. 128.

that they could no longer be ignored. Thus we find from the tenth century and downward every medical work more or less recommending com- pounds of metals which can only be synthetically prepared.

It should not, however, be forgotten that Suj-ruta at times shows a knowledge of pharmacy, unsurpassed in the later Hindu medicine.

Although Chakrapa/n belonged to the Brah- manical creed, his writings show a decided lean- ing towards Budhism. Thus Maghadha itself is named ?T^^f^IT%lT or the country of the Maha- bodhi ; we have also such expressions as ^tf^- ^'^'TWf^, l^T^ ^^, ^kfTO^^I This might well be expected ; for Chakrapa//i's father was physician to king Nayapala, the successor of Mahipala, who ascended the throne about 1040 A. D.^

Both Vrmda and Chakrapa/zi mention Nag- arjuna as an authority, and they follow closely in the footsteps of Charaka,Su5ruta and Vagbha/a ; but at the same time they are amenable to the influences brought to bear upon medicine by the Tantras.

(i) The author, fortunately for future historians, has given an account of himself in a colophon : —

"The author of this work is .S"ri C.p., who belongs to the family of Lodhravali and who is younger brother of Bhanu and the son of Narayana, the superintendent of the kitchen of the King of Gour." Regarding the date of Nayapala, vide Cunningham's Archaeolo^s:ical Survey of India, HI. p, 119, also Journ. As. Soc. LX. Pt. I. p., 4'S, Life of Ati.fa by S. C. Dasa.

Indeed, they go so far as to recommend the uttering of the cabahstic interjections of the votaries of the Tantric cult with a view to increase the efficacy of some of their prepara- tions. * (see ante p. i.)

Dr. Hoernle observes : "it would be satis- factory to be able to discover what the sources were on which Chakrapawi drew for his com- pilation ; they are not specified anywhere, I believe, in his work." ^ It is not easy to account for the above remarks, seeing that Chakrapawi distinctly mentions that he has modelled his work on the Siddka-yoga of V;/nda,^ and that he draws largely upon the Charaka, the Su^ruta and the Vagbha/a, all of whom he quotes verbatim and at leniith.

The religion of 6'akyamuni inculcates the alleviation of distress and suffering, both moral and physical, as one of the essential articles of faith, and hence we find throughout Budhistic India hospitals attached to the nume- rous monasteries for the treatment of man and

^"T ^rm f^*n?i^T'j ^»?ft T=^ r^ -^^^ qf^«f^'

roDiia ed. p. 518.

(2) Jouin. A-. S,)r. l)jng. LX. pt. i. p. 150.

(3) g: fftiqiJTfsrfj^fnfv^^ f%iq1»lT-

beast alike. ^ It would also appear that ins- criptions were engraved on rock pillars giving- recipes for the treatment of diseases. Thus both V/'/nda and Chakrapa//i speak of a formula for a collyrium as inscribed on a stone j)i]lar by Nagarjuna at Pataliputra : 'Tr'TT^Sw'T f^f^cTT ^PJ^

Chakrapa/^i bases his work on that of V/v'nda, i''"^3aWf f^^'e

of \ /vncia.

who again follows closely the order and the pathology of the iVialdiia of Madhavkara. ^ It necessarily follows that V^'/ncia was a recognised authority at least one or two centuries before the time of Chakrapa/n and that the former was preceded by the Nidaiia by at least as many centuries and thus we have internal evidence of the existence of the Nidana in the eighth century as the lowermost limit — a date which is further corroborated by the fact that the Nidana was one of the medical treaties translated by order of the Caliphs.

As resi^ards alchemy in India in the Xlth cen- Alchemy in

^^ ■' the eleventh

tury, we cannot do better than quote in extenso cenun-y. Alberuni, who was well versed in Arabic and Greek astronomy, chemistry etc.

"The Hindus do not pa}' particular attention to alciiemy, but no nation is entire!}' free from it, and one nation has more bias for it than another, which must not be construed as proving' intelligence or ignorance; for we find that many intelligent people are entirely given to alchemv, whilst igncn-ant people ridicule the

(i) "Everywhere the King Piyadasi, beloved of" the Gods, has provided medicines of two sorts, medicines for men and medicines for animals." Edict II. of Ajoka.

(2,1 V'rinda himself admits tiiis :

5

art and its adepts. Those iiitellisjent people, though exulting b«jisterousl)' over their make-believe science, are not to be blamed for occupying themselves with alchemy, for their motive is simply excessive eagerness for acquiring fortune and for avoiding misfortune. Once a sage was asked wh)- scholars alwa\s flock to the doors of the rich, whilst the rich are not inclined to call at the doors of scholars. 'The scholars,' he answerd, 'are well aware of the use of mone}-. but the rich are ignorant of the nobility of science.' On the other hand, ignorant people are not to be praised, although the\- behave quite quietl\-, simply because the)- abstain from alchem\-, for their motives are objectionable ones, rather practical result of innate ignorance and stupidity than anything else.

"The adepts in this art try to keep it concealed, and shrink back from intercourse with those who do not belong to them. Therefore, I have not been able to learn from the Hindus which methods they follow in this science and what element they principally use, whether a mineral or an animal or a vegetable one. I only heard them speaking of the process of siibliiiiatioii, of calcitiatiott, of ajialvsis, and of the tcaxitig of t(iU\ which they call in their language tdlaka, and so I guess that they incline towards the mineroiogical method of alchemy.

"The\- have a science similar to alchem)' which is quite peculiar to them. The}' call it Rasdyana. a word composed with rasa i.e. gold.' It means an art which is restricted to certain operations, drugs, and compound medicines, most of which are taken from plants. Its principles restore the health of those who were ill beyond hope, and give back \'Outh to fading old age, so that people become again wdiat they were in the age near puberty ; white hair becomes black again, the keenness of the senses is restored as well as the capacity for juvenile agility, and even

(i) See, however, pp. 43-44, for the meaning of the term "rasa."

for cohabitation, and the life of the people in this world is even extended to a long period. And why not •? Have we not already mentioned on the autho- rity of Patanjali that one of the methods leading to liberation is Rasayana ? What man would hear this, being inclined to take it for truth, and not dart off into foolish jo}- and not honour the master of such a wonderful art by popping the choicest bit of this meal into his mouth?" Sachau's Trans. Vol. i. pp. 187-88.

CHAPTER IV The Tantric Period

Circa iioo A.D. — ijoo A.D.

Before we proceed further it would be advis-

1 1 , , 1 1 1 1 • • r 1 Orisjin of I he

able to take a nasty glance at the origin 01 the Tannic Cuit. Tantric Cult, as Indian Alchemy very largely derives its colour and flavour from it. In almost every country the progress of chemistry can be traced to medicine and the belief in the artificial gold-making, — -the search after elixir vitce and the philosopher's stone. In India, however, these ends have played a secondary part in promoting a knowledge of the chemical processes. Here the origin of astronomy, geometry and anatomy is to be sought in the exigencies of reliafious rites. ^ No less is the case with alchemv.

(i) Cf. the opening remarks l)y Dr. Thibaiit on the Siilva- stliras : —

"It is well known that not only Indian life with all its social and political institutions has been at all times under the mighty sway of religion, but that we are also led back to religious belief and worship when we try to account for the origin of research in those departments of knowledge which the Indians have cultivated with such remarkable success. At first sight, few traces of this origin may be visible in the Aastras of the later times, but looking

We have already seen how the Atharva-i'cda deals almost exclusiveh' in charms, sorcery, exor- cism of diseases by means of amulets and so on. It is sometimes supposed that the A.V. represents the latest of the Vedas. This is evidently a misimpression.^ The truth seems to be that human frailty has always fought shy of the tedious and laborious methods of gaining an object. The spiritual hankering as foreshadow- ed in the prayers of the Rik, and lat-er on so fully developed in the Upanishads, represents only the aspirations of the few cultured 7?/shis, The bulk of the people have always sighed for a royal road to salvation, hence the necessity for an A. V. ; as Emerson appositely says in his essay on Demonology, "the history of man is a series of conspiracies to win from Nature some- advantage without paying for it." Atharvanic rites have therefore more or less held sway over mankind in every age and clime. As the Aryan conquerors began to settle in India and came into frequent cantact with the aborigines, they had unconsciously to imbibe some of the gross superstitions (^f the latter, and thus in course of time a superstructure of monstrous growth sprang up, ready to swallow even the purer and more orthodox creed. Hence the protests recorded from time to time in the Mahabaluata

closer we may always discern the connecting thread." — Journ. As. Soc. (1875) ^o'- XLIW part i. p. 227.

(1) As Bloomtield remarks : — "There is no proof that even the oldest parts of the y?. V. or the most ancient Hindu tradition accessible historically, exclude the existence of the class of writings entitled to any of the names given to the Atharvan charms." Intro, to A. \'. p. XXX.

and in the law-books aoainst the vuloarity of the aims of the A. V. and the refusal to accept its authority (see ante p. v). But on the other hand, by virtue of its profound hold upon popular beliefs and because indispensable sciences like medicine and astrology are Atharvanic by distinction, the fourth \ eda has always retained a considerable following.^ If we turn to Europe in the middle ages, we find the pro- fessors of the "black art" sharing a fate similar

to the priests of the Atharvanic rites, now

openly received in the bosom of the holy church

now anathematised and flung into prison.^

In the Sanskrit Literature whenever there is any reference to sorcery or magic, it is generally laid to the account of the A. l\ But in the course of time the worship of Siva, came into vogue, which incorporated much that was non- Aryan in character, and which seems to have got blended with A. V. rites as modified by changes and requirements of the time. The original inhabitants, "the Dasyus are described in the Rigveda as non-sacrificing, unbelieving and impious. They are also doubtless meant by the phallus-worshippers mentioned in two passages. The Aryans in course of time came to adopt this form of cult. There are many passages in the Alah^ibhdrata showing that

(i) Bloomfield : — Intro, to A. V. xlvi.

(2) This is exemplified in Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon The former rose to be a Bishop but "minder gliicklich oder un- vorsichtiger als Albertus Magnus, entging Roger Baco der Verfol- gung als Zauberer nicht. Er wurde in Oxtord von seinen eigenen Klosterbriidern in das (lefiingniss geworfen.'' — Gesch.d. Client. 1. 63.

S'lVA was already venerated under the emblem of the phallus when that epic was composed." * Tantric rites BvtheX'IIth ccuturv A. D., we find 5'iva's

prevalent in ■'

the seventh worship well established in India. In the life

century.

of King- Harsa by Va//a there is a graphic description of a weird ceremony performed by a Saiva saint named Bhairavacharyya. "Seated on the breast of a corpse which lay supine, anointed with red sandal and arrayed in garlands, clothes and ornaments, all of red, himself with a black turban, black unguents, black amulet, and black garments, he had begun a fire rite in the corpse's mouth where a flame was burn- ing."^ In the drama of Mdlatlmdcihava by Bhavabhiiti (690 A. D.) we have also references to similar rites.

We have here the outlines of what has been known latterly as the Tantric Cult — a curious admixture of alchemical processes on the one hand, and grotesque and obscene and sometimes revolting rites on the other — all centred round the worship of ^iva and his consort Parvatl. The sidelight which is thrown in the life of King Harsa and the graphic account left by his contemporary, the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang, enable us to draw a picture of N. India in the Vllth century A. D. It has hetherto been taken almost for granted that Buddhism was expell- ed from India by the persecution (A the Brah- mins of the Renaissance period. There may have been zealous bigots who now and then went the length of hunting down Buddhists ;

(i) Macdonell : Hist. Sansk. Lit. p. 153.

(2) Cowell and Tlioma>' Trans, of the Harsa-chixrita p. 92.

The causes which brouizht

but the concensus of testimonies seems to be that both the people and the princes generally maintained an attitude of philosophic toleration towards the creed of 6"akyamuni even so late as the Xlth century A, D.^ The causes which brought about the extinction of Buddhism in ^.^""^ ^^"^ ^'^

•^^ Unction

India worked from ivithin. The purity of life, and the austerity of practices enjoined on the followers of the creed, became in the long run irksome. The monasteries degenerated into hot beds of corruption, so much so that the semi- ofBuddhism. savage Mussulman conquerors felt little compunc- tion in putting the inmates thereof to the sword. Hinduism also, which has been noted in all ages for its assimilative and elastic character, swal- lowed up the remnants of the Buddhists by acknowledging the founder of their religion to be an Avatdra or Incarnation of Vish;/u.

(i) Cf. The anual report of the Asiatic Soc. to hand : —

"The copper-plate of Madanapala which has just been re- ferred to is interesting also from a sociological point of view. We know that all the Pala kings were followers of the Buddhist reli- gion, and that it was during their reign that Buddhism flourished for the last time in India. Now the grant recorded in the plate \\as made by Madanapala to a Brahman as a dakslihia or hono- rarium for having read the Mahabharata to the queens of the king's harem. This is one more fact, in addition to others pre- viously known, showing the intimate connexion that existed in the time of those Buddhist kings between Buddhism and Hindu- ism, a connexion that resulted in the former losing more and more its ground against the latter, and that thus prepared the way for the final destruction of Buddhism by the Muhammedan in- vadors." p. 26. Similar evidence is also afforded by Rajtar. e.g.

"Kalha//a does not hesitate to refer repeatedly to the Bodhi- sattvas or to Buddha himself as tlie comforters of all beings, the embodiments of perfect charity and nobility of feeling. They are to him beings of absolute goodness "who do not feel anger even against the. sinner, but in patience render him kindness.,, — Steins Intro, p. 8.

xl

We have seen that the A. J', rites as also the Tantric cults cover almost identical ground ; both had their origin in tlie attempts at popular- ising the religion among tlie masses by appeal- ino- to the baser or the less refined elements of human nuture. An enormous bulky literature has thus sprung up representing this corrupt and eftete outgrowth of Brahminism.^ There are Tantras— however two clistiuct classes of Tantras — Brah-

Brahniinican(i . . i n i u • • it ■ • i

Biiddhisiic mnuc and Buddhistic — dealing in magic, al- chemy, sorcery, and allied subjects, which will claim our attention here. The causes which favoured the rise and progress of the Hindu Tantras equally contributed to the development of the Buddhistic,^ only in the latter, instead of SW'd and Parvati, a Buddha, a Tathagata or an Avalokitesvara is often adciressed in the in- vocation as the source and fountain of all know- ledoe. We have also a class of Tantras which is an admixture of Buddhistic and ,ii'aiva cult. A notable example of which is afforded by the JMahakala Taiitra.^ RasarainakaTa, the author-

(i) Tantras grew up in Ka^niir also : "Tantric cult which in Kajmlr is still closely connected with .Saiva worship, seems also to have been well known to Kalha//a." Stein's Intro, to Kajtar. p. 80.

^2) Cf. "Pour des esprits grossiers et ignorants, de tels livres ont certainenient plus de valeur que les legendes morales des pre- miers temps du Ikiddhisme. lis promettent des avantages tem- porels el immediats ; ils satisfont entin k ce besoin de supersti- tions, a cet amour des practiques devotes par lequel s'exprime le sentiment religieux en Asie, et auquel ne repondait quimpar- faitement la simplicite du Buddhisme primitif." Burnoufs — Intro, a Phist. du Buiidliisiiw Iiiii. p. 466. Regarding liuddhistic Tantras and their relationship to .Saiva Tantras, the reader is referred to Burnoufs admirable exposition loc. cit.j.

\-}y) Inlro. Hist. Biiddh. hid., p. 480.

xli

ship of which is ascribed to Nagarjuna, also belongs to this category ; this work as well as Rasdrnava, a Tantra of the 6"aiva cult, will claim our special attention, as they embody much valuable information on chemistry.

What is it that made these Tantras the re- positories of chemical knowledge ? The answer is given in the words of Rasavnava (lit. sea of mercury) itself, which extols the virtues of mer- cury and its various preparations : —

"As it is used by the best devotees for the highest end, it is called pdracia (quicksilver)."

"Begotten of my limbs, it is, O goddess, equal to me. It is called rasa because it is the exudation of my body."

"It may be urged that the literal interpretation of these words is incorrect, the liberation in this life being explicable in another manner. This objection is not allowable, liberation being set out in the six systems as subsequent to the death of the body, and upon this there can be no reliance, and consequently no activity to attain to it free from misgivings. This is also laid down in the same treatise.

"Liberation is declared in the six systems to follow the death of the body."

"Such liberation is not cognised in perception like an emblic myrobalan fruit in hand."

"Therefore a man should preserve that bod)' by means of mercury and of medicaments."

A few more typical extracts are given below which will throw further light on the subject ;

"The body, some one may say, is seen to be pe- rishable, how can then its permanency be effected ? Think not so, it is replied, for though the bod\-. as a complexus of six sheaths or wrappers of the soul, is dissoluble, }'et the bod\- as created by Hara and Gauri under the names of mercur)' and mica. ma>' be perdurable. Thus it is said in the Rcrsa/iridava : — 6

"Those who without quitting tlieir bodies have attained to new ones through the influence of llaia and Gouri (mercui)' and mica), are to be praised as Ras(7sidd//n (alchemists). All luafitras are at their services."

