The origin of Chemistry in India as in other parts of the world, are bound up with the early

developments of the practical arts as well as with the philosophical speculations on the nature of
matter and its behavior. The present article will concern itself with the first of these and will deal
particularly with the achievements of the early Indians in the field of practical chemistry-the handling
of minerals, metals, metallurgical processes, metallic compounds, acids, alkalies, etc - particularly to a
description in more details of the achievements of the early Indians in the field of practical chemistry,
particularly dealing with minerals, metals, metallurgical processes, metallic compounds, alkalies,
acids, etc.
So far as minerals, metals, and metallurgical processes are concerned, their knowledge can be traced
beyond the Vedic period to the time of the Indus Valley Civilization of 4000-3000 B.C., as revealed by
the excavation at Mohenjo-daro (I) in Sind and Harappa in the Punjab. This pre-Aryan civilization of
ancient India is believed to be allied to the Sumerian culture of Mesopotamia and that of the
Egyptians in the valley of the Nile. The findings at Mohenjo-daro prove that the residents of the
ancient cities of those days were skillful metal workers, who had at their disposal a plentiful supply of
gold, silver, and copper. Uses of lead and tin also were not uncommon, though the latter metal was
found mostly alloyed with copper in the form of bronze, percentage of tin varying from 6 to 13 in the
alloy.
The use of gold was confined to jewelry. Silver was used for jewelry and also for ornamental vessels.
Gold at Mohenjo-dro was obtained from south India goldfields in Mysore and Madras. Silver might
have been obtained with gold from the same source or from argentiferous lead of Burma. Articles
made of a gold-silver alloy, electrum, have also been found at Mohenj o-daro.
Copper and bronze were used for making weapons, tools, and vessels or utensils, as well as for
cheaper ornaments. Copper found at Mohenjo-daro contains an appreciable amount of lead,
suggesting that it must have come from Rajputana, Baluchistan, or Persia, as copper ores in all those
areas are found to be associated with lead. It deserves particular mention here that some of the
copper objects found at Mohenjo-daro contain nickel. In one case it was found on analysis to be as
high as 9.38 per cent, forming an alloy with copper. Lead was possibly obtained from mines near
Ajmere in Rajputana. Bronze was preferred to copper for making weapons and implements with extra
sharp cutting edge.
An alloy of copper and arsenic . (3-4.5 per cent) was also used at Mohenjo-daro in place of bronze. It
has got almost equal hardness to low grade bronzes. Whether the alloy was a natural one derived
from arsenical copper ores, or artifically made, is however a moot point.
Copper was possibly smelted from ores near the mines, the metal being afterward refined in clay
crucibles. A fragment of such a crucible with the slag sticking to the edges has been found at the
excavation at Mohenjo-daio. From an examination of the analytical results, given below, of specimens
of various copper articles found at Mohenjo-daro, it has been concluded that the people of the Indus
Valley at that time were acquainted with four distinct varieties of copper and its alloys: viz., (a) crude
copper, (b) refined copper, (c) copper-tin alloy or bronze, (d) copper-arsenic alloy.
The following table gives some typical analyses of copper and bronze found at Mohenjo-daro (2).

Fragment

Copper Copper of

lump lump some

imple- Copper Bronze Bronze
I II ment chisel button slab
Cu 96.67 92.49 95.80 92.41 88.05 82.71
Sn 0.0 0.37 0.0 0.0 8.22 13.21
Sb 0.88 Trace 0.72 0.10 2.60 0.33
As 0.15 1.30 0.74 3.42 Trace 1.17
Fe 0.03 1.51 0.12 0.59 0.29 0.42
Ni 1.27 1.06 0.25 0.15 Trace 0.56
Pb 0.02 Trace 1.58 3.28 0.0 0.11
S 0.98 2.26 0.61 0.05 0.84 0.0
0 1.01 0.18 1,49

