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includes biology which deals with the substances that are present in living organisms and geology which deals with substances called minerals that make up the earth.
There is an evidence of the earth-science in the Jaina Āgamas. It is stated in the Jaina Āgamast that the earth-lives are of two kinds : Subtile and gross, both of them are either fully developed or undeveloped (71). The gross and fully developed are of two kinds : viz. smooth and rough. The smooth ones are of seven kinds (72)-black, blue, red, yellow, white, pale dust and clay, The rough ones are of thirty six kind (73), viz. earth, gravel, sand, rocks, rock-salt', iron, copper, tin, lead, silver, gold and diamond (74), orpiment, vermition, realgar, sasaka, antimony, coral, a bhrapatala (mica layer), abhravalukā (mica dust). These are varieties of gross (earth) bodies and kinds of precious stones (75). Next there come the followings, hyacinth, natron, arka, crystel, lohitākşa, emarald, māssaragalla, bhujamokaka and saphire, Candana, red chalk, hamsagarbha, pulākao and sulphur, cendraprabha, lapis, lazuli; jalakānta and suryakanta® (77).
These thirty six kinds of rough earth have been enumerated. The subtile earth is but of one kind, as there is no variety (78). The subtile species is distributed all over the world, but the gross one is found in a part of the world only. 6
It appears from a study of the Jaina, Hind and Bauddha works on Rasayanasastra that their authors have classified earth-lives, or substances into maharasas (Superior minerals), Uparasas (inferior minerals), sadharanasasas (common minerals), ratnas (gems) and lohas (metals) in their respective works later on with the development of Indian alchemy chemistry and metallurgy and medical science for their utilization in the service of men and the society to remove their all miseries-povery, disease and old age with the aid of philosophy of mercury, etc.
1. Uttaradhyayana Sutra XXXVI, VV. 71-8, Sūtrakstānga II. 3, SBE. Vol.
XLV, pp. 213-14. 2. Lavaņas. 3. The commentators only say that it is a kind of mineral-dhātuvišeşa. 4. A medicinal earth, commonly called kamkustha.. 5. The enumeration contains thirty-nine, instead of thirty-six items as
stated in the verse 73 and 76 of the Uttarādhyayana Sūtra. 6. Uttaradhyayana Sūtras, XXXVI; SBE, Vol. XLV., pp. 213-15, Jacobi,
Sūtrakṛtānga II. 3.
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