"The ascetic, therefore, who aspires to li- bercition in this life, should first make to hiinselt a glorified body. And inasnuicli as mercury is produced by the creative ccjiijunction of Hara and Gauri, and mica is produced from Gauri, mercury and mica are severally identified with Hara and Gauri in the verse : —

"Mica is th\- seed, and mercurj- is my seed ;

"The combination of the two, () goddess, is des- tructive of death and poverty."

"There is very little to say about the matter. In the Rascsz'a>-asidd/i(hifa manv amono- the oods, the Daityas. the Munis and mankind, are de- clared to have attained to liberation in this life by acquiring a divine body through the efficacy of quicksilver."

"Certain gods, Mahe.ya and others ; certain Dait)'as, Kavya (Sukracharva), and others ; certain sages, Bala- khilyas and others ; certain kings, Somesvara and others ; Govinda-Bhagavat, Govindana>aka, Charva/i, Kapila, Vyali and others — these alchemists, having attained to mercurial bodies and therewith identified are liberated though alive."

"The meaning of this, as unfolded by 6"iva to Parvati, is as follows : —

"The preservation of body, O Supreme goddess ! is obtained by mercury and by (the suppression of) breath.^ Mercur>-, when swooned, cures diseases and

(i) Here Cowell and (ioiigh translate tRf simply as "air. We are inclined to thinlc, however, that it is used in the sense of r/<'.f///i.' f^tc //t'.f/'/A" — TlTWr^TIT of Yoga philosophy.

xliii

when killed, restores lite to the dead. Mercur)' and air when confined, enable a man, O goddess, to fly about.

"The S2V007ti?io- s/a/e of mercury is thus des- cribed : —

"The)- sa\' quicksilver to be swooning when it is thus characterised. —

"Of \arious colours, and free from excessive fluidit}- or mobilit}' (see p. 41).

"A man should regard that quicksilver as dead, in which the absence of the following properties is noticed. —

"Wetness, thickness, brightness, heaviness, mobility. "The Jixed condition is described in another place as follows : —

"The character of fixed quicksilver is that it is : — "Continuous, readily fusible, efificacious, pure, heavy, and that it can revert to its own natural state." Cf. p. 136. "Some one may urge : If the creation of mer- cury by Hara and Gauri were proved, it might be allowed that the body could be made per- manent ; but how can that be proved ? The objection is not allowable, inasmuch as that can be proved by eighteen modes of elaboration. "Thus it is stated by authorities : —

"Eighteen modes of elaboration are to be carefully discriminated."

"In the first place, as pure in every process, for perfecting the adepts."

And these methods of elaboration are enu- merated thus : —

"Sweating, rubbing, swooning, fixing, dropping, coercion, restraining."

"Kindling, going, falling into globules, pulverising, covering."

"Internal flux, external flux, burning, colouring, and pouring."

xliv

"And eatin*^ it by partinijancl piercing it. are the

eighteen modes of treating" quicksilver."

"These treatments have been described at length by Go\inda-Bhagavat. Sarvajna-raniejr- vara and the other ancient authorities, and are here omitted to avoid prolixity.

"By the science of mercury is to be understood not only a branch of chemistry alone, but it is also to be applied to salvation by means of ciehavedha. Rasar;/ava says : —

"Y'ou have, O God, explained the killing of metals. Now tell me that process of dehavedha h\ means of which aerial locomotion is effected. Mercury is equally to be applied to metals and body. First make its ex- periment on metals and then [having thus gained experience] apply it to the body."^

"Emancipation of a man when alive, as declared in the mercurial system, O subtile Thinker ! is (to be found) in the tenets of other schools though holding different methods of arguments. It is according to all sacred texts to be known by knowledge. None, when not alive, is likely to know the knowable and therefore a man must live (to know the knowable)."

(i) We have in some places adopted Cowell and Gough's trans, of Sarvadarsanasamaoraha., but the rendering appears to be faulty in many instances, notably in the above .doka. The original runs as follows : —

?T^T ^% fT?JT tt '^'^^'. ^<n): ^fTT I

'<^ ^^ q69d ^T^Tt% fl^t5T^f^ II

/. C. I'idyasdj^a7-irs Ed. (1858). Here Cowell and Gough render >Jig^r?m as "eulogistic of the metal :'" and ^t? ''^^ "blood.'' Regarding >?Tq^T^; ^ee d. 104

xlv

"It is mercury alone that can make the body undecaying and immortal, as it is said : —

"Only this supreme medicament can make the body undecaying and imperishable."

"Why describe the efficacy of this metal ? Its value is proved even by seeing it, and by touch- ing it, as it is said in the Rasar;^ava : —

"By means of seeing it, touching it, eating it, re- membering it, worshipping it and bestowing it upon others, six kinds of highest merits are attained,

"Equal merit accrues from seeing mercury as ac- crues from seeing all the phallic emblems."

"On earth, those at Kedara, and all others what- soever."

"In another place we read : —

"The adoration of the sacred quicksilver is more beatific than the worship of all the phallic emblems at Ka^'i and elsewhere."

"Inasmuch as there is attained thereb}- enjoyment, health, exemption from decay, and immortality."

"The sin of disparaging mercury is also set out : —

"The adept on hearing quicksilver heedlessly dis- paraged should recall quicksilver to mind."

"He should at once shun the blasphemer, who is by his blasphemy for ever filled with sin." Cf under R. R. S. p. 43-

The quotations given above are from the Sarvadarsanasamoraha, or a "Review of the different systems of Hindu Philosophy" by Madhavacharya, prime minister to Bukka I. of Vijayanagara, and who was elected in 1331 A. D. head-abbot of the monastery of Sringeri. Of the sixteen philosophical systems current in the 14th century during the author's lifetime, Rasesvaradarsana or the "Mercurial System" is

xlvi

one. From the tact tluit Rasdriiva is quoted in it as a standard work on this subject it would be safe to conclude that it must have been written at least a century or two earlier, say sometime about the 1 2th century. In Amarasiwha's Lexicon (ca. looo A. D.)* the following synonyms of pa- rada (mercury) are given, namely, chapala, rasa, and suta ; but in the vocabulary of Visvakosa by Mahe.vvara (1188 A. D.), haravija (lit. semen of 5iva) is added thereto. Now in the Tantric literature, of which the philosophy of mercury is the main outcome, quicksilver is regarded as the generative principle, and directions are given for making a mercurial phallus of S'wa. We may. therefore, take it that the Tantras which deal in mercurial preparations, had their origin sometime about the iith to 12th century A. D. It would not be justifiable however to hold that the Tantras did not exist before this time. The age of Altliough wc have maintained above that IkliiiJ'"whh the alchemical Tantras had their origin about mercury ^.j^^^ j j j.j^ ceutury A. D, it would be safer to

conclude that the Tantric processes had sprung into existence long before this time, but that they did not acquire sufficient importance to force the attention of the physicians, as we have seen above that the R. F. and the A. V. existed almost side by side though the latter was held for a long time in contempt and was not quoted in the orthodox treatises.

One very strong argument in favour of much older dates of the above Tantras is that Madha-

(^i) Regarding the dale of Amarasiwha see also p. 80.

xlvii

vacharya, a very cautious and discriminatino writ- er, whom we have quoted above, describes the works he cites, including Rasar/zava, as "ancient authorities" in hishfetime (see above p. xliv).

We have already had occasion to draw atten- Earliest his-

. . torical evi-

tion to tiie non-mention oi metallic preparations, ck-p.ceofthe

, , ^ , ^ . , . . (. internal use

notably of those ot mercury, in the writings ot of mercury. Va;/a and I'Tsing (p. xxix). But this is another apt illustration of the dangers of the aTgtimentuni ex sileiitio. In the Vrihat sanihitd of Varaha- mihira (d. 587 A. D.) there is mention of iron and mercury among- the aphrodisiacs and ton- ics ; ^ and this historical evidence is of great use to us in deciding the age of the Tantras, deal- ing with mercury.

Contemporary collateral records by foreign writers go to corroborate the date of the alchemical Tantras tentatively fixed by us, as the name and fame of mercurial remedies as used by the Hindu yogis had spread far and wide. The following two extracts will suffice :

"Tiiere is another class of people called Chughi (yogi), who were indeed properly Abraiman, but they form a religious order devoted to the idols. They are extremely long-lived, every one of them living to 1 50 er 200 years. The\- eat very little * * * and these people make use of a strange beverage, for they make a potion of sulphur and quicksilver mixed

qT5Tlfvif!lT^(lf^^^^fTTf5T ?ftS^TfT I li^Tf^ f43lffT':iTr^ ^Tlfir^cftsfq ^SSTtf^^sfq T'Rq'^^^t H^^ II ^ II

Ch. 76, Kern's Ed. p. 384.

xlviii

toc^ether, and this they drink twice every month. This, the\- say, gives them long life ; it is a potion the\- are used to take from their childhood." — Yule's Marco Polo, Vol. II. p. 300.

"Arghun, der Alch\anie und den geheimen Wissen- schaften ergeben. hatte indische Bachschi, d. h. Schrei- ber, gefragt, durch welche Mittel sie sich ihr Lcben so langwierig fristeten. Sie gaben ihm ein aus Schwefel und Merkur zusammengesetztes Mittel als die Panacee der Lebensverlangerung ein." (1290 A. D.) — Hammer- Purgstall ; GescliicJite der Ilc/iane, I. \). 391. Alchemical \[ \^ ^.o be reofetted that of the several works

Tanlras. *

quoted by Madhava, Rasd?-Jiava alone seems to have survived to our days. This work is almost unknown in Bengal, and extremely rare even in N. India and the Deccan. We ha\e been fortunate enough to pr(jcure a transcript of it from the Raghunatha Temple Library, Ka.!rmir, and another from the Oriental Mss. Library, Madras. As one of the earliest works of the kind, which throws a flood of litrht on the chemical know- ledge of the Hindus about the i 2th century A. D., Rasarnava must be regarded as a valuable na- tional leijacv. It has, besides, the merit of beinu the inspirer of several works of the latro-che- mical period, notably Rasarahiasanmchchaya and Rascndrachintamani. Althoiioh Rasdmava as a Tantra pretends to have been revealed by the God .Viva himself, its author, whoever he may be, now and then blurts out hints, which clearly prove it to have been compiled from preexist- ing works, for instance, it has not hesitated, as we find, to borrow co[)iously from Rasara/iid- kara attributed to the renowned alchemist Xaga- rjuna. Of this last work wc have been able to

xlix

obtain as yet only a fragment from the Kai-mir Library ; but it has been of sigiuil use to us, as by the paralleHsm of its text the genuineness and authenticity of a great portion of the Rasdrnava have been established.

In the present volume it has been our aim to compare and collate carefully the passages in mss?' the Mss. o{ Rasaratndkara, Rasdrnava and Ra- saratnasainuchchaya, in so far as they bear on chemistry and allied subjects ; in this way several important lacuna; have been filled up and many doubtful readings restored. Parallel passages have often been quoted in the foot-notes and cross-references given, pointing out where the probable borrowing has taken place. It is to be hoped that by instituting this sort of inter- comparison, the verbal integrity of the texts adopted may be depended upon, and the danger of interpolation has been avoided.

The translations presented do not always pre- tend to be strictly literal, and we hope the indul- gent reader will put up with infelicities of ex- pression here and there, which could not be avoided without taking undue liberty with the Recommenda- original. We have drawn very largely upon R.R.S., ^'J,7r "^TT^ because it has several features to recommend. First, an excellent edition of it has been publish- ed at Puna, based upon a comparison of 13 Mss., procured from different parts of Southern India. Second, there exists a Ms. of it in the library of the Sanskrit College, Benares, in a very neat and legible handwriting, copied in sa///vat 1850 i.e. 1793 A.i)., to which we have had access whenever required. We have also obtained a tran-

7

script f^fii from llie Kfi^niir Library. The Benares and the Kasinir Mss. acrree in all essentials. Ijut differ in certain places from the Pima edition. The text we have adopted is thus based upon a comparison of the Deccanese and N. Indian exemi)lars. Third, while RasaratnCxkara and Rasaniava are Tantraspure and simple in which alchemy is incidentally dwelt upon, R.R.S. is a systematic and com[)rehensive treatise on materia medica, pharmacy and medicine. Its methodical and scientific arrangement of the subject-matter would do credit to any modern work, and al- tooether it should be pronounced a {)roduction unicpie of its kind in .Sanskrit literature. Its value is furilier enhanced from the fact that the materia medica [)ortion is harmoniously blended with chemistry.

The author, whoever he may be, is very anx- ious to establish his identity with Vagbha/a, the celebrated author of the Astahga, and describes himself as such in the colophons at the end pseudo- of every chapter (p. 43) ; but he forgets that in doing so he is guilty of a glaring piece of anachronism. The chemical knowledge, as re- vealed in the Vagbha/a, is almost on a par with that in the Sujrruta. But this sort of utter dis- regard for chronological accuracy is by no means uncommon in the alchemical literature of the middle ages in Europe. The world is indebted to tile genius and perseverance of M. Berthelot for uiua\ elling the mysteries which so long hung about the writings of Geber ^ ; and the interval

^'agl'ha/a.

(i) "L'hypolh^se la plus vraisemblable a mes yeux, c'est qii

of time between our pseud(j-Vag"bha/a and the author of Astdnga is even much wider than that between the Latin Geber and the real Geber, We are apt to be very harsh on these literary foroerers ; rather we ouo:ht to <j"ive them credit for their utter self-effacement. We often foroet

o

that the spirit of the times in which they wrote was dead against them — reluctant to accept revolutionary ideas or discoveries ; hence the temptation to fasten them on old and recognised authorities.

Althouo;h no direct historical evidence is available, we are not left entirely in the dark. Our author, at the very outset, names twenty seven alchemists from whose writings he derives his materials (p. 42), and later on, in the section on apparatus (p. 72), he quotes Rasarnava as a source of his information. Opium was not employed in medicine in his time nor is there any mention of Feranoa7^oo;a, (ht. the disease of Probable dale

fRT'Q

the Portuguese),* which was introduced into India about the middle of the i6th century, and the treatment of which by means of calomel and chob-chini (China root) occupies a conspicuous place in the much later work, Bknvaprakdsa. The date of the R.R. S. may, therefore, be placed between the 13th and 14th centuries A. D.

un auteur latin, reste inconnu, a ecrit ce livre dans la seconde nnitie du XI lie si^cle, et I'a mis sous le patronage du nom venere de Geber ; de meme que les alchimistes greco-egyptiens avaient emprunte le grand nom de Democrite pour en couvrir leurs elu- cubrations." — La Chiinie au Moyen age, T. i. p. 349.

(i) This is the name by which syphilis is known in the later Hindu medical works. See p. 138

Characleiis- lics of llie iatro-cliemi-

Hi

latro-Chemical Period

During; llic Taiitric period, with its system of the "Philosophy of Mercury, " a vast mass of cai period, chemlcal information was accumuhited. which was pressed into signal service in the period immediately succeeding it — tlie latro-chemical Period of India. The prominent feature of the former lies in the search after the elixir vitae and the powder of projection as the ccMitents of the Rasaratiiakara and Rasdrnava amply testify ; whereas in the latter these phantastic and ex- travagant ideas, impossible of realisation, had subsided into something more practical and tan- gible. The numerous preparations of mercury, iron, copper and other metals, although they could not secure immortality or revive the dead, were found to be helpful accessories in medicine. At first they came to be used cautiously and tentatively, mixed up with the recipes of the Charaka and the Sujruta, which are drawn chief- ly from the vegetable kingdom ; but they soon began to assert a supremacy of their own and even to supplant the old Ayurvedic treatment by herbs and simples. Nay more, absurd pre- tensions were set up on behalf of these metallic preparations. Thus in RasendrachintdDiimi, a work probably co-eval with R. R. S., we come across this remarkable passage : — "Rever- ed teacher ! be pleased to instruct me, for the benefit of the weak and the timid, in a mode of treatment which will dispense with the use of the lancet, and both active and potential cau-

liii

teries," thus pulling in a plea tor the indiscrimi- nate use of mercurial remedies.

R. R. S. is a tvpical production of the latro- chemical period. The name of treatises treating of medicinal chemistry is simply legion. But they are all cast in the same mould, and the close similarity of their contents would render their translation only a work of supererogation. We have, therefore, confined ourselves to quoting only such parallel passages in the foot-notes as are calculated to throw light upon or corroborate the authenticity of, the text of R. R. S.

An account of this period will be scarcely Nagarjuna. complete, which fails to take note of the con- spicuous figure whom the Indian alchemists unanimously look upon as the inventor of the processes of distillation and calcination — -the re- nowned and the venerable Nagarjuna, the repu- ted author of Kakshaputatantra, Rasaratnakara and Arogyamanjari etc. Our R. R. S., in the opening lines, invokes him as one of the 27 alche- mists, and in the chapter on minerals quotes him as an authority. So does Rasendrachintdmam as also Chakrapa/^i while describing the process of roasting iron (p. 34).

