________________
JULY, 1987
those of other Indian works on alchemy that the Jaina works are more or less a compilation based upon many other Indian works 53 of the Tantric period on the same problem or there might have been a common Indian source on alchemy from which all the Indian schools of alchemy might have drawn their respective alchemical informations.
Alchemy, as revealed in the extant Jaina MS. the Suvarna-RaupyaSiddhi-Sastra and other Jaina alchemical works has dealt with mineral kingdom-rasas, mahārasas54 (superior minerals) and uparasas55 (inferior minerals), ratnas56 (gems) and lohas57 (metals) etc.
Mahārasas (or Rasas) are as follows:
abhraka (mica), vaikranta (tourmaline), māksika (pyrite), vimala (variety of pyrite), şilājuta-adrija (bitumen), sasyaka (blue vitriol), capala (sulphide mineral) and rasaka (calamine), while uparasas are stated to be gandhaka (sulphur), gairika (red ochre), kasīsa (sulphate of iron), tuvari (alum), tāla (orpiment), manaśīlā (realgar) and anjana (collyrium). Besides, there are mentioned some other common rasas, such as, navasāra (sal-ammoniac), hingula (cinnabar),58 etc. ratnas (gems) are vajra (diamond), mauktika (pearl),59 etc.
Six lohas (metals)se are as follows:
gold (kāncana, suvarna, pita or hema), silver (tara or raupya), coper (tāmra), lead (sisa or nāga), tin (vaṁga) and iron (alpa). It is interesting to note that there is mention of zinc (jasta) also.1
Later on, eight metals62 are named by including two alloys-brass (pitala) and bell metal (kāṁsa). The Jaina works on alchemy deal with
58 Rasaratnakara or Nityanatha, Carpatasiddhanta, Rasarnava, Rasaratna Samuccaya
of Vagbhat, etc. 54 SRSS, Jinadattasuri.
Rasaratna samuccaya, Manikyadeva Suri, etc. ; see the 1st adhikara of Rasaratna
Samuccaya, (beginning). 56 Ibid. 56 Ibid. 57 Ibid. 58 Ibid. 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid. Jinadatta Suri. ch. I; Rasaratna Samuccaya, Manikyadeva Suri. Ch. 1. 61 SRSS, Ch. ILL. 1. (jasta) ; III. 2, 16, etc. 62 loha 1, naga 2, vamga 3, trabo 4, kamso 5, pitala 6, tara 7, hema 8, SRSS. ch. V1.13.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
