________________
Second Chapter Various Chemical Processes.
First Section
Mercury and Its Application in Chemical processes.
It is stated in the Suvarņa-Raupya-Siddhi-Śāstra that some rasa 1 (mercury) exists in the womb of mica (gagana), some rasa exists in the possession of Kāmini (Murraya exotica), some rasa exists in stars and planets, some rasa exists in the words of the guru.
The processes of making mercury
Drench mica into water for 4 praharas, next take it out and make its layers separated. Make them fine by grinding. Then bind the whole thing in a wet cloth for an hour and keep it in the sun. Mix mercury into it, then put black tolaời golo (a kind of molasses ?), make a fine hole under the jar, put a small pot underneath, place it on the furance, lit fire on the jar, then there comes up five coloured fiame, then mercury falls out of coloured mica. Thus is pāradadruti of mica.
Take out the juice of grapes, again take out its spirit (tejāb), smear. the leaves of mica with that spirit. Tap the leaves of mica after their drying up. Mercury will come out. Thus tap them (repeat the process) 5 or 7 times by smearing and smearing. (The leaves of mica), mercury comes out of mica. This is called marvellous mercury. 3
Dip mica into the juice of kämta seliyā (a kind of Vanaspati) and put it into a shieve (calanı) and then put it in the Sunshine. Mercury comes out of it. 4
Put a handful of rice into a cocoanut having, water, grind it, mercury is produced.
1. SRSS., Ch. I. 30 2. SRSS. III. 27 3. Ibid., V. 37. 4. SRSS., Ch. VIII. 17. 5. Ibid., Ch. XIII 3.
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