We have already seen that according to V/'/nda and C. p., Nagarjuna was the first to in- troduce the preparation known as Kajjvali (black sulphide of mercury p. 32). Z^alva^^a also makes him the redactor of the Su^ruta. The mention of Nagarjuna by all these authori- ties would not remove him far from the 8th or the 9th century A. D., a date which is also con- firmed by Alberunl, who says :

liv

"A famous repre.seiilative oi this art [alchemy] was Nai^arjima, a native of the fort Daihak, near Somanatli. He excelled in it and composed a book which contains the substance of the whole literature on this subject and is very rare. He lived nearly a hundred years before our time." — J n dill I. p. 189.

But there are difficulties in the way of accep- ting" this chronology of the age of Nagarjuna. Hiouen Thsang. who resided in India from 629 A. D. onwards, relying upon local traditions, speaks of Nagarjuna^ as a learned and revered Buddhist and alchemist, and a friend of King- Sat vahana.^ The poet V^^/a, a contemporary of the Chinese pilgrim, also corroborates this account in his life of King Harsha.

In the Buddhist canonical literature, Nagar- juna is a prominent figure as the founder, or, at any rate, tlie systematiser of the Madhyamika philosophy. Western scholars maintain that he lived in the ist century A. D., while according to Rdjatarahginl the "History of Ka^mir" by

(i) "Nagarjuna Bodhisatva was well practised in the art of compounding medicines ; by taking a preparation (pill or cake;, he nourished the years of life for many Iiundreds of years, so that neither liie mind nor appearance decayed. Satvaha-raja had par- taken of this mysterious medicine." — Real's Buddhist Records of the Western Wot Id, vol. II. p. 212.

Again : — "Then Nagarjuna Bodhisatva, by moistening all the great stones with a divine and superior decoction 'medicine or mixture^, changed them into gold." — Ibid, p. 216.

(21 "Nagarjuna was a friend of Satvahana, a king of Kojala country to the South West of Urisya and watered by the upper feeders of the Mahanadi." — Ibid. II. p. 209. As to the age of Satvahnna see Burgess' Archwolngical Survey of S. India. Regard- ing .Nagarjuna see also Introd. a P histoire du Buddh. Ind p. 508.

Iv

Kfilhawa Miira (ii century A. D.), Nagarjuna flourished 150 years after ^akyasiwha had be- taken himself to asceticism, i.e. he Hved in the last quarter of tlie 4th and first quarter of the 3rd century B. C. It is doubtful, however, if Nagarjuna, the philosopher, is the same as Nagar- juna, the alchemist, considering" that we find no reference whatever to the processes of distilla- tion, sublimation etc. in the Charaka, the Suj^ruta, and the Vagbha/^a;, though it must be admitted that the latter can lay claim to superior chemical knowledge, (see p. xxvii).

We have also another alchemist in Patafijali, Paianjaii who is better known as the commentator of Pa;/ini. He probably lived in the 2nd century B. C.^ ^"ivadasa, in his commentary of Chakra- pani, quotes him as an authority on Lohasdstra, or the "Science of Iron," and Chakrapani himself speaks of him as the redactor of Charaka (see p. x). Bhoja in his Nydyavartika speaks of Pat- afijali, as a physician both to the mind and to the body.^ The vioksha (salvation), as taught in the Yoga system of Patafijali, is also connected with alchemy.^ We have already seen, while discussing the "Philosophy of Mercury" (see

(i) Prof. Bhandaik.-ir : Ind. Antiquary, 1872, pp. 299-302.

(2) "^?[iT f^Ti*!T xr^ ^T'^t ^ 5nr1r^ ^ l?J%^ I

— BhoJa : NyCiyavarlilca, quoted by .S'ivarama, the commentator of Vasavadatta.

(3) "The author (FatanjaH - adds to the three parts of the path of liberation a fourth one of an illusory nature, called i'i<J.rrtjtj;/<«, consisting of alchemistic tricks with various drugs, intended to realise things wiiich by nature are impossible.'' — Alberunl's India — I. p. 80.

Ivi

aiilf p. xliv), ihai Ra.s''\a>ia or Alchemy was simply regarded as a means to an end — as a path leading to uioksha. It is significant that this connection can be traced from so early a date.

In the present volume we shall seldom have Trogiess of occasioH to go bcyond the 14th century A. D.

clicmiail I -11 1 11 1 • c \ \ •

kn..wk(ii;c in It Will, pcrhaps, add to the interest or the subject, if we tLun our eyes for a moment to the progress of chemical knowledge in Europe at that time, and the alchemistic ideas and beliefs dominating it. Contemporary with the authors of Rasai iiava and Rasaratnasaniuckchaya, were Roger Bacon (d. 1294), Albertus Maguns. Ra\ mond Lully, and Arnaldus X'illanovanus. Roger Bacon does not hesitate to assert that the philosopher's stone was able to transform a million times its weight of base metal into gold. The above-named al- chemists are also unanimous in regarding it as a universal medicine, and "it was no unusual assertion that adepts, the fortunate possessors of the panacea, had been able to prolong their lives to 400 years and more." — ^Meyer. The readers of Rasarnava and the other Tantras will not fail to find that there is much in common between the Hindu alchemists and their P^uro- pean Confrh es.

The knowledge in practical chemistry, pre-

Knu\viedj;e valeiit in India in the 12th and 13th centuries

in nractic.-il A T^ 11 i • i

chcniisiry, ^^- ^" '^'^*-^ periiaps earlier, such as we are en-

fndiaTn ii'i" ^I'^lcd to glean from Rasarnava and similar works,

cJmurTcsA.a! ^•'^ distinctly in advance of that of the same period

earlier!"' '''"'" "^ Kurope. It was knowii for instance that

blue vitriol and a \ariety of the pyrites (see p. 39)

yielded an essence in the shape of copper ; and calamine, zinc. The metallurgical processes, described under the latter, leave little to improve upon (p. 49), and, indeed, they may be transfer- red bodily to any treatise on modern chemistry. Even Paracelsus, who flourished some three cen- turies later, leaves us in the dark as to the nature of his "zinken," which he desionates a "semi" or "bastard" metal. And Libavius (d. 16 16) "who stood up manfully against the excesses of Paracelsus, and who vigourously combated the defects in his doctrines, * * * y^n^l the em- ployment of "secret remedies," believed in the transmutation of the metals and the efficacy of potable gold.^ It is not necessary to pursue this subject further here, as details will be found in the chapter on metallurgy (pp. 83-92).

The truth is that up till the time of pseudo- Basil Valentine (ca. 1600 A. D.), very little scien- tific progress was achieved in Europe. The doc- trines of Aristotle and of the Arabian alchemists held the ground, and the enigmatic and mystic language, which was often used as a cloak for ignorance, simply confounded the confusion.

Still more solid progress was effected in pharmacy. For two thousand years or more the Charaka and the Sui"ruta have been paid all the honours of a state-recognised Pharmacopceia. Partly due to their being regarded as of revealed origin, and partly due to that veneration for the past, which is inherent in the Hindu, the text of the above works has seldom been allowed to be

(i) Gescli. d. ihein. I. 113.

Iviii

tampered with. A critical examination of the Bower ]\Is., such as we owe to Dr. Hoernle, sliows tiiat the recipes of several important pre- parations agree in all essentials, and sometimes word for word, with those of the Charaka and the SikTruta of the existing recensions (see ante p. xix). Mr. Ameer Ali is scarcely correct when he claims that "the Arabs invented chemi- cal pharmacy, and were the founders of those institutions which are now called dispensaries." *

We have only to refer our reader to the cha[)ter on the preparation of caustic alkali, in the Su^ruta, with the chrection that the strong lye is to be "preserved in an iron vessel," as a proof of the high degree of perfection in scientific pharmacy achieved by the Hindus at an early age (p. 22). It is absolutely free from any trace of quackery or charlatanism, and is a decided im- provement upon the process described by a Greek writer of the Xlth century, as unearthed by M. Berthelot.^ As regards dispensai-ics and hospitals, every one knows that Buddhistic India was studded with them {vide p. xxxii).

Speaking of the progress of chemistry in Europe in the XVIth century, Prof. Schorlemmer remarks : —

"Up to the XVIth centur\- almost the sole object of chemical research had been t<j find the philosopher's stone. But now cheniistr}' began to develop itself two new and different paths, opened b}" two distin- guished men Agricola, the father of metallurgy, and

Paracelsus, the founder of latro-chemistry or medical

(1) Hist, of the Siirixccns. p. 462. 'Kd. 1899).

(2) See p. 22

lix

chemistry, l^uth contributed chiefl)' to the develop- ment of inorganic chemistry * * * [^i opposition to the school of Galen and Avicenna, Paracelsus and his followers chiefly employed metallic preparations as medicines." ^

Ucioy Chanel Dutt, in the preface to his Materia Medica of the Hindjis states : —

"The oldest work, containing a detailed account of the calcination or preparation of the different metals (such as gold, silver, iron, mercury, copper, tin and lead) for internal use with formulae for their administration, is, I believe, a concise treatise on medicinal preparations by 5arngadhara."

This is evidently a mistake. vSarngadhara is simply a compilation based upon the Charaka and the Su.yruta on the one hand, and the Tantric works described above on the other. It cannot be regarded as going beyonci the latter part of the 14th century, and it will come under our notice in the second volume of the present work. In the European histories of chemistry, the credit of being- the first to press chemical know- ledoe into the service of medicine and introduce the use of the internal administration of mercurial preparations, is given to Paracelsus (1493-1541). The Nagarjunas and the Patanjalis of India, however, had the merit of anticipating Paracelsus and his followers by several centuries. The earliest historical record of the internal use of black sulphide of mercury dates so far back as the loth century A. D. at the latest ^ {see ante

( i) A'/se and development of Oro^Mtic Ckeinis/ty, (ed. 1894.; p. 9.

(2) In Europe, its use dates from the 17th century. "Das schwarze hchwefelquecksilber lelirte zueist Turquet de Mayerne, im Anfange des 17. Jahrhunderts, duich Zusammenreiben von

Ix

p. 32). We have, indeed, reasons to suspect that Paracelsus got his ideas from the East, and in Chapter on Arabian Indebtedness to India we have pointed out the media through which Indian sciences filtered into Europe.

Dutt says : "We cannot help admiring the inge- nuity and the boldness of the Hindu physicians, when we find that they were freely and properly using such powerful drugs as arsenic, mercur}-. iron, etc., when the Mussulman Hakims around them with imperial patronage and the boasted learning of the West, re- cording such remarks regarding them as the fol- lowing : —

"Soomboolkhar, 'the white oxide of arsenic' — There are six kinds of this, one named Sunkia, the third Godanta, the fourth Darma. the fifth Huldea. The Yunani physicians do not allow this to form a part of their prescriptions, as they believe it destroys the vital principle. The physicians of India, on the con- trary, find these drugs more effectual in man}- disorders than others of less power, such as the clax of metals. For this reason too I am in the habit of seldom giving these remedies internally, but I usually confine my use of them to external application and as aphrodisiacs which I prescribe to a few friends, who may have derived no benefit from Yunani prescriptions. It is better to use as few of them as possible." *

"Para, 'Mercury.' — It is very generally used through- out India in many ways, both in its native and pre- pared state, but in the latter we ought to be very cautious, for it is seldom sufficiently killed or removed from its native state, in which it is a dangerous drug." ^

warmen Quecksill>er mit geschmolzeneni Schuefel darstellen.' — Kopp : Gcsc/i. vol. IV', 186.

(1) Td/cf/ S/tarer/ trans. Georye Playfair, p. 99.

{2/ //>/)/, page 26.

"Loha, 'Iron.' — It is commonly used b\' ph}'sicians in India, but m\' advice is to have as little to do with it as possible." ^

Nor must we forget that so late as 1566 a.d,, the Parliament and the F'aculty of Medicine, Paris, condemned and forbade what was regard- ed as the dangerous innovations of Paracelsus.^

Apart from the historical data already ad- duced, the above extracts from a Mohammedan writer would show that the Hindus were perhaps the earliest in the field to advocate the internal use of mercury.^ Ainslie, in a note appended to ''Lepra Arabum," written in the early part of the last century, thus expresses his views on the subject : —

"It is well known that the Eastern nations were the first who employed mercury in the cure of obstinate, cutaneous and leprous affections ; and it ma}' be ques- tioned whether the natives of India were before the Arabians or only second in order in availing themselves of the virtues of that powerful mineral. Rhases, ^

( 1 ) Taleef Shareef, page 1 46.

(2) Gesch. d. Cheni. 1. iio.

(31 Of course, we are keeping China out of view. Cf. "The Elixir of life and the art of transmuting metals had been sought after in the East long before the Arabs introduced the study of alchemy into Europe. The pliilosopher's stone is the tan sha of the Chinese i.e. the red bisulphuret of mercury or cinnabar" — Y^^?X?< Buddhist Records., II. 56.

(4) "Argentum vivum cum extinguitur ardens est, quod scabei, et pediculis auxilium ofifert" — Rhazes : de Re med. (lib iii. cap. xxiv). In the days of Pliny the Elder the medicinal virtues of mercury do not appear to have been at all ascertained ; that writer termed quicksilver the batu and poison of all things and what would with more propriety be called death silver. \^Nai. Hist, lib xxxiii. Cap vi).

Ixii

Mesu and Avicenna ' all notice it, and according to Fallopius, as we find observed by Le Clerc in his Histoire dc la Mcdici)ie pp. 77'i-79\, it was the opi- nions of those writers which first suggested its use in venereal diseases." -

From the evidences we have adduced all along there can now be scarcely any question as regards the priority of the Hindus in making mercurial remedies a speciality ; and they are entitled to claim originality in respect of the internal administration of metals generally, see- ing that the Charaka and the Su^ruta, not to speak of the later Tantras, are eloquent over their virtues.

CHAPTER VI

Indebtedness of the Arabians to India

The Arabians are acknowledged on all hands to have played a prominent part in the propagation of science and mathematics in the West. When, in the dark and middle ages, the lamp of know- ledge had begun to burn very low in Europe, and even when the very vestiges of Greek cul- ture and learning had all but disappeared, save in the obscure and dingy cells of the monk, it was the Arabs who carried there the accumulated intellectual treasures of the East, and thus laid the foundation, so to speak, of modern European greatness.

(i) Avicenna says of mercury "argeiitum viviim extinctum adversus pediculos et lendes cum rosaseo oleo valet."' Vide canon nied. lib. ii. tract, ii. p. 119.

KT.) Trans. R. As. Soc. (1824-27).

Ixiii

It will, perhaps, be not out of place to discuss here briefly as to how much India indirectly contributed to this result in the departments of medicine, pharmacy and other kindred subjects.

The author of Kitdh-al-Fihrist, who wrote towards the middle of the tenth century/ Haji Khalifa and Ibn Abu Usaibiah, who flourished at the commencement of the 13th century, distinct- ly mention that by order of the Caliphs Harun and Mansur several standard Hindu works on medicine, materia medica and therapeutics were translated into Arabic. The information on the subject has been gathered at length by Dietz in his Analecta medica, Wustenfeld, author of Geschichte der Arab. Aerzte, Cureton,^ Fliigel, Miiller and other Arabic scholars.

Fliigel ^ states on the authority of Kitdb-al- Fihrist that Susrud (the Sanskrit name Su.yruta,

(:) "Abu'l Faraj Mohammed bin Ishak, surnamed au-

Nadim, a native of Bagdad, first conceived the idea of a biblio- graphical dictionary. His Kitab-ul-Fihrist deals with every branch of learning. It gives the names of many authors and their works which have ceased to exist ." — Hist, of the Saracens by Ameer Ali, p. 469.

(2) Prof. H. H. Wilson in a Note appended to a paper by the Rev. W. Cureton entitled "A collection of such passages relative to India as may occur in Arabic writers" thus pithily summarises his own views : — "In medicine the evidence is more positive, and it is clear that the Charaka, the Susruta, the treatise called Niddna on diagnosis, and others on poisons, diseases of women and therapeutics, all familiar to Hindu Science, were translated and studied by the Arabs in the days of Harun and Mausur, eiiher from the originals or translations, made at a still earlier period, into the language of Persia."' — Journ. Royal. Asiatic Sac. old series, vi. pp. 105- 1 1 5.

(3) "Zur Frage iiber die altesten Uebersetzungen indischer und persischer medicinischer Werke ins .Vrabische ;" Ziet. deut. morg, Ges. xi. pp. [48 and 325.

thus corrupted into Arabic) was translated by Mankh, the Indian, who cured Harun ar-Raschid of a severe illness, and was appointed physician in charge of the Royal Hospital. We also learn that a work on the officinal plants of India was rendered into Arabic by the same Mankh. The other comprehensive Sanskrit treatise, the Charaka, was also fully laid under contribution.

