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Jaina Alchemy as Revealed in SuvarnaRaupya-Siddhi-Sastra of Sri Jinadatta
Suri (V.S. 1210)
J. C. SIKDAR
A study of the Jaina alchemical thoughts and practices fostered from the time of the Jainacaryas Nagarjuna' and Padalipta Suri? up to the eighteenth century A.D. throws a welcome light upon an aspect of the material culture of the Jainas with scientific ideas combined with their interpretation in the light of other Indian literary evidences on Rasāyanavidyā (Chemistry), Dhātuvidyā (Metallurgy) and Ayurveda (Science of life) of the Middle Ages.
It seems that Western India (Rajasthan and Gujarat)s by virtue of its geographical position as a strong centre of Jainism from the beginning was a receptacle for many alchemical ideas, specially from other cultureareas of India and outside-"from the Chinese and Arabic cultureareas in the later period.
A study of the extant Jaina MSS. the Suvarna-Raupya-Siddhi-Sastra of Jinadatta Suri (V.S. 1210) written in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa and Old Gujarati, copied with additional materials in the 18th century A.D., kept in the library of L. D. Institute of Indology at Ahmedabad, reveals scientific ideas and practices of the Jainas with two distinct trends in alchemy, viz. (1) Chemistry and Metallurgy, and (2) Medical Science, together with some informations about occultism.
It appears that a vast mass of chemical informations was accumulated in the Jaina treatises on Rasāyanavidyā and Dhātuvidyā during the period from Nagarjuna upto the eighteenth century A.D.
1 Suvarna-Raupya-Siddhi-Sastra (SRSS), Jinadatta Suri, ch. 1, 60. 2 Ibid., ch. II 4. 3 All the available Jaina MSS. on alchemy have been found in this region and they
are written in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa, Old Gujarati and sometimes in old
Rajasthani. 4 'Some trends in Alchemy in India', Dr. B. V. Subbarayappa, Abstracts of Scientific
Section papers, XV, International Science Congress, Edinburg, August 1977, p. 480. 5 It is the work of Jinadatta Suri (V.S. 1210) who belonged to the Kharataragaccha
of Rajasthan.
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| SR No. | 520087 |
| Book Title | Jain Journal 1987 07 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Jain Bhawan Publication |
| Publisher | Jain Bhawan Publication |
| Publication Year | 1987 |
| Total Pages | 88 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Magazine, India_Jain Journal, & India |
| File Size | 4 MB |