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Amongst them yellow kantaloha makes other base metals converted into gold by its mere touch, black kantaloha is useful in rasakarma (Chemical action) and red kantaloha is best in fixing mercury.
Bhramaka Kantaloha makes all kinds of iron move about. Cumbaka Kantaloha kisses iron, Karṣaka kantaloha attracts iron, Drāvaka kāntaloha makes iron melt at once and Romakanta loha shoots forth harlike filaments when broken. Bhārmaka käntaloha is inferior in quality, Cumbaka Kantaloha is medium in quality and Karṣake is best, and Dravaka kāntaloha is stated to be best of all.
2)
From the point of view of faces, one-faced iron is inferior and gradually increasing and increasing; many-faced iron is the best of all. In the case of treatment Bhramakha and Cumbaka are useful, while karṣaka loha and Dravaka loha are useful in the case of rasa (mercury or mineral) and rasayana (Chemical action).
Kanta loha is beneficial in killing mercury, as ankuśa (spike) useful in controlling an intoxicated elephant.1
The Suvarna-Raupya-Siddhi-Sastra mentions the use of iron in various chemical processes. It is stated that iron can be produced artificially in the following manner. Melt Somal (Oxide of arsenic) māsa 1, zinc-māsā-1, borax-wasa-2 and copper-masa 4 in an open crucible.
1. Ekadvitricatuspamcasarvatomukhameva tat/
Pitam kṛṣnam tatha raktam trivarņam syatpṛthkpṛthak/ Krameņa devatāstatatra brahmaviṣṇu maheśvarah// Sparsavedhi bhavetpitam kṛṣṇam sreṣṭham rasayane/ Raktavamarn tatha capi rasabamdhi praśasyate//
Bhramkam tu kanistham syaccumbakam madhyamam tatha/ Uttumam karṣakam caiva dravakaṁ cottam-ottamam/ Bhramayelloħajātam yattatkāṁtam bhrāmakam matam/ Cumbayeccumbakaṁ kantam karṣayet Karṣakṁ tatha/ śākṣad yad-dravayelloham tatkaṁtam dravakam bhavet/ Tad-romakantam sphutitadyato romod-gamo bhavet// Kaniṣṭham syadekamukham madhyam dvitrimukham bhavet/ Catuspamcamukham śreṣṭhamuttamam sarvatomukham/ Bhramakam cumbakam caiva vyadhinaśe praśasyate/ Rase rasayane caiva karṣakam dravakaṁ hitam// Madonmattagajaḥ sutaḥ kantamaṁkuśamucyate// Ibid. 5/83-93.
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