We have ample and overwhelming testimony of Arabic writers, notably of Haji Khalifa, that Hindu astronomy, algebra, and medicine were zealously studied by their compatriots, and many Hindu savants were induced to reside at the Court of the Caliphs as their instructors. Mussulman students, in their eager thirst for knowledge, used to flock to the centres of learning in India, and there drank deep at the very fountain-head. Indeed, it had come to be regarded as an essential part of completing one's liberal education to travel to India and learn the sciences firsthand.

That this is no lanouage of rhetoric will be evident from the extracts quoted below from Gildemeister's Scripforutu Arabiun De Rebus Indicis loci et opiisciila :

"Etiam Muhammed ben Ismail al Tanukhi in Indiani profectus est eo imprimis consilio, ut Indorum astronomiam co<;nosceret.,

■'Ibn Albaithar. rei herbariae inter Arabes peritis- simiis, qui ad eiiis disciplinae studium longinqua itinera per Hispaniam .\fricam et Asiam instituit, etiam in Indiam veiiit, teste Leone Africano ; Abiilfada tamen et Ibn Abi Ucaibia, qui de eius vita scripserunt, eius rei mentionem nou faciunt." p. 80.

"Sed etiam accuratius edocti erant, et scite iam vetus Indopleusta eas disciplinas, in quibus Indi maxime

Ixv

excellerent, nominat has : medicinam, philosophiam et astn^noniiam. Eodem modo Hag'i Khalfa arithme- ticam, geometriam, medicinam, astronomiam et mcta- physicam enumerat." p. 8i.

"De libris ex Indica lingua in Arabicam conversis iam inter Arabes egerunt ii, qui libros de re literaria com- posuere. Plurimi de iis sine dubio apud Hag'i Khalfam legentur, cuius hucusque pars tantum publico Usui patet. De antiquioribus his libris locuples testis est antiquissimus de Arabum literis scriptor Ibn Abi Yaqub ibn Alnadim, qui in Indice scientiarmn * * * * * quern scripsit anno 337 (inc. 10 lul. 948)

inter monumenta literarum Arabicarum etiam pecu- liari cura egit de libris e linguis Graeca, Persica et Indica conversis." p. 82.

Haas, whose criticism of the SuiTuta we Muiier's le-

.... futation of

have already noticed, having once taken up the Haas position of denying" the antiquity of Hindu medicine with special regard to the Charaka and the Su^Tuta, was driven to the necessity of discounting, nay, explaining away, the numerous references to Hindu works made by Mussulman writers. This had the effect of eliciting a reply from Miiller, who subjected the Arabic literature bearing on the subject to a crucial examina- tion, especially Book XH of Useibia. He finds that not only the Charaka and the Su^ruta, but also the Nidana and the compendium Asdnkar} a book on Poison by Sanaq the Indian, and an- other on Warm and Cold, and several other works were rendered into Arabic. This German orien- talist also arrives at the conclusion that Indian physicians practised at the Court of Bagdad.^

(i) A X^ariant has Astank<u\\\\\\(^-\ will be readily identifier] as the Asianga of Vagbha/a (see p. xxvi.)

(2) "Sclmn vnr Er-Rasid, \icllcicht sogar gleichzeiti;^ mit deni

9

Ixvi

Aihcruni's Wc licivc iiow lo placc betoic the reader the

evidence of a remarkable author— remarkable ahke for the depth of his learning, versatility of his genius, rare impartiality of his judgment and his singular freedom from race-bias.

Alberuni lived in India from 1017-1030 A. D., and during this long sojourn he mastered Sanskrit and studied Hindu mathematics and philosophy in the original. At a time when his patron, Sultan Mahmud of Ghzni, was busy pillaging the temples in Thaneswar, Mathura, Kanauj and Somnath with the zeal of an icono- clast, this philosophic Moslem was pondering over the Samkhya and the Patahjala, and in- stituting a comparison between their contents and those of the Tinuviis and its commentator, P rod us.

We have elsewhere quoted at length Albe- runi's views on Ras^yana (alchemy) ; it now re- mains for us to clean such information from him as will throw light on the subject under inquiry. According to Sachau, the learned translator of Alberuni, "some of the books that had been translated under the first Abbaside Caliphs were extant in the library of Alberuni, when he wrote his India, the Brahviasiddhdnta or Sind-

hind the Charaka in the edition of Ali

Ibn Zain and the Pafichatantra or Kalila and Divina'^ The fact that the Charaka occupied a place in the library of a cultured Arab affords

Uebergange indisclier Astronomie nach Bagdad haben sich

audi indisclie Aerzte in Bagdad eingefiinden." (Loc. cit. p. 499). ".\rabisclie Qiiellen zur (".cscliiihtc der iiiflischcn iMedizin." — Zeit. lieut, inorii. Gt's. 34, j). 465.

Ixvii

an acklitiuiial procjf of llie esteem in which tlie Hindu system oi medicine was held by the Moslem world. We also learn that "the Christ- ian philosopher and physician from Ba^/dad, Abulhahir Alkhamnour, friend of AlbeninJ, seems to have practised in Ghazni his medical pro- fession" (Sachau). This is significant as inchcat- ing that both the Greek and Hindu systems held sway side by side ; but more of it anon,^

So far as reoards historical evidence. Let , . , .

o Internal evi-

us now see if any internal evidence could be '''^"'^^ ofatherecl in corroboration of the former. Reference has already been made to the Book on Poisons by Sanaq the Indian, We shall cite here some parallel passages on the Examination of Poisoned Food and Drink. These are the chief character- istics as given by Sanaq, the Charaka and the - SuiTuta respectively.

(i) "Dietz also in his Afjalechi Medica proves that the later Greek physicians were acquainted with the medical works of the Hindus, and availed themselves of their medicaments ; but he more particularly shows that the Arabians were familiar with them, and extolled the healing art, as practised by the Indians, quite as much as that in use among the Greeks."— Royle ; Antiq. Hind. Med. p. 64.

Ixviii

Sax.uj THE Indian The Chakaka The Suskuia

The \apor emitted The food /.v io be Wlien poisoned by poisoned food has thrown into fire for food is thrown into the colour of the testim^. . . the flame fiie, it makes a crack- throat of the pea- becomes parti-col- ling sound and the cock tvhen the oured like the plume flame issuing there- food is thrown itito of a peacock. T*e from is tinted like fire, it rises high in tongue of the flame the throat of the the air \ the fire also becomes point- peacock. — "Kalpa," makes a crackling ed ; a crackling Ch. i, 27. sound as when sah sound is emitted and

deflagrates the the smell of a putrid

smoke lias the smell corpse is perceived,

of a burnt corpse. Po- . . . Water, milk

isoned drinks : butter and other drinking

milk and thin milk liquids, when mixed

have a light blue to with poison, have

yellow line. blue lines printed

upon. — " Chikitsa, "

Ch. xxiii, 29-30.

The pliysiciaii, as superiiitendent of the kitch- en, vvell-v^ersed in toxicology, is essentially an Indian institution. Cf. SiLsTuta. Kalpa, Ch. I. 6-9

Mliller has pointed out the parallelism as shown above. We have, however, added to it the diagnostic test of poisoned food as given in the Charaka, and it will be seen that Sanaq was equally indebted to this authority and to the Su.sTuta.

The description of leeches as given by Rases agrees almost word for word with that of the Su^Tuta (Sanasrad) in many places.

Su^fRUTA Rases, quoting Sanasrad

The variety of leeches Of the leeches one is

called Krishna is black in poisonous, which is intensely

colour and have thick heads, black like antimotiy having

Karvurds have their bodies, a large head : and scales like

like that of eels with ele- certain fishes and havint^

Ixix

vatcd slripes across their abdomen. Alagardhd'i have hairs on their bodies, large sides and black mouths, Imhayudhas have longitu- dinal lines along their back, uf the colour of (he raiiibow.

the middle green : also an- other upon which are hairs, has a large head and dif- ferent colour like the rain-

bo'M ;

Scrwudrihds are of a dark- yellow colour and have var- iegated spots on their bodies resembling tiowers in ap- pearance. GochiiJidanas have bifurcated tails like the two horns of a cow and small heads. When these poisonous leeches bite any person, the bitten parts be- come swollen and vefv itchy, and fainting, fever, burning of the body, vomiting, men- tal derangement and ian- gour occur. In these cases the medicine called Mahd- gada should be administered internally, applied externally and used as snuff. The bite of the leech called Indrdyudha is fatal. Such is the description of the po- isonous leeches, and their treatment.

Now the non-poisonous leeches. Their names are as folUjws : Kapild, Pingald San kumu kill, Mushikd, Pnn- darlkamuklu and Sdvarikd.

in the colour of which there are lines as in blue- spar, bluestone, azure — tvhich often bites : thence will be caused abscess 2vith faint- ing : with coma and relaxing of the joints : nevertheless of these very leeches there is a good one which is assimilated to the colour of water ;

Ixx

Kii/ii/ii huve tlicir sides of ///(' colour of orpimcnt

in wlucli iliure will be greenness luninii up- on it Iwo lines like arsenic [orpimcnt] but light red,

and

their back siiiuolh and of the colour of the pulse called wiidga ( Fhaseoslus }Hungo). Pingalas have round bodies, move (juickly, and are of slightly red or tawny colour. Sd/ikhumukhis are liver- coloured, suck blood quick- ly, and have large sharp mouths.

hay coloured and corres/>o>idi>i^ to the colours of liver : ivkich are swift to draiv to themselves fi fie blood :

Mushikas have the colour and shape of rats and a bad smell.

which are assimlated to the tail [c:olour] of a mouse : having a horrible smell * * *

Pundarikds have mouths like the lotus and are of the colour of the pulse of Phaseolus mungo. Sdvarikds have green colour like the leaf of the lotus, are func- tuous, and eighteen fingers in length. They are used only for extracting blood

Ixxi

from beasts. Such is the description o( the non-poi- sonous leeches. The non- poisonous leeches are found in Turkey, Fdndya (the country to the south), Sahya (a mountain on the banks of the Narlmdd) and Fau- tana (the tract of country about Mathura). Of non- poisonous leeches, those which are stronger and have large bodies, can drink blood rapidly and eat much, are especially free from poison.

And having the belly red along with black- ness and the back green :

Leeches which are pro- duced in dirty water and from the decomposition of poisonous fishes, insects, frogs, urine and foeces are poisonous. Those produced in pure ivater and from the decomposition of the dif- ferent varieties of the Nelumbium Speciosum and of the Nymphcca lotus and of Saivdia {B/yxa octaudra) are non-poisonous.

they are bitter but they will be worse in bad water quite stagnant : in which are many small tadpole frogs : never- theless, they are good in good and excel lent tvater,

The varieties of Nym- phcPAi and N'ehimbium men tioned here are pad ma, ufpala, kutniida, nalina, kuvalaya, saui:^andhika and pundai ka.

On this subject there is

Ixxii

ttic following verse : — Non poisonous leeihes go about in the fields and fragrant waters. They do not live in confined [)laces or lie in mud as they seek com- fort. These should be caught by means of wet- leather or .some other arti- cle. They should be kept in a new large earthen pot filled with mud and water from a tank. Mosses, dried flesh and powdered tubers of water-plants should be given them for food. For

bedding they should be '^'"* ''''^■'"' '''^'>" ''^''^^ ^^''^^''^

furnished with grasses and ''' ''''"•^'''^' '^^ ^^^'"^ ^^

leaves of water-plants. Fresh ^""^ ^''''>' '^''^''^ ^^'^ ^^at

water and food should '"•^'^'^ '" "^ ^'^^•'" '''''" ^^^^V

be given every second or '' ''^'"^ ^'"'^''^ '■ ^^>^" ^l^*^)'

third dav, and every seventh ""^^'^ ""^ ^'' ^"^ ^^"^ «" ^^-

day the earthen pot should ''^"P^ '" '^ ^''^^^ ""^ '^'^^'t'^)' ^

be changed. On this sub- ject there is the following verse :

Leeches which are very thin or thick or with their ■central portions thick, which move slowly or do not stick to the part to which they are applied, which drink little blood, or which are poisonous, are not fit for use. When about to apply leeches on a person who has not a disease curable by thcni, the patient should be made to sit or lie down. The affected

part, if free from pain, should be rubbed with a Httle cow- dung and earth. The lee- ches should then be taken hold off and smeared with a mixture of turmeric and mustard reduced to a paste with water. They should then be placed for a while in a cup of water, till they are relieved of their weari- ness and afterwards applied to the diseased part. Jf'Vie// being applied, their moi/fks should be left open and their bodies covered with fine white 7vet rags.

also

anointments ought to be made around the place 'ivith paste that they may not touch the healthy place : also as often as leeches are applied, put over them a fine soaked cloth :

If

t/iey do not bite, a drop of milk or blood should be ap- plied to, or a small incision may be made on the diseased part. If even by these means a leech cannot be ap- plied, it should be changed for another.

If a leech does not stick let the place be anointed ivith milk or with blood : if it still refuses to bite, let another be ap- plied in the place of it :

A leech is known to have fixed it- self to the part when it raises its shoulder and bends its head like a horse shoe When fixed it should be covered with a piece of wet cloth and a little water sprinkled on it occasionally. If the part bitten by a leech lo

Ixxiv

itches or is ]>ainrul, it is a sign tliat thf leech is drawing pure blood and it should he removed from the part.

If from fondness for blood ^ i 41 , n , a a

■' -^ ■' / if yon ivish t/iat f/u'v foil off,

it cannot be readilv remov- . ■ 1 , ji ■ 1 j / /i

spnnlile their liCiXas (moi/t/is)

ed, a little rock salt should .^, ,^ i 1 / ,1

with salt and heep them in he sf^rinkled on its head, t

^ a jar. T

There is thus unmistakable evidence here of the use of a chapter of the Sujruta or some such work.

Then again several drugs, which are repeat- edly mentioned in the Charaka and are almost exclusively Indian products, have been borrowed in the materia medica of Useibiah and others, The following may be taken as examples : Pepper/ lac, nard,^ liquorice, assafoetida, occi- mum sanctum, bdellium, cinnamon, the chebulic myrobalans, calamus acorus, agallacha,^ berberis

t The version of Rases,

+ r-> ^^^ -r being in the "dog" Latin of the

I Dutt s Trans. ^ ^

middle ages, is not always

very intelligible to us.

(i) Dioscorides also mentions the three peppers. Arabian physicians of the tenth century also describe their properties. See Dymock, Warden and Hooper's Pharmacographia Indica., III. pp. 176-185.

(2) Nardostachys jatamansi, the Nardin of Dioscorides, called also Gangitis, because the Ganges flowed from the foot of the mountains where the plant j^rew ; ibid II. p. 234.

(3) For discussion of agallocha {Sans. ^Ji^), see also Script, arab. dc Reb. hid., pp. 63-72.

Ixxv

asiatica/ myrrh, nielia azadireciua. calotropis (as- cle[)ia.s), and red sandal. To ([iiole Gildemeister :

"Ex hac Indiae parte asportatur agalloclium Ku- marense, quod inde nomen cepit." p. 156.

"Abuldhali Sindius dum Indiae regiones describit, dicit : ^

■'Negarunt quidem sodales inei nee tamen istud praestantissimum est.

"Quando laudabatur India Indaque sagitta in campo caedis.

"Per vitam meam ! terra est ; in quain si pluvia decidit.

"Contingunt hyacinthi et uniones ei qui monilibus caret.

"Ibi originem habent muscus et camphora et am- barum et agallochum

"Et aromatum genera, quibus utuntur qui inodori sunt.

"Et odoramentorum species et myristica et spica nardi ;

"Ibi ebur et tectonae lignum, ibi lignum aloes et santalum

'Ibique est tutia montis instar longissimi, "pp. 217-218.

Tliat the Charaka should be changed by Arabic writers into Sarak. Susriita into Sitsntd, Ntddna into Badan, Astdiioxi into Asankar and so forth, need not at all surprise us. Such transformations can well be explained on phone- tic principles. Moreover, one must remember

(i) The extract of the wood was also known to the Greeks under the name of Indian Lyciuni. PJiarm. hid., i. 65.

Cf. "Among the strictly Indian products, we have the two kind? of Pepper (long and round*, Cardamoms and Ginger (?).... the Dolichos, mentioned by Hippocrates and Theophrastus, as well as by later authors, is considered to be Phascoltis Vulgaris, and to have been introduced from India in the time of .Alexander." Royle : AutiquHy of Hituhf Med., Lond., 1837. P- '12.

Ixxvi

tliat the Indian works translated into Arabic were sometimes derived from preexistino Phelvi ver- sions, and in the migrations through successive languages, the names often got frightfully disfigur- ed. A notable instance of this kind is aftorded by the fables of Pilpay (Kalila and Dimna ^) from which La Fontaine borrowed the idea of several of his fables as he himself acknowledges : "I shall only say. from a sense of gratitude, that I owe the largest portion of them to Pilpay, the Indian sage." It has now been made out that Pilpay or Bidpai is a corrupt form of the Sans- krit word vidyapati (master of learning).

