Rasratna Samucchay

Author(s): Manikyadevsuri
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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Medicine and alchemy as found in the Indian literature on alchemy of the Tantric period had their origin and growth with a higher end in view as necessary aids and helping agents to spiritual pursuit. Like the Tantras the Rasaratna Samuccaya deals with medicinal preparation consisting mercury, etc., calculated to make the body undecaying and immortal for achieving emancipation from all miseries. The word 'Rasa' has been used in this work and other Tantrik texts on alchemy to mean 'mercury'. They came to be the repositories of many chemical informations and alchemical racipes.
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The name of the Rasaratna Samuccaya stands pre-eminent among the Indian alchemical works. On judging from this work itself it can be concluded that this is a typical production of the Jaina author, Māņikyadeva Sūri, representing the Tantric and Iatro-chemical periods of intellectual activity and must have been composed later than the time of the Rasarṇava, a Brāhmaṇical Tantrik work of the 12th Century A. D., and the Rasaratna Samuccaya of Vagbhat of the Iatro-chemical period.
There is found the mention of recipes for a number of mercurial preparations as well as descriptions of process and apparatus. Like the Rasārņava, and the Rasaratna Samuccaya of Vagbhat this Rasaratna Samuccaya of Sri Māņikyadeva Sūr throws a flood of light on the chemical knowledge of the Indians in those days. There are evidences that it has been compiled from the pre-existing alchemical works, for instance, it has not hesistated to borrow from the works of Pārsvadeva Sūri, and Rasarahasyamabodadhi, Rasārņava Rasavaloka etc.
The Rasaratna Samuccaya deals largely with mercury and mercurial preparations and herbal medicines. the virtues of which have been prominently extolled in other Tantric cum-alchemical works. Mercury can improve not only the quality of metals, but it can make the body undecaying and imperishable. The merit of the Rasaratna Samuccaya is that it is the inspirer of several Jaina alchemical-cum-medical works of the following period-the Iatro-chemical period, notably Yogaratnakara ćopai (in old