Rasratna Samucchay

Author(s): Manikyadevsuri
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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The first chapter consists of forty-nine verses, the second chapter comprises forty verses and the third one contains fiftyseven verses in Sanskrit only.
It is the classical Sanskrit exhibiting its rich style in all the three chapters when the style of the Rasaratna Samuccaya is judged with an objective approach, it is found that it has served its purpose in full by embodying the teachings on alchemy and medicine in the classical language.
It contains some literary flourishes in the form of verses faithfully transmitted from generation to generation and in the manner of expression of the author to convey the alchemical and medical thought and ideas to the readers. This method of explaining the alchemical concepts and medical theories made them easily comprehensible and intelligible to the students of medicines, as for example :
Literary flourishes :
"वृषकेतनोऽस्त निधनो विकटजटाजूटमांसलांसतट: । विलसदसमानध्यानप्रतिहतवृजिनो जिनो जयति' ।।१.१।। सौधस्यांगणभंगरंगसलिलैरालिप्यमक्ताफलैरालिस्वस्तिकमत्र सूत्रय सखि त्वं दीपमद्दीपय ।। द्वारे तोरणतारमा [र] चय रे ! नि:शेषरोगापदः । श्रीमानेष रसाधिपस्त्रिजगति जीवातुरं यच्छति ।।
(Treyfa ) 112.911
The author made a study of alchemical and medical truth with the purpose of attaining result and truth with devotion on the basis of his scheme in his short treatise. He searched out something and got a line of meaning in the things of alchemy and medicine as satisfying his inquisitive mind. Here the style of expression is scientific. So the voice of words spoken by him is impersonally logical with a stress laid on the facts of science.
Estimate of the literary and aesthetic aspects of the Rasaratna Samuccaya :