Even long before the time of the Caliphs, India was the favourite resort of the students of medicine and other sciences. Thus Barzouh- yeh, a contemporary of the celebrated Sassa- nian king Nashirvan, (A. D, 531-572), visited In- dia to acquire proficiency in the Indian sciences.^ Arabian in- Thomson, Hocfer, Kopp, and Bertheiot have

debtedness to, ... ii- ri ai-

India ignored Qonc ample justicc to the claHiis of the Arabians

by the Euro- ^i • • ^ i

pean hisiori- '^^ the origmators or, at any rate, as the propa-

u"i8try° ^ ^ gators of alchemy in Europe in the middle ages.

M. Bertheiot, indeed, has recently shown that the

ideas and theories, as regards alchemy, humoral

(i) " et malgre I'esp^ce de transformation que ce livre

a du subir en passant de I'indien en pehlvi, du pehlvi en arabe, de r arabe en persan, on y retrouve encore des caracteres frappans

de cette origin " — de Sacy : Calila et Dimna on Fables

de Bidpai, i;i8i6\ p. 5.

(2) " que Barzouy^h dans sa jeunesse, avoit deja fait

un premier voyage dans 1" Inde, pour.y rechercher des substances medicinales et de simples, et que c'etait dans ce voyage qu' il avoit acquis la connoissance de la langue et de Tecriture Indiennes " ibid, p. 23.

Ixxvii

patholog-y and physiology, which were promulgat- ed in the writings of Geber, Rases, Avicenna, Biibacar and others, were essentially Greek in origin, though extended and improved upon by the Arabians. The French savant has, however, presented only one side of the shield.^ In short, European historians of chemistry have scarcely one word to say on the indebtedness of the Ara- bians to the Hindus, who contributed not a little to the making of a Rases, a Serapion, or an Avi- cenna, who, in turn, were the chief inspirers of the European iatro-chemists down to the 17th century.^

Prof. Sachau, the learned translator and edi- Prof. Sachau

however, does

tor of Alberiini's India, however, does justice justice to the

!• rii/-^ ITT- !• claims of

to the clamis of both Greece and India in this India respect, when he remarks : —

"The cradle of Arabic literature is not Damascus but Bagdad, the protection necessary for its growth being afforded by the Caliphs of the house of Abbas.

'The foundation of Arabic literature was laid be-

(i) Cf " — les Arabes, heritiers et traducteurs de la science grecque." — Berthelot : La Chimie au moyen age, I., preface, ii. "Les sciences natmelles furent surtout etudiees aux ixe et x* siecles, dans la celebre ecole des medecins syriens de Bagdad, attires et proteges par les califes leurs clients. Dioscoride, Ga- lien, Paul d'E'gine fnient ainsi traduits du grec en syriaque, puis en arabe ; parfois meme traduits directement dans cette derni^re langue," ibid^ iv. "Les califes recherchaient les savants syriens,

k cause de leur habilete medicale or toute leur science ven-

ait des (irecs" ibidW., Introduction, iii.

(2) Speaking of Albert the Great and Roger Bacon, Kopp writes : "beide haben aus derselben Quelle, den Arabern, ges- chcipft." Gesch. d. chein. i. 64. Draper equally ignores the contributions of the Hindus : e.g.^ "The teachers of the Sara- cens were the Nestorians and the Jews." }Iist. Intel/. Dcv. of Europe, Vol L p. 384, ed. 1896.

Ix.w iii

tweeii 750-850 A. 1). The clevelopnicut of a large liteialure w ith luiiiicrous rainiiicatioiis, carried out with foreign materials, as in Rome the origiiies of the nation- al literature mostlx' point to Greek sources. Greece, Persia and India were taxed to help the sterilit)- of the Arab mind."

We cannot conclude this chapter better than sum u[) its substance in the words of Prof. Sachau : —

"What India has contributed reached l^agdad b\- two different roads. Fart has come directly in translations from the Sanskrit, part has travelled through Eran, iiaving originally been translated from Sanskrit (Pali ? Prakrit ?) into Persian, and farther from Persian into Arabic. In this way, e.g. the fables q>{ Kdllla and Divma have been communicated to the Arabs, and a book on medicine, probabh' the famous Charaka. Cf. Fihrist,

P- 303-

"In this communication between India and Bagdad we must not only distinguish betw-een two different roads, but also between two different periods.

''As Sindh was under the actual rule of the Khalif Mansur (A. D. 753-774), there came embassies from that part of India to Bagdad, and among them scholars, who brought along with them two books, the Brahinasiddhdnta of Brahmagupta (Sindhind), and his Khandakhddyaka (Arkand). With the help of these pandits, Alfazari. perhaps also Yakub Ibn Tarik, translated them. Both works have been largely used, and have e.xercised a great influence. It was on this occasion that the Arabs first became acquainted with a scientific system of astronomx-. They learned from Brahmagupta earlier than frcjin Ptolemw

"Another influx of Hindu learning took place under Ilarun, A. D. 786-80S. The ministerial family Bar- mak, then at the zenith of their [jowcr. had come with the ruling d\nast)' from Baikh, vvhere an ancestor of theirs had been an official in the Buddhistic-

Ixxix

temple Naubehdr, i. e. navavihdra, the new temple (or monastery). The name l^armak is said to be of Iruliaii descent, meaning parainaka, i. e. the superior (abbot of the viJidra ?). Cj. Kern, Geschichtc des Buddliisniiis in Indieti, ii, 445, 543. Of course, the JJarmak famil)- had been converted, but their contem- poraries never thought much of their profession of Islam, nor regarded it as genuine. Induced probably by family traditions, they sent scholars to India, there to study medicine and pharmacology. Besides, they engaged Hindu scholars to come to Bagdad, made them the chief physicians of their hospitals, and ordered them to translate from Sanskrit into Arabic, books on medicine, pharmacolog)\ toxicology, philosophy, astrology and other subjects. Still in later centuries Muslim scholars sometimes travelled for the same purposes as the emissaries of the Barmak, e. g. Almuvvaffak, not long before Alberunl's time (Codex Vindobonensis, sive medici Abu Ma?isnr liber fiindamentorum phannacologice , ed. Seligmann, Vienna, 1859, pp. 6, 10, and 15, 9)."

We shall finish with another appropriate ex- tract from Prof. Macdonell's recent work ^ :—

"In Science, too, the debt of Europe to India has SortLsoTiof. been considerable. There is, in the first place, the ^^^cdnnell great fact that the Indians invented the numerical figures used all over the world. The influence which the decimal system of reckoning dependent on those figures has had not only on mathematics, but on the progress of civilisation in general, can hardly be over- estimated. During the 8th and 9th centuries the Indians became the teachers in arithmetic and algebra of the Arabs, and through them of the nations of the West. Thu.s, though we call the latter science by an Arabic name, it is a gift we owe to India."

(i) Hist. Sans. Lit. p. 424.

THE AYURVEDIC PERIOD

(From the pre- Buddhistic Era to circa 800 A. D. J

CHAPTER I

The Constitution and Properties of Matter : the Atomic Theory

It is not our purpose to discuss in the present volume the theories dominating Hindu medicine and. incidentally, chemistry. A concise preliminary summary of some of the salient features of the Samkhya and Vaiseshika s)\stems of philosophy is, however, absolutely needed in order to follow with advantage the excerpts given in this book from the Charaka, the Sus'ruta and other works. In connection with this, it would also be interesting to com- pare the indebtedness of Hippocrates to the doctrines of Par- menides, Empedocles and other philosophers of the same school.^

Kauada, the founder of the Vaiseshika system, chiefly occupied himself with the study of the properties of matter. The atomic theory, as propounded by him, has many points in common with that of the Greek philosopher, Democritus. His theory of the pro- pagation of sound cannot fail to excite our wonder and admiration even at this distant date. No less remarkable is his statement that //"■/// (ifid lieat arc only diff'ejrnt forms of the sixmc essential substance. But Kanada is anticipated in many material points by Kapila, the reputed originator of the Sanikhya philosoph\'. With the purel}' metaph}'sical aspects of these s)'stems we are not concerned here. Their theories of matter and its constitution alone fall within the scope of our present enquiry. We shall now briefl)- refer to some of their doctrines.

The Sanikhya, in common with other systems of Hindu philo- .sophy, teaches that salvation in after-life is only attainable by perfect knowledge. According to Kapila, there are three sources of knowledge which consists in right discrimination of the percep-

(i) (Etivres if Hippocrate, par E. Lit t re, Paris. iSjg, Tome /, pp. 13 et seq.

HINDU (HlvMISlRV

tible and imperceptible principles of the material world from the immaterial soul. He enumerates these principles to be t\vent\--five in number. For our present purpose, however, a few of these on!}- come within our purview. These we will [^resent to our readers in the inimitable language of Colebrooke, whose masterly exposition of Hindu thought, though written nearly four scores of years ago, still retains its value and authoritative stamps : —

TAN>fATR.A. OR PARTICLES.

"Five subtile particles, rudiments, or atoms, denominated Tan- indira ; perceptible to beings of a superior order, but unapprehend- ed b\- the grosser senses of mankind : derived from the conscious principle, and themselves productive of the five grosser elements, earth, water, fire, air, and space.

Five Elements.

"Five elements, produced from the five elementar)- particles or rudiments, ist. A diffused, etherial fluid {akas'a), occupying space : it has the property of audibleness, being the vehicle of sound, derived from the sonorous rudiment or etherial atom. 2nd. Air, which is endowed with the properties of audibleness and tangibility, being sensible to hearing and touch ; derived from the tangible rudiment or atrial atom. 3rd. Fire, which is invested with properties of audibleness, tangibility and colour ; sensible to hearing, touch and sight : derived from the colouring rudiment or igneous atom. 4th. Water, which possesses the properties of audibleness, tangibilit}-, colour and savour ; being sensible to hearing, touch, sight and taste ; derived from the savoury rudiment or aqueous atom. 5th. Earth, which unites the properties of audiblene.ss, tangibilit)-, colour, sa\our and odour ; being sensible to hearing touch, sight, taste and smell : derived from the odorous rudiment or terrene atom.

i\) Trans. Royal As. Soc, Vol. i,pp. 19-43 and pp. gz-iiS. The European student who wishes to pursue the subject further may consult Max Miiller's Six Sys/etiis of Indian Philosophy in which an ample and exhaustive bibhography will be found.

HINDU CHKiMISTRV

Animated Atom.

"The notion of an animated atom seems to be a compromise between the refined dofrma of an immaterial soul and the difficulty which a gross understanding finds in grasping the comprehension of individual existence, unattached to matter.

Grosser Body.

"The grosser body, with which a soul clad in its subtile person is invested for the purpose of fruition, is composed of the five elements, or of four, excluding the etherial, according to some authorities ; or of one earth alone, according to others. That grosser body, propagated by generation, is perishable. The sub- tile person is more durable, transmigrating through successive bodies, which it assumes, as a mimic shifts his disguises to repre- sent various characters."

We now come to the treatment of the subject by Kauada in his famous Vaiseshika system. Here also we are indebted to Cole- brooke for the following summary. Kauada arranges the objects of sense in six categories, viz., substance, quality, action, community, difference and aggregation. According to him : —

"I. Substance is the intimate cause of an aggregate effect or product : it is the site of qualities and of action ; or that in which qualities abide, and in which action takes place.

"Nine are enumerated, and no more are recognised. Darkness has been alleged by some philosophers ; but it is no substance ; nor is body a distinct one ; nor gold which the Mlmamsakas affirm to be a peculiar substance.

"Those specified b\' Kauada are :

Earth. "i. Earth, which besides cjualities common to most substances (as number, quantity, individuality, conjunction, disjunction, priority, posteriority, gravit)', fluiditx- and faculty of \elocit\- and of elasticity), has colour, savour, odour and feel or temperature. Its distinguishing quality is smell ; and it is succinctly defined as a substance odorous. In some instances, as in gems, the smell is latent : but it becomes manifest b)- calcination.

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"It is eternal, as atoms ; or transient, as aggrec;^atcs. In either, those characteristic quaHties are transitory, and are matinati\e, as affected by hght and heat : for by union with it, whether latent or manifest, form colour, taste, smell and temperature are in earth of any sort annulled, and other colour etc. introduced.

"A<4.q; rebates or products are either organised bodies, or organs of perception, or unorganic masses.

' Organised earthly bodies are of five sorts. The organ of smell is terreous. Unorganic masses are stones, lumps of clay, etc. The union of integrant j^arts is hard, soft or cumulative as stones, flowers, cotton, etc.

Water.

"2. Water, which has the qualities of earth ; excepting smell, and with the addition of viscidity. Odour, when observable in water, is adscititious, arising from mixture of earth\- particles.

"The distinguishing qualit)- of water is coolness. It is accord- ingl}- defined as a substance cool to the feel.

"It is eternal, as atoms ; transient, as aggregates. The qualities of the first are constant likewise ; those of the latter inconstant.

"Organic aqueous bodies are beings abiding in the realm of \^aruna. The organ of taste is aqueous : witness the saliva. Un- organic waters are rivers, seas, rain, snow, hail, etc.

"It is b\' some maintained, that hail is pure water rendered solid b\- the supervention of an unseen virtue : others imagine its solidity to be owing to mixture of earthl\- particles.

Light.

"3. Light is coloured, and illumines other substances ; and to the feel is hot : which is its distinguishing quality. It is defined as a substance hot to the feel. [Meat, then, and light are identified as one substance.]

"It has the qualities of earth except smell, taste, and gravity. It is eternal, as atoms ; not so, as aggregates.

"Organic luminous bodies are beings abiding in the solar realm. The visual ra}-, which is the organ of sight, is lucid. Unorganic light is reckoned fourfold : earthy, celestial, alvine and mineral. Another distinction concerns sight and feel ; as light or heat

HINDU CHEMISTRY

may be either latent or manifest, in respect of both sii^ht and feel, or differentl\' in regard to either. Thus fire is both seen and felt ; the heat of hot water is felt but not seen ; moonshine is seen, but not felt ; the visual ray is neither seen nor felt. Terrestrious light is that, of which the fuel is earthy, as fire. Celestial is that of which the fuel is watery, as lightning and meteors of various sorts, Alvine is that of which the fuel is both earthy and watery : it is intestinal, which digests food and drink. Mineral is that which is found in pits, as gold. For some maintain that gold is scj'id light ; or, at least that the chief ingredient is light, which is rendered solid by mixture with some particles of earth. Were it mere earth, it might be calcined by fire strongh- urged. Its light is not latent, but overpowered by the colour of the earthy particles mixed with it. In the Mlmamsa, however, it is reckoned as a distinct substance, as before observed."

After giving an account of air and ether etc., Colebrooke proceeds with Kanada's

Conception of the Simple, Binary, Tertiary, AND Quaternary Atoms.

"Material substances are by Kauada considered to be pri- marily atoms ; and secondarily, aggegates. He maintains the eternity of atoms ; and their existence and aggregation are ex- plained as follows :

"The mote, which is seen in a sunbeam, is the smallest percept- ible quantit)-. Being a substance and an effect, it must be com- posed of what is less than itself ; and this likewise is a substance and an effect ; for the component part of a substance that has magnitude must be an effect. This again must be composed of what is smaller ; and that smaller thing is an atom. It is simple and uncomposed ; else the series would be endless : and, were it pursued indefinitely, there would be no difference of magnitude between a mustard seed and a mountain, a gnat and an elephant, each alike containing an infinity of particles. The ultimate atom then is simple.

"The first ccjmpound consists of two atoms ; for one does not enter into composition ; and there is no argument to prove, that

HINDU CHEMISTRY

more than two must, for incohation, be united. The next consists of three double atoms ; for, if onl)' two were conjoined, magnitude would hardly ensue, since it must be produced either by size or a number of particles : it cannot be their size and, therefore, it must be their number. Nt)r is there an\' reason for assuming the union of four double atoms, since three suffice to originate magnitude. The atom then is reckoned to be the sixth part of a mote visible in a sunbeam.

"Two earthly atoms, concurring b\' an unseen peculiar virtue, the creative will of God, or time, or other competent cause, cons- titute a double atom of earth ; and, by concourse of three binary atoms, a tertiary atom is produced ; and by concourse of four triple atoms, a quaternar\' atom ; and .so on, to a gross, grosser, or grossest mass of earth : thus great earth is produced ; and in like manner, great water, from aqueous atoms ; great light, from lumi- nous ; and great air, from aerial. The qualities that belong to the effect are those which appertained to the integrant part, or primar\- particle, as its material cause : and converseK-, the qualities which belong to the cause are found in the effect.

"The di.ssolution of substances proceeds inversel)-. In the integrant parts of an aggregate substance resulting from com- positi(Mi, as in the potsherds of an earthen jar, action is induced by pressure attended with velocity, or by simple pressure. Dis- junction ensues ; whereb\- the union, which was the cause of incohation of members, is annulled ; and the integral substance, consisting of those members, is resolved into its parts, and is destroyed : for it ceases to subsist as a whole.

Quality of the Substance viz.. Colour, Savour, etc.

"II. Quality is closely united with substance ; not, however, as an intimate cause of it, nor consisting in motion ; but common : not a genus, )-et appertaining to one. It is independent of conjunction and disjunction ; not the cause of them, not itself endued with qualities.

"Twenty-four are enumerated. Seventeen only are, indeed, specified in Kauada's aphorisms ; but the rest are understood.

"I. Colour. It is a peculiar qualit)- to be apprehended onl}- by

HINDU CHEMISTRY

sight ; and abides in three substances ; earth, water, and h'ght. It is a characteristic quaHty of the last ; and, in that, is white and resplendent. In water it is white, but without lustre. In the primary atoms of both it is perpetual ; in their products, not so. In earth it is variable ; and seven colours are distinguished : via. white, yellow, green, red, black, tawny (or orange) and variegated. The varieties of these seven colours are many, unenumerated. The six simple colours occur in the atoms of the earth ; and the seven, including variegated, in its double atoms, and more complex forms. The colour of integrant parts is the cause of colour in the integral substance.

"2. Savour. It is a peculiar quality, to be apprehended only by the organ of taste ; and abides in two substances, earth and water. It is a characteristic quality of the last ; and in it is sweet. It is perpetual in atoms of water ; not so in aqueous products. In earth it is variable, and six sorts are distinguished : sweet, bitter, pungent, astringent, acid, and saline.

"3. Odour. It is a peculiar quality, to be apprehended only by the organ of smell ; and abides in earth alone, being its distinguish- ing quality. In water, odour is adscititious, being induced by uni- on with earthy particles ; as a clear crystal appears red by asso- ciation with a hollyhock, or other flower of that hue. In air also it is adscititious : thus a breeze, which has blown over blossoms, musk, camphor, or other scented substances, wafts fragrant particles of the blossoms, etc. The flowers are not torn, nor the musk diminished ; because the parts are replaced by a repro- ductive unseen virtue. However, camphor and other volatile

substances do waste.

% * * *

Gravitation.

"12. Gravity is the peculiar cause of primary descent or falling.

"It affects earth and water. Gold is affected by this quality, by reason of earth contained in it.

"In the absence of a countervailing cause, as adhesion, velocity, or some act of volition, descent results from this quality. Thus a cocoanut is withheld from falling b\' adhesion of the foot-

HINDU CHEMISTRY

stalk ; but. this impediment ceasinor on maturity of the fruit, it falls.

"According to Uda)-ana Acharya, gravit\- is imperceptible, but to be inferred from the act of fallini^. Vallabha maintains that it is perceived in the position of a thin;j^ descendini;^ to a lower situation.

Levity.

"Levity is not a distinct quality, but the neo^ation of gravity.

Fluidity.

"13. Fluidit\- is the cause of original trickling.

"It affects earth, light and water. It is natural and essenial in water ; adscititious in earth and light ; being induced b\' exhibition of fire in molten substances, as lac, gold, etc.

"Fluidity is perceptible b\' external senses, sight and touch.

"In hail and ice, fluidity essentially subsists, but is obstructed by an impediment arising from an unseen virtue which renders the water solid.

V1.SCIDITY.

14. "Viscidity is the quality of clamminess and cause of agglutination. It abides in water only. In oil, liquid butter, etc., it results from the watery parts of those liquids.

Sound.

"15. Sound is a peculiar quality of the etherial element, and is to be apprehended by the hearing. It abides in that element exclusively and is its characteristic quality. Two .sorts are dis- tinguished : articulate and musical.

Theory ok the PuorAOATioN of Sound.

"To account for sound originating in one place being heard in another, it is observed, that sound is propagated b\' undulation, wave after wave, radiating in every direction, from a centre, like the blossoms of a Nauclea. It is not the first, nor the intermediate wave, that is the sound heard : but the last that comes in contact with the organ of hearing : and therefore it is not quite correct

HINDU CHEMISTRY

to say, that a drum has been heard. Sound oriijinates in conjunc- tion, in disjunction, or in sound itself. The conjunction of cymbals, or that of a drum and stick, may serve to exemplify the first. It is the instrumental cause. The rustlini;- of leaves is an instance of disjunction being the cause of sound. In some cases, sound becomes the cause of sound. In all, the conformity of wind or its calmness is a concomitant cause : for an ad\erse wind obstructs it. The material cause is in every case theetherial fluid : and the conjunction of that with the sonorous subject is a concomitant cause."

It now onl)' remains for us to furnish a precis of the atomic theory of Ka^zada in the words of Max IVUiller :

AiVus OR Atoms

"What is thought to be peculiar to Ka//ada, na\' the distin- guishing feature of his philosoph\% is the theor}- of A;/us or Atoms. The}' take the place of the Tanmatras in the Sri;//kh}-a philosophy. Though the idea of an atom is not unknown in the Nya)'a-philo- sophy (Nyaya Sutras, IV. 2, 4-25), it is nowhere so fully worked out as in the Vaij-eshika. Ka;/ada argued that there must be some- where a smallest thing that excludes further analxsis. Without this admission, we should have a 7rg7-ess2is ad infiuitnui, a most objectionable process in the eyes of all Indian philosophers. A mountain, he says, would not be larger than a mustard seed. These smallest and invisible particles are held by Ka/vada to be eternal in themselves, but non-eternal as aggregates. As aggregates again they may be organised organs, and inorganic. Thus the human body is earth organised, the power of smelling is the earthl)- organ, stones are inorganic.

'Tt is, no doubt, very tempting to ascribe a Greek origin to Ka;^ada's theory of atoms. But supp<)se that the atomic theory had really baen borrowed from a Greek source, would it not be strange that Ka;/ada's atoms arc sup[)osed never to assume visible dimensions till there is a combination of three double atoms (Trya/mka), neither the simple nor the double atoms being supposed to be visible by themselves. I do not remember an>-- thing like this in Ki)icurean authors, and it seems to me to give

2

HINDI ( 11I,.\1IS1 R\

quite an iiulepciuiciit character t«> Ka/zada's \ lew of the iiatuic of an atom.

"We are t<»ld tlial water, in its atomic state, is eternal, as an aggregate transient. J^eings in tlie reahii of \'aT-ii//a (god of the sea) are organised, taste is the \\ater\- organ, rivers are water in- organic.

"Light in its atomic state is eternal, as an aggregate transient. There are organic luminous bodies in tiie sun, sight or the visual ra\- is the luminous organ, burning fires are inorganic.

"Air, again, is both atomic and an aggregate. Beings of the air, spirits, etc., are organised air ; touch in the skin is the atrial organ, wind is inorganic air. Here it would seem as if we had something not very unlike the doctrine of Empedocles. * * *

But though we ma\' discover the same thought in the piiiloso()hies of Ka/zada and Kmpedocles, the form which it takes in India is characteristicall\- different from its Greek form."'

J)ATi:.S OF THE PlIILOSOrniCAL SL'TKAS —

The Question of Trior rrv

As regards the dates of the philosophical siitras, nothing definite is known ; here, as in the subsecjuent portions of our history, we ha\e to depend largel)- upon constructive chronology. We quote below two short extracts from Professor Ma. \ ]\Iuller's "Indian Philosoph)-" which summarise all the information available at i)resent on the subject :

"If we consider the state of philosophical thfjught in India such as it is represented to us in the Brahma//as and Upanishads, and afterwards in the canonical books of the Buddhists, we cannot wonder that all attempts at fixing the dates of the six recognised systems of philosf>ph\-, na)- even their mutual relationship, should hitherto have failed. It is true that Buddhism and Jainism were likewise but two philosophical s)-stems out of man}-, and that it has been po.ssible to fix their dates. But if in their case we know something about their dates and their historical development, this is chiefly due to the social and political importance w hich they acquired during the fifth, the fourth, and the third centuries B. C,

(i) IiuiiiXii r/i!7oso/>'n\ pp. 584-85.

HINDU CHEMISTRY

and not simply to tlicii' i^ln'losophical tenets, \^'e l<nfA\- also that

there were many teachers, contemporaries of Buddha, but they

have left no traces in the literar}- jiistory of India.

* * * * *

"We cannot be far wron^;' therefore if we assign the gradual formation of the six s}-stems of philosoplu' to the p.eriod from Buddha (5th centur)-j to A.s-oka (third centur)-;, though we ha\e to admit, particulary in the cases of Vedanta, Sa///kh) a. and Yoga a long pre\'ious develo[)ment reaching back througli Upanishads and Brahma;/as to the very h}-mns of the Rig \^eda.

"It is equalh' difficult to fix the relative position of the great systems of philosoph)', because, as I explained before, the}- quote each other mutuall}-. With regard to the relation of l^uddhism to the six orthodox s}'stems it seems to me that all we can honestl)- say is that schools of philosophy handing down doctrines ver)- similar to those of our six classical or orthodox s)-stems are pre- supposed b\- the Buddhist Siittas." (pp. 116 — 120)

As regards the question of priority, we shall also take the libert\' to quote below frr)m Prof. Macdonell's "History of Sanskrit Literature" :

"Turning to Philosophical Literature, we find that the early Greek and Indian Philosophers have man\' points in common. Some of the leading doctrines of the Eleatics, that God and the universe are one, that everything existing in multiplicity has no reality, that thinking and being are identical, are all to be found in the philosoph)- of the Upanishads and the Vedanta .system, which is its outcome. Again, the doctrine of Empedocles. that nothing can arise which has not existed before, and that nothing existing can be annihilated, has its exact parallel in the characteristic dcjctrine of the Sii///khya sx'stem about the eternit>- and indestructibilit>- of matter. According to Greek tradition. Thales, Kmpedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus. and others undertook journeys to Oriental countries in order to study philosoph}-. Hence there is at least the historical possibilit}- of the Greeks having been influ- enced by Indian thought through Persia.

"Whatever ma}- be the truth in the cases just mentioned, the dependence of P}-th<agoras on Indi.in i)hilosoph}- and science cer- tainU- seems to have a high degree of probabilitx". .\lmost all the

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doctrines ascribed t<> him. rcliL,Mous, iihilosophical. mathematical were known in IncHa in the sixth centiir}- B. C. The coincidences are so numerous that their cumulative force becomes considerable. The transmifTratit)n theory, the assumption of five elements, the P\tha- ijorean theorem in i^eometry, the prohibition as to eatini^ beans, tiie relii^io-philosophical character of the P\-thai^orean fraternity and the mystical speculations of the Pxthagorean school, all have their close parallels in ancient India. The doctrine of metemps)chosis in the case of P\-thagoras appears without an}' connection or ex- planatory backt^round, and was regarded b}- the Greeks as of foreign origin. He could not have deri\ed it from Eg\-pt, as it was not known to the ancient Egyptians. In spite, however, of the later tradition, it seems impossible that P)thagoras should have made his wa\- to India at so earlx- a date, but he could quite well have met Indians in Persia."'

(l) History of Sanskrit Literature, }^\i. :^z\ -22. Colcbrooke himself sums up his views in these words : — "I should be disposed to conclude that the Indians were in this instance teachers than learners." Trans. Roy. As. Soc, Vol. I., p. 579. Prof. H. H. Wilson observes :— "that the Hindus derived any of their philosophical ideas from the Greek seems very improbable, and if there is any borrowing in the case, the latter were most probably indebted to the former."' Preface to the Sawkhya Karika (1837) p. ix.

CHAPTKR II Chemistry in the Charaka and the Susruta

THE en AKAKi

[The subject-matter in the first few extracts in this chapter is practically based upon the Vaij-eshika system ; see ante pp. 3 et scq?\^

Tpje Tastes — The Metals and their Calces "The object of the tongue is taste. Water and earth are the objective existences in which taste inheres, In its manifestation and as regards particular kinds of it, space, air and h"ght are also its adjuncts. Sweet, sour, salt, pungent, bitter and astringent, these are regarded as the sixfold catalogue of tastes. * * * Ob- jects are again known to be of three kinds, vir:., animal products, vegetable products, and products appertaining to the earth. Hone}', vaccine, secretions, bile, fat, marrow, blood, flesh, excreta, urine, skin, semen, bones, tendons, horns, nails, hoofs, hair, bristles, and the bright pigment called Gorochand^ are used (as drugs) among animal products. Gold, the ordure of the metals, [i.e. their calces] the five metals (viz. silver, copper, lead, tin and iron), sand, lime, red arsenic, gems, salt, red chalk and antimony, are indicated as drugs appertaining to the earth." -

A Discourse on the Tastes — their Relationship

TO the five Primal Elements — the

Nature of the Alkali

"Once on a time, the son of Atri, and Bhadrakap}'as 5akunte)'a and the full-e}'ed Maudgalya, and the golden-e\-ed Kau.s-ika, the sinless Bharadvaja otherwise called Kumaraj-iras, the bles.sed king Varyovida, that foremost of all intelligent men, Nimi, the ruler of the Videhas, Va^rij-a of high intelligence, and Ka;;/kha}-ana- valhlka, that foremost of all ph}'sicians of the Valhika countr}-, — these Rishxs, all of whom were old in years and learning and all

(i) Concretions found in the gall bladder of the o.\.

(2) A. C. Kaviratna's Translation of Charaka Sain/iita, pp. 6-7,

14 HINDU CHEMISTRY

of wlidni had subju<;atccl their simls. came tug-ether to the dcliglit- fiil Chaitraratha woods, desirous of passing a few da)s in enjo)-- iTient and pleasure. As those AVshis conversant with every topic were seated there, the folhnving discourse of grave import took place among them on the subject of the proper ascertainment of the (different) tastes and food.

"There is one kind of taste, said Bhadrakapya ; which j^ersons skilled in the subject regard as are of the five subjects of the senses, 77'c;., that which relates to the tongue. That, again, is not different from water.

"The Brahma;/a .Sakunteya said there are two tastes, their \irtues being that one of them cuts or removes from the bod)' all bad humours or ingredients, and the other only checks or curbs them.

"There are three tastes, said the full-eyed Maudgalya. Their virtues are cutting, curbing, and lx)th.

"There are four tastes, said the golden-e)'ed Kau.sika. 'J'he\' are agreeable and beneficial, and agreeable and non-beneficial, dis- agreeable and beneficial.

"There are five tastes, said Kumilraj-ira-Bharadxaja. They appertain to Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether (or Space).

"There are six tastes, said the ro\al sage \'ar\"ovida. Ihey are heav\-, light, cold, hot, oil)- and dr)-.

"There are seven tastes, said Ximi, the ruler of the X'idehas. They are sweet, sour, saltish, i)ungent, bitter, astringent, and alkaline.

"There are eight tastes, said Va^/ijra-Dhaniargava. The\- are sweet, sour, saltish, pungent, bitter, astringent, alkaline, and that which remains in an unmanifcst form.

"The tastes are infinite in number, said Kawkhayana, foremost among the physicians of the Valhika country, in consequence of the infinite variety of their virtues, operations or effects and methods of corrections (or mixture fi)r adding to their virtues, etc.).

"The illustrious son of Atri, viz. Punarvasu, said that the number of tastes is triiK' six. The\- are sweet, sour, saltish, pun- gent, bitter, and astringent. The source from which these six flow, i.e.. their origin, is water. Their operations or effects are of two kinds, viz., cutting and curbing. In consequence, again, of mixture

HINDU CHEMlS'l'RY 15

or combination, they become both cutting and curbing- at the same time. Agreeable and disagreeable are their divisions that depend upon the likes and dislikes of men. Beneficial and non- beneficial are their powers. The refuge of the tastes are the modi- fications of the five primal elements (of Earth, Water, Inre, Air, and Ether or Space). The tastes, again, depend upon the (original) nature of their refuge, the modifications of that refuge, combina- tions of the substances that form their refuge, as also place, and time. ^

"The virtues or properties (attaching to the tastes) occur in tho.se which constitute the refuge (of the tastes), called objects. Those virtues are heavy, light, cold, warm, oily, dry, and others.

"Kshdm (alkali) is so called from its being produced by ksJiamna

(dropping down or straining) . This is not a taste. It is, on the

other hand, an object. It is, in fact, produced from man\' kinds

of taste. Hence, it has many ta.stes. Am.ong them, pungent and

.saline predominate. It is compo.sed of many objects of the .senses.

It is manufactured with the aid of different processes.

* «- * * * *

"At the outset, however, we shall say something referring to the diversity of objects (which are the refuge of the tastes). All objects are the results of the combinations of five primal elements {vh., Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether or Space). As regards Medical Science, objects are of two kinds 775., those endowed with anima- tion and those that are inanimate. The attributes which inhere in objects are .sound, &c., heaviness &c., ending with solubility." -

We now quote onl\' a few typical instances of mineral and metallic preparations.

The Five Kinds of Salt.s "The five kinds of salts viz. sauvarchala, saindhava, vit, audbhida, with samudra." [See Index under the respective headings]

(i) The modifications of the five primal elements conslitulc the icfiiye of the tastes. Every substance is formed l)y modifications of those elements. What is said, therefore, is that material substances are the refuge of the tastes, i.e., the tastes inhere in thcni.

(2) Kiivii-nfiuis Trans., pp. ::95-99'

i6 HINDU LHKMISTRV

IMlNKKALS FOR I'LXTERNAl, Ari'LICATION

"Sulphate of copper, sulphate of iron, realgar, orpiment and sulphur in combination with vegetable drugs are prescribed for external application in ringworm, eczema, leprosy, &c."'

The Ek;iit Varieties of Urine

"The eight varieties of urine are those of the sheep, the goat, the cow. the buffalo, the elephant, the camel, the horse, and the ass."-

Prei'aration of Kshara (alkali) "A young butea frondosa is to be cut to pieces and dried and finally reduced to ashes. The ash is to be lixiviated with four or six times its weight of water and strained (through linen) 2 1 times."^

Pill Iron Compound "Into the composition of pill iron compound p)Tites and the rust of iron enter."-*

A Collvrium

"The ingredients of a coll\Tium are conch-shell, coral, lapis lazuli, iron, copper, the bone of the frog, sulj^hide of antimony and the seed livf^craiithcra utorun^^a!''^^

[The first five articles are interpreted as meaning the calces thereof.]

Powder of Pearl Compound

"Among the constituents we have, pearl, sulphur, powder of iron, copper and siKer."*''

[The text does not precisely say whether the metals are to be used as such or fr.y X'/Z/^^-/ by being roasted with sulphur. The Hindu ph\-sicians ht^wever always take them in the latter sense.]

Iron, Gold and Silver Tonics "A thin iron plate is to be made red hot and plunged into the

(i) Siitra.Ocv. Ill, 4-5 (2) Idui, Ch. I, 43-

f3) Chikitsih C\\. XXUl, 2b. (4) //'/</, Ch. XVI, 28.

(5^ //;/</, Ch. XXVI, 123. (6) Chikitsd, C\\.XWU,^o.

The references are according to the edition of Kavirajes D. N. Sen and U. N. Sen.

HINDU CHEMISTRY 17

decoction of the myrobalaiis, ccjw's urine, the solution of "the salts", the solution of the alkali extracted from the ash i>{ hiitca froudosa ; i.e. made rod hot and plunt^-ed into one of the riboxe liquids at a time. When the iron becomes black like c(jll}-rium it is to be powdered. * * * * *

"The same process to be adopted in the case of t^old and siKer."^

Rasavana DEMXEI)

"Medicines are of two kinds : the one promotes the strength and vitality of the healthy, the other cures diseases.

"Whatever promotes longevity, retentive memor\', health, \irilit\', &c, is called Rasa)^ana.""'^

THE i^V^SItiTA

Preparation and U.se of Alkalies and

Alkaline Caustics'^

"Of all cutting instruments and accessory cutting instru- ments, caustics are superior inasmuch as the\- perftM'm the work of incisions, punctures, and scarifications, relieve derange- ments of the three humours, viz., air, bile, and phlegm, and uniform- ly affect the diseased part to which the}- are applied. Kslidra (caustics) are so called because they remo\e diseased parts and destroy the skin and flesh. From being composed of numerous medicines they can affect the three humours. Caustics being white in colour are cooling or of lunar origin.' This origin is not inconsistent with their burning, escharotic and lacerating proper- ties. Being composed of numerous heating medicines, caustics are acrid, hot and pungent. The\- promote suppuration, destroy parts, improve unhealth}- sores anrl promote granulation, dry up discharge, stop bleeding and abrade the skin. Their

(i) Child tsa, Ch. I. 5, pp. 497-98.

(2) Ibid, Ch. I. 2-6.

(3) We li,i\e adopted Udoy Chund Dutt's Translation of Cli^. .\1 and .\I\' with certain corrections here and there.

(4 1 The reader will not fail to notice that silver nitrate is, in the lanjjuafje of Western Alchenis-, named luihv ciitistic.

i8 HINDU CHEMISTRY

internal use removes worms, acidit)-, phley,"m, skin diseases, some poisons and corpulence. Their excessive use causes impotence.

"Alkalies are of two sorts, namcl\-, for external application and internal administration. The)- are used externally in the skin diseases called hiistha, in keloid, rint,Mvorm, leucoderma, lepra, fistula-in-ano, tumours, unhealthy ulcers, sinuses, condyloma, moles, chloasma, brown spots on the face, warts, external inflam- mations, worms, poisons and piles, and in the seven following diseases of the mouth namely, Jipajiliva (ranula), adhijihvd (tumour on the tongue), upaknsa (inflammation of the gum), daiUavaidar- bliiX (inflammation of the gum from injury), and the three sorts of rohinl or inflammation of the throat. In these diseases of the mouth, accessory instruments, in the shape of caustics onl)', should be used. Alkaline solutions are administered internally in chronic or slow poisoning, abdominal tumours, ascites, loss of appetite, indigestion, disinclination for food, tympanitis, urinary deposits, calculi, internal or deep-seated inflammation, intestinal worms, poisoning and piles. Alkalies do not agree with children, old and weak pjople, and persons having a tendency to haemorr- hage from internal organs, or a bilious temperament. They are injurious in fev,ir, giddiness, intoxication, faintiiig, amaurosis and such other diseases.

"Alkalies for escharotic use are prepared like other alkalies by straining alkaline solutions as elsewhere explained in detail. The\' are made of three strengths, namel\-, weak, moderate and strong. He who wishes to prepare alkalies should in an auspici- ous da\' in autumn, fasting and in pure body, select a middle-aged, large-sized, uninjured gliantjpatali tree with black flowers {Schfrbcra sunetenioides) growing on an approved spot on a mountain, and address it with certain uianlras or incantations as a preliminar)' ceremony called adhivdsa. Next day the tree should be cut or killed after reciting the following mantra or pra\er : "Oh >'ou with great fiery power ina\' not th\- strength be lost ! Oh \ou auspicious tree, sta\- here and accomplish my work. After accomplishing my work you will go to heaven." Then the ceremony o{ hoiiia, or burning the sacrificial fire, should be performed with one hundred red flowers. The tree should then be cut to pieces and piled in a place free from wind. Some

HINDU CHEMISTRY

19

limestone should be placed on the pile which should be set on fire by stalks of Sesauiinn Iiidiann. When the fire is extinguished, the ashes of the ghanidpatali tree and the burnt lime should be kept separate. In the same way the following trees may be burnt with their root, branches, leaves and fruits for the pre- paration of alkalies/ namely :

Kutaja

Pala.s-a

Aj-vakar;/a

Paribhadraka

Vibhitaka

Aragvadha

Tilvaka

Arka

Snuhl

Apamarga

Patala

Naktamala

Vrlsha

Kadall

Chitraka

Putika

Indravriksha

Asphota

Ai-vamaraka

Saptachchhada

Agni mantha

Gunja

Four sorts of Koj'a

I lollarrhena antidwsenterica. Butea frondosa. Shorea robusta. Erythrina indica. Terminalia bellarica. Cassia fistula. Sx'mplocos racemosa Calotropis gigantea. Euphorbia neriifolia. Achyranthes aspera. Stereospermum suaveolens. Pongamia glabra. Justicia adhatoda. Musa sapientum. Plumbago ze\'lanica. Guilandina bonducella. Terminalia arjuna.

Salvadora persica

Nerium odorum,

Alstonia scholaris.

Premna serratifolia.

Abrus precatorins.

4 Varieties of Luffa amara."

LiXIVIATION OF THE ASHES

"Thirty two seers of ashes should be stirred ur mi.xed with six times their quantity of water or cow's urine and the mixture strained through cloth. This should be repeated twenty-one times. The strained fluid should then be boiled slowly in a

(i) Cf. Rixsarnava,}^. ^7, where the standard "plant ashes" are enmneiated.

HINDI; IHKMISIRV

large pan and ai^itatcd with a ladle. When the fluid becomes clear, pungent and soapy to the feel, it should be remf)ved from the fire and strriined through cloth. The filtrate* being thrt)\vn a\va\-, the strained fluid should be again boiled. From this alkaline solution take three quarters of a seer."

Ri;xi)i:ri\(. thk Alkali Caistr-

"Then take eight palas each of Banduc nut, burnt limestone, conch shells, and bivalve shells, and heat them in an iron pan till they are of the colour of fire. Then moisten them in the same vessel with the above-mentioned three-quarters of a seer of alkaline water and reduce them to powder. This powder should be thrown on sixty four seers of the alkaline water and boiled with constant and careful agitation b\- the ladle. Care should be taken that the solution is neither too thick nor thin."

How T(^ Stork up thk Alkali

"When reduced to propsr consistence, the solution should be removed from the fire and poured into an iron jar. The opening or mouth of the jar should be covered, and should be kept in a secluded place. Tius preparation is called MadhyaDia ksluira or alkaline caustic of middling strength. When the alkaline water is simplv boiled to the proper consistence without the addition of burnt shells &c., the preparation is called Mridu'^ kshCira or weak alkaline solution. The strong alkaline caustic is prepared b\' boiling the weak solution with two tolahs each in fine powder of such of the under-mentioned ingredients as are available, namely :

Danti, Baliospermun montanum.

Dravanti Salvinia cucullata.

( hitraka Plumbago ze\lanica.

LSngaliki Gloriosa superba.

Putika' Guilandina bonducell.

Kanaka Salvinia cucullata.

(i ) This is evidently a mistake. .Accordinj( to the original text, it should be "the dreg's" /. e. the precipitate.

(2; "Mridu" may be rendered more accurately as "mild."

HINDU CHEMISTRY

Kshirl Cleome felina.

Vacha Acorus calamus.

"Aconite root, carbonate of soda, asafcetida, black salt and corals.

'•This solution is used for bringing to a head or opening ab- scesses. These three varieties of alkalies should be used according to the state of the disease. In weak persons^ the alkaline water without the addition of other caustic ingredients, should be applied to strengthen the parts."

Characteristics of the Good and the Bad Alkali

On this subject there are the following verses : "Good alkaline caustics should be neither too strong nor too weak. They should be white in colour, smooth and soapy to the touch, should not spread be\'ond where the}- are applied, and act rapidly and successfully. These are the eight good properties of caustics. Their bad qualities consist in their being too weak or cool, too strong or hot, too slippery and spreading, too thick or too under- boiled, or the\' ma}- be deficient in ingredients.

"In applying caustic to a patient suffering from a disease curable b}- this remedy, he should be made to sit in a spacious place, protected from wind and sun. The physician should then procure the instruments or necessary articles according to the rules laid down in the fifth chapter. He should then examine the diseased part, rub, scarify or scratch it, and then appl}- the caustic by means of a probe, and wait for the space of time required to utter one hundred words. The diseased part turns black on the application of the caustic which is a sigii of its having been burnt. The application of some acid mixed with clarified butter or honey relieves the pain. If from the thickness of the burnt part, it does not fall off, the following application should be thoroughly applied to it, namel}-, equal parts of tamarind pulp, of the refuse of Kdnjika (fermented rice water), sesamum seeds and liquorice root rubbed together into a paste. Sesamum seeds and liquorice root rubbed together with clarified butter promotes granulations in ulcers."

22 HINDU CHEMISTRY

\\]i\ THE Acid Nkutralises the Alkali

"If you question. m\' .son ! how is it that the application of the pungent acid of Kanjika reHeves tlie burning of the fire-like hot alkaline caustic, then hear the following explanation from me. Alkalies possess all the tastes except that of the acid. The acrid taste prevails in it and the sahne one to a less degree (cf. ante p. 15). The sharp saline taste when mixed with acid becomes ver)- mild, and gives up its sharp quality. From this modification of the saline taste, the pain of caustics is relieved, just as fire is extinguished b\- water."

Mild and Caustic Alkalie.s

It will be noticed that there is a distinct mention of "mild" and "caustic" alkalies in the body. of the text. The process of lixivia- ting the ashes and rendering the lye caustic by the addition of lime leaves very little to improve upon, and appears almost scientific compared to the crude method to which M. Berthelot pays a high tribute :

"Fabrication de la Lessive : — Ouatre muids de cendres sont repartis entre deux cuviers, perces de trous au fond. Autour du trou le plus petit, du cote interieur, mets une petite quantite de foin, pour que la cendre n'obstrue pas le trou. Remplis d'eau le pre ^^ier des cuviers ; recueille le liquide filtre qui en decoule pendant toute la nuit et mets-le dans le second cuvier ; garde ce qui filtere da ce second cuvier. Mets d'autre cendre (dans un troisieme cuvier). Epiuse-la et il se forme une liqueur pareille au nard couleur d'or. Verse-la dans un quatrieme cuvier. La liqueur devient piquante et forte : telle est la lessive particuliere." Coll. d. AlcJi. Grecs, III. trad. p. 357.

We reproduce the remarks of M. Berthelot on the above : "On a regarde comme modernes les procedes de lixivitation methodique, usites pour exprimer les cendres et les materiaux salpetres : le passage suivant, tire du manuscrit de Saint-Marc, montre que ces procedes remontent au Xle siecle at sans doute au dela." — Clii)nie des Aucieris, p. 284.

HINDU CHEMISTRY 23

Description of Blood (Chapter XIV of Siitrasthdnain)

"The four varieties of food derived from the five elements and having the six tastes, the two properties of heat and cold or accorcHng to some, eight properties and many qualities when taken in moderation and thoroughly digested, produces a fine substance imbued with energy and fire. This is called rasa (chyle). The heart is the seat of the rasa or ch)'le. From the heart it proceeds through 24 arteries, namely, ten ascending, ten descending, and four transverse to all parts of the body. By some unseen cause or destiny, this chyle continually satiates, increases, nourish;iS and supports the bod\' and keeps it alive. The motion of this chyle throughout the body is inferred form the processes of decline, increase, and diseased condition of the different portions of the body. It may be asked whether this chyle which pervades all the external parts of the body, the three humours, the tissues, including the blood and the receptacles of the secreti(jns, is endow- ed with the property of heat or cold. As this chyle is a circula- ting fluid, and as it softens, vitalises, supports and nourishes the bod\", it should be known to possess the cooling property. This watery fluid no doubt assumes a red colour in the liver and spleen, that is, it is converted into blood in these organs. On this subject there is the following verse :

"The rasa (chyle) of living beings is coloured red b}- health}' bile. This coloured fluid is called blood. The blood excreted by- women and called the menstrual fluid is derived also from this rasa. This menstruation, coming at the age of twelve, ceases at the age of fift\-.

"The menstrual fluid is endowed with the property of heat, owing to the womb being possessed of both the properties of heat and cold. Other writers say that the blood of living beings is composed of the five elements. The five qualities of the five elements as seen in blood are as follows, namel)-, flesh}- smell, liquidit}', red colour, tendency to trickle or ooze, and lightness.' Blood is produced from chyle, flesh from blood, fat from flesh,

(I) Cf. '?///(' pp. 3-4 under \'ai.feshika rhilosophy,

24 HINDU CHEMISTRY

bones from fat, marrow from bones, and lastl>' tlic semen is produced from marrow. The cli\le produced from food and drink nourislies these constituent parts of tlie bod_\'. Li\iiii^ beiny;s are [)roduced from the msa ; hence sensible people should carefully preserve this rasa b)- conforming to the proper rules of diet and regimen."'

Ox Till-: C(-)LLi;CTIUN" ov Dklhjs (Chapter XXXVIII : Siitrastluviaui)

37 classes of vegetable drugs are mentioned, which chiefly constitute the Materia Medica. There is only one .vloka in which the six metals viz, tin, lead copper, silver, krish/zaloha i^iron) and gold, and their calces are recommended.

TilK Salt.s Rock-salt, sea-salt, bit, sauvarchala, romaka and aucibhid &c. (see ante p. i 5).

The Alkalies

Vavakshara (factitious carbonate of potash), sarjikakshiira- (trona or natron) ; the alkaline solution prepared according to directions given in Ch. XI ; and borax.

Internal administration of alkali is recommended for dissoKing the stones or gravels (urinary calculi).

Internal use of Lead and Tin Lead and tin are described as vermifuge — a propert\- also

accepted by the later latro-chemists.

Powdered tin rubbed for seven daws together with the creamy

portion of curd is recommended for internal administration.

Minerals for I^xternal .Aitlicwtiox

For the treatment of ulcer an external application of sulphate of copper, sulphate of iron, orpiment and realgar &c. is prescribed.

(i) The reader may compare the above theories on the Chemistry and Physiology of Digestion and Nutrition with those of Ceber. Mdc l^riiitc'ifAl- chimic Arabi\ trad. pp. 201-3.

2' I'loni the time of the Charaka and tlie Su.vnita, Hindu I'harmac)' has ahvays recognised these two alkalies as distinct.

HINDU CHEMIS'l KV

Anotiicr recipe ukUuIcs alum earth, red ochre, sulphale nf co[)pef, }ellii\\ish (basic) sulphate c)f iron, rock-salt, nrpiment and reali^ar. '

R().\.STIN(; OF [RON AND OTHER MkTALS, SO AS TO R F, N' !• K R

TiiF.M F"iT FOR Internal Administration

Thin leaves ot' cast iron are to be smeared with the levigated pfuvder (>(' "the salts" aiid heated in the fire of the cow-duny c;d<es and then phnii^'ed into a decoctitin of the nnrohalans and asafcetida. This process is to be repeated i6 times. The lea\es are tl\en to be ignited in the fire of tlie wood of iiiiinosd catechu and afterwards finely powdered and passed through linen of fine textiu'e.

The above process is equally applicable to the roasting of the other metals. -

The Orioin of BitlaifiN

The origin of bitumen is much the same as in the C 'haraka and the Bower Ms. ; the only difference being that, according to .Sujanta, bitumen is related to six instead of four metals (see lielow p. 28).

Iron Pyrites Iron Pvrites are collected on the bank of tiie liver T;l[)i, of the ki-itre ol gold anil silver res[:)ectivel>' fsee bel'.)w und.cr Rasaraliia- s.nn'ir/iJiava, Bk. II, 77 -81) and prescribed m the treatments ot dial)etes, le[)ros\-, &:c.

Gold Dust Gold dust, mixed with lotus seetl, hone\-, &c. is used as a tonic.

J I IF Poisons The Poisons are clas.-^ified as am'mal, vegetable, and mineral respective!)-. Under the last we have /''/icjidsi/ia b/iiisiiia'' and orpiment.

(1) C/tikitsiiasthdiiain Cli. .XIX, y] . chI. J. \'idy;i-,a.yaia.

(2j See Note on "llie .Metals and tli.-n Sall.V at the end oFilii-^ (;iia|)t<'i .

(31 It is ,()nu-tinie- taken to nu-aii \\ lute arsenic ; "hut il is \er\ donljlhil if" Suvmla meant any nali\.- v.liiie ar.^eni( l)y it. I In- dpri\alion ol the tcini iniplics that it \'as Dlnaim'il \^\ io,mtin<^ sonic soil of stone or ore." Dutt.

4

26 HINDU CHEMISTRY

Use of ;MKRrrKV

The only references to mercur\-, which are however very vague, are <\\x\ ^ffiT: *i^T^3ftq: *i^^ g^: if^.n^ 'ni: ; and : ^^ ^r{ "^^^

Note on The Metals and their Salts {^w.-^fr\)^

Six metals are reco<^nised, namely : tin, iron, lead, copper, silver and gold.'-* The thin leaves of the metals by being plastered over with a paste of "the salts" (see p. 25) including common salt, salt-petre and sulphate c:if magnesia and afterwards subjected to roasting were no doubt converted into their respective oxides, chlorides or ox\ -chlorides as the case m.i)- be. We have thus in the .Su.vruta a crude and im[)erfect, but all the same potcyitially modern, process for the preparation of the metallic salts. The much reputed "potable gold" in the shape of the chloride of the metal was probably in this way obtained. It will be interesting to note the successive stages in the evolution of the chemical processes as we proceed. (See especiall)- under "Chemistr)- in Rasar//ava", p. 39, where the mixture of the salts is technically named "bi^/a" and consists of green vitriol, alum, common salt, salt-petre, &c.)

The reader will find an analog)- in the ancient Eg}-ptian and Greek methods as preserved in the Ley den Parchment, one or two extracts from which cannot fail to be of interest :

"A\'ant i^ris cjuatre paillettes d'or, faites-cn une lame, chauffez- la et trempez-la dans de la coupero.se bro}'ee avec de I'eau et avec une autre (couperose) seche, battez (une partie)...une autre avec la maticre melangee : deversez la rouille et jete'-i dans..."

"II y a la deux recettes distinctes. Dans toutes deux figure le sulfate de cuivre plus ou moins ferrugineux, sous les noms de chalcanthon ou couperose et de sor)-. La seconde recette semble un fragment mutile d'une formule plus etendue. La premiere presente une grande ressemblance avec une formule donnee dans

(2) (^if^sTi^fj ffliMTirr ^m^ 1 ciilkn., Ch. xni, 3.

qTj4t?rrU*?'"^rigf'ni"it¥H^'nTf^ 1 Si/fr<i., Ch. XXXVlli, 56.

HINDU CHEMISTRY 27

Fline pour preparer un remede avec I'or, en commuiiiquant aux objects torrefies avec lui line propriete specifique active, desii^nee par Pline sous nom de i-irus * * *

...cec}ui complete le rapprochment entre la formule de Fline et celle du papx^ais. Voici les paroles de Pline :

"On torrefie Tor dans un vase de terre, avex deux fois son poids de sel et trois fois son poids de misy ; puis on repete I'operation avec 2 parties de sel et i partie de la pierre appelee schiste. De cette facon, il donne ties proprietes actives aux sub- stances chauffees avec lui, tout en demeurant pur et intact. Le residu est une cendre que Ton conserve dans un vase de terre."

"Pline ajoute que Ton emploie ce residu comine remede. L'effi- cacite de I'or, le plus parfait des corps, contre les maladies et contre les malefices est un vieux prejuge. De la, au moyen age, I'idee de Tor potable. La preparation indiquee par Pline devait contenir les metaux etrangers a Tor, sous forme de chlorures ou d'oxychlorures. Renfermait-elle aussi un sel d'or ? A la rigueur, il se pourrait que le chlorure de sodium, en presence des sels basi- ques de perox)^de de fer, ou meme du biox)^de de cuivre, dega- geat du chlore, susceptible d'attaquer I'or metallique ou allie, en formant du chlorure d'or, ou plutot un chlorure double de ce metal. Mais la chose n'est pas demontree. En tous cas, I'or se trouve afifine dans I'operation precedente."^

(i") Coll. (fes A>i,ic?!s A/c/i. Gtrcs, \'ol. I., pp. 14-1 5-

CH AV THW 1 I I tliemistry in the Bower iVIs.

TlIK Al.KAl IKS

Tlic alkalies in the ]M)\ver Ms. are the two carbonates t»f putasli and soda. (Ya\-al<shrtra and Sarjikakshara)

Fu.\it:.S (^F H(»i<\

Tlu- tumes ot horn are rocommended as i^iviiig relief in hiccough. [Practicall\- the same as ''spirits of hartshorn."]

KSIIAKATAIL.A

*'Oil. boiled with the ashes of long pepi:)er, is a remedy for ear di.seases" (Ft. ii. fasc. ii. p. 131). [Cf. The formula given in Chakrapa?n (see p. 34) ]

FcM<Mii.A luK Hair-Dvi-:

Sulphates of copj)er and iron^ boiled with the oil of belleric m\Tobalans * * * j^ used as a remedy for turning grey hair into black (ibitl ; p. 162).

Rasavana Defined

It is called Rasa\ana because it has a beneficial effect on Rasa or chyle and other elements of the bod)'. Cf. p. 17.

TirE Doctrine of I^itumen'

Bitumen is produced from the following four metals : Gold, copj^er, silver and iron. Gold and other metals in the mountains, when heated by the sun, emit their impurities, oil-like, heavy, and clay-like : these are the bitumen.

(1) The whole of this chapter, in a practically identical recension, is found in the Charaka. See Buwer Ms.. Pt. II., fasc. ii.. ch. xii., p. 167.

HINDU rHEMISTRY 29

A LiNCTUS

With certain vegetable drugs and '^"'riparian sulphide of antimonw"' a linctus is made up with honey into a paste, (Ft. ii. fasc. II. p. 123)

F(jkmul.i{ for Eve-ointment

Red ochre, rasot, galena^ realgar, calx of brass ( rtfrt^^ijR ) in equal parts...

With pei)per and calx (of brass) one should boil gold on a slow fire t(it{elher with clarified butter. -

(i) Srotajaanjana ; it is one of the five kinds oi iU'ijana or substances used for collyriums. The word hterally means produced from a river, especially from the Yamuna. See Clarbe's Indisiitc MincraliciK p 54

(2) The Bower Ms . Pt i., ver'^es 1 10 and 1 i i.

CHAHTER IV Chemistry in the Vagbhata

A typical example is contained in the folliDwing recipe : Sulphate of copper, red ochre, realgar, orpiment, sulphate of

iron &c., are recommended for external application for genital

sores.

Preparations of Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron and Lead

Gold, copper, silver, iron or tin are to be taken with the myro- balans, rock-salt and honey, &c.

Gold, silver, copper and iron are to be taken in conjunction with bitumen and milk.

Take 64 parts of stibium ' and one part each of copper, iron, silver and gold ; now roast them in a closed crucible Sec- Take 30 parts of lead, 5 parts of sulphur, 2 parts of copper and orpiment each, i part of tin and 3 parts of stibium. Now roast them in a closed crucible.-^

[Here as well as in the preceding j-loka. we have distinct men- tion of =35i»a^'En or a crucible witJi tJie lid o?i. This is one of the preparations which can be brought into line with those of the Tantric and latro-chemical periods.]

Preparation of Alkali and Caustic Alkali^ [As Vagbhat borrows his method of preparation of alkali almost word for word from Su^ruta, it is quite superfluous to reproduce

it here.]

(i) "#d1^^" Srotonjana is eivdently stibnite or the native sulphide of antimony (See p. 2()); Dutt translates it, we know not on what grounds, as calx-spar.

(2) Utianisthanam, Ch. XIII. 20-21.

(3) Ibid^ Ch. XIII, 31-32.

(4) Siitni., Ch. XXX.

HINDU CHEMISTRY 31

USK OF MeRCUR\'

Take equal parts of mercury and lead and make them up into a coll3'rium with their equal weight of stibium and camphor.' [This is perhaps the only instance in which the mention of mercury is found.]

(I) r//fVii.s///t~T//'t///, Ch. xi]\. ;^f^. ■I'liis\ciy fonmil.i, v. itli hut slight varia- tions,occurs also in RiistirixfiKKsiitniichihny'T, Ch. ,\xiii,r46.

THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD

{From 800 A. D. to circa 1100 A. D.) Chemistry in the Siddha Yoga of Vrinda and in Chakrapani

( Cin\t Qoo A. J').)

I'Rlil'AKATIOXS IN WIIKII Sr l.l'l 1 1 1 >K OK CoprKR AND .^illlOI'S MiXKKAI. IMCIKK

Sulphur, coj)[)cr nml the pyrites are to be pouiuled together w ith mercurx" and subjected U) roasting in a closed crucible and the product thus obtained to be administered \vitl\ iioney. Tliis is known as parpati taniraiii. '

Take one part of sulphur and half its weight of mercury [The

components t(j be rubbed together.] The same to

be administered with l\oney and clarified butter. This is railed rnstlmrita clmrnaDi.'-

Ouicksilver, rubbed with the juice of Dhatnra s. or Piper hctU\ and applied externall)-, kills lice. (I'oona ed. p. 122)

A COlJ.YRir.M

Compounrled of 14 ingredients amongst which occur the belleric myrobalans, rock-salt, Xv/Ztv/ copper and blue vitriol— all in the powdered form. { l*oona edition, p. 470.'!

This ver\' preparation, in identical recension, occurs in Chakra- pTi//! under the name of Xagarjiifia Wirti.

(\) This preparation docs not occur in the Poona edition, but is to be found m the Ka.nnir Ms. under '"fligsiTfy *T : I

(2j ]'i(/e Ka-nnu- Ms. under -■^^f^^^'[y^■^\r■. omitted' in the Poona edition.

HINHU CHEMISTRY 33

A Process of Killing Iron

The text which occurs only in the Ka^mlr Ms, under ^^m*Tif^^K;, but unfortunately in a mutilated form, would seem to indicate that the iron is to be first ignited in the fire and then macerated in the juice of the emblic myrobalan, and treivia nudijlora and ex- posed to the sun, and again to be macerated in the juice of certain other plants and then to be rubbed in a mortar.

CHAPTER II

< IIAKKAr.i.VI

(Circa 1060 A. £>.)

Black Sulphide of Mercury (Kajjali) or yEtkiops JSIineral

The first process consists in the purification of mercury.

"Quicksilver, rubbed repeatedly in the juice expressed from Sesbatiia aculcata, ricinus communis^ zingiber and solaninn nignuii, becomes purified."

"Take one part of mercury and one part of sulphur, rub the two together in a mortar and thus prepare kajjali or rasaparpatiy

Tamravoga (lit. Powder of Copper Compound)

"Take a thin leaf of Nepalese copper and embed it in powdered sulphur. The substances are to be placed inside a saucer-shaped earthen-ware vessel and covered \vith another. The rims are luted with sugar or powdered rice- paste. The apparatus is heated in a sand bath for three hours. The copper thus prepared is pounded and administered with other drugs."

Process of Killing Iron

"I shall now describe the science of iron as promulgated by the sage Nagarjuna." [A tedious process given with weari- some minuticne of which the substance only is reproduced below.]

A bar of iron is to be rubbed w'ith the levigated powder of the following vegetable products among others : the belleric m}-robalans ditoria tcrnatea, vitis qnadrangularis, boliarJiaavia

(i) Chakrapa/zi himself claims its discovery or at any rate its introduction : K^'^^^fe^T <i5Ttn l^^'^T "^^qif^siT I \>/nda, however, recommends its use as well.

HINDU CHEMISTRY 35

diffusa and verbesina calcnd. It is then strongly heated to the fusion point and plunged into the decoction of the myrobalans. The iron is then powdered by being beaten with an iron hammer. The powder is then digested in the decoction of the myrobolans and roasted repeatedly in a crucible.

Mandura or Rust of Iron Rust of iron is prescribed in combination with other drugs.

Recipe for a Soap to be used as a Depilatory

The ashes of scJirebera &wiet. and cassia fist, are to be mixed with lime from burnt shells and lixiviated with the urine of the ass. The lye is then to be boiled with a definite weight of mustard oil.

Preparation of Caustic Alkali [Much the same as in the Su^'ruta]

THETANTRIC PERIOD

{From two A. D. to circa 1300 A. D.)

CHA.r*TER I

Chemistry in Rasarnava

[In Rasihnava, as in all other Tantras, knowledge is imparted in the shape of a dialogue between Bhairava (5iva) and his consort ParvatT.]

Extracts from Book IV — On Appwratus

AND THE COLOUR OF FLAMES

Sri Bhairava said :

"The rasas, the uparasas (see p. 43), the metals, a piece of cloth, bidavi, (see p. 40) a pair of bellows, iron implements, stone [X^stles and mortars, the apparatus known as Kosh/i (see p. 38), mouth blow [)ipe * * cow-dung, substantial wood (as fuel), various

kinds of earthen apparatus {e.g. crucibles &c.), a pair of tongs and earthen and iron vessels, weights and balances, bamboo and iron pipes, the fats, the acids, the salts and the alkalies, the poisons — all these are to be collected and chemical operations begun."

DoLA Yantra,!/ As R. R. s.' borrows the description of this apparatus verbatim, it is unnecessary to repeat it here.-

AN Al'l'ARATUS FOR KILLING ^METALS "Make two iron crucibles, each 12 digits in length, the one with a narrow orifice containing sulphur is inserted into the other holding mercury ; below the mercury is placed water [in a separate vessel]. The mercury and the sulphur .should be carefully moistened in garlic juice, which has been filtered though a cloth. The apparatus is now lodged in an earthen pot and another

(1) R. R. S. is the abbreviation for Rasaratnasamuchchaya.

(2) See Book ix. of K. K, S.

HINDU CHEMISTRY 37

placed over it, the rims being luted with cloth previously smeared with earth * * now cow-dung fire is urged. After continuing heating for three da\'s the apparatus is taken out." [This description, in almost identical recension, occuis in r. r. s. under the name of ^^Tsira'^f*?. The language is faulty and the meaning not ver)- clear.]

Garhiia Yaxtra.i/

"I shall now describe the Garblia Yantram for reducing pistika^ to ashes. Make a crucible 4 digits in length, and 3 digits in width, with its mouth rounded. Take 20 parts of salt and one of bdellium and pound them finel}% adding water frequentl)- ; rub the crucible with this mixture. * * Make a fire of

paddy husks and apply gentle heat. In the course of one to three days the mercury is reduced to ashes." \Vide Illustrations]

Efficacy of the Apparatus

"For killing and colouring mercury, an apparatus is indeed a power. Without the use of herbs and drugs, mercury can be killed with the aid of an ap^jaratus alone ; hence an expert must not disparage the efficac)- of the apparatus."

Ha.-zsapaka YANTRA/1/

"Take an earthen dish and fill it with sand and place another over it ; apply gentle heat. Now digest in this apparatus [the ingredients] with the five alkalies (cf. pp. 24 and 38), the urines (see p. 16), and the bida (see p. 40). This is known as Hamsapaka Yantram by the adepts.""-

Crucibles

"Earth of black, red, \'ellow and white colour * *

burnt husks of padd>', soot, earth from the ant-hill, well burnt excrements of the goat and the horse * * rust of iron"

* * [varying proportions of the above ingredients are used for making crucibles, retorts. &c. ]

(i) A paste of mercun- and sulphur.

(2; K. R. s. has borrowed the descriptions of Garblia Yaiitraiu and Ham- sapaka Yantram.

38 HINDU CHEMISTRY

"There are two kinds of crucibles, w>., open and covered (lit. blind) ♦ * * the covered one resembles the nipple of a cow and is fitted with a lid, which has a raised head.

"For the purification of silver the crucible is best made of two parts of the ashes of Schrebera swietenicides, and one part each of brick dust and earth."*

Colour of Flames