A sample of silver found at Mohenj o-daro has been found to contain: Ag, 94.5; Pb, 0.42; Cu, 3.68; in-
soluble, 0.85 per cent. This indicates that the silver was obtained by smelting argentiferous lead ore
associated with cuprite, of which the cerussite, found at Baluchistan, might be a probable source. The
process of extracting silver from lead was undoubtedly known to the people of the Indus Valley at
Mohenjo-daro. It furnishes an evidence of considerable knowledge of metallurgy possessed by them.
Tin was also found at Mohenjo-daro; but it was possibly imported from outside. The Indus people had
sufficient experience and ability in working of metals. They were also using an alloy of copper and
arsenic for making tools and weapons. , Evidences have been obtained that the copper articles at
Mohenjo-daro, such as axes, were made both by casting and hammering; the edges were usually
hammered out after plain blades had been cast. Copper dishes were also made by similar methods.
A large number of minerals, ores, and rocks were known too, and in use among the Indus Valley
people. Mention may be made of lapis lazuli, turquoise, rock crystal, lime stone, soap stone, alabaster,
hematite, amethyst, slate, agate, jasper, chalcedony, onyx, bitumen, red ochre, basalt, steatite,
sodalite, jade, lollingite, arsenical pyrites, etc. Most of these were found at Mohenjo-daro in the form
of beads, pendants, etc., used for ornamental purposes, and some were often coated with a glaze.
Lollingite and leuco-pyrite were also utilized for the preparation of arsenious oxide and arsenic.
Cerrusite and cinnabar have also been found at Mohenjo-daro. They were possibly used for cosmetics
and medicinal purposes. White lead was utilized for plasters, eye-salves, and hair-washes. Galena also
was used for the preparation of eye-salves and paints. Gypsum and lime were used for plastering work
and for making floors of drains.
Besides, brick, pottery, faience, and miscellaneous terra-cotta objects have been found in abundance
at the Indus Valley sites. Brown glazed pottery articles are the most common variety. Specimens of
polychrome pottery, bedecked with floral and geometric patterns in black and white on a red ground,
have been found. The base of some vases are found to be adorned with a row of lotus petals.
Potteries were in some cases slip glazed, but mostly painted. Painted potteries were made by
decorating or painting on a slip applied to the body. Slips used were also colored: buff, cream, pink,
and red. These were made mostly of ferruginous clays, or by mixing red ochre with clay. The articles
were finally burnt. Manganiferous hematite was used for black color, and gypsum for producing white
pottery. We thus find that the art of glazing on pottery flourished at Mohenjo-daro, as evidenced by a
large number of pieces of broken pottery and faience found on excavation. But, curiously enough, no
true glass has yet been found either at Mohenjo-daro or at Harappa.
After the decline of the urban civilization of the Indus Valley people, there followed a dark age in
Indian history till the advent of the Aryans in near about 2500 B.C. The Aryans developed a new
civilization of a more or less pastoral type, based on high spiritual and philosophical ideas with their
numerous religious rites and ceremonies. The Vedas, Upanishadas, and the various systems of
philosophies are the great and glorious intellectual products of this civilization. The practical aspect of
chemistry, as we have seen, was pursued by them mostly as a handmaid of medicine and alchemy.
In the Vedic literature we find mention of six metals : White Yajurveda writes of ayas (gold), hiranya
(silver), loha (copper), shyama (iron), sisa (lead), and tropu (tin).
Atharva-veda names gold as harita (yellow), silver as rajata (white), and copper as lahita (red). In Rig-
veda, the earliest of the Vedas, there are numerous mentions of gold and iron.
In the Ayurvedic period mentions of brass and bronze articles are found in the writings of the Hindu
Lawgiver, Manu (circa fourth century B.c.), as well as in the treatise of Charaka. Mercury has been
mentioned for the first time in the Artha-shastra (treatise of polity) of Chanakya or Kautilya in the
fourth century B.C. The author has also given descriptions of ores and mines of gold, silver, copper,
iron, lead, tin, and many precious stones. Ores of iron have been described as orange, faint red, and
red like vermilion. These obviously relate to red and brown hematite. Copper ores have been
described as heavy, and green, grey, or red in color, which might be attributed to malachite, pyrites,
and red copper ore, respectively. The use of copper for making alloys, for gold and silver coins, has
also been mentioned in the same treatise. It also describes the process of gilding copper articles by
covering with gold leaf and then polishing the outer surface and sides. We shall first give a more
detailed account of the knowledge of the two most useful metals, copper and iron, as acquired by the
ancient and mediaeval Indians. This is best done by considering some ancient archaeological
specimens of copper and iron of historical importance. Such specimens are, however, abundant in
India in the shape of statues, pillars, plates, caskets, beams, weapons, and implements.
COPPER AND IRON
A solid copper bolt, apparently shaped into form by hammer after being cast, has been found in the
Rampurwa Asoka pillar near the Nepal frontier. Historical evidences indicate that the bolt is a product
of the third century B.C. Its size is given by the length 24.5 inches and the circtunference varying from
12 inches at the extremities and 14 inches at the center.. It is very heavy and furnishes undoubtedly a
strong evidence of the high metallurgical skill of the ancient Indians.
In the ruins of an old Buddhist monastery, situated at Sultangunge in the district of Bhagalpur (Bihar)
and believed to be of the fifth century A.D., a copper statue of Buddha, 7 ft. 6 in. in height and
weighing 1 ton, has been found. This huge statue was constructed by casting in two layers. The outer
layer consists of a very thin and transparent garment laid over the inner body, made up of segments
held together by iron bands. The inner body is thus visible through the outer layer. There can be no
better illustration of the perfection attained by the early Hindu workers on metals in smelting and
casting operations.
The well-known Chinese traveler Hiuen-Tsiang has left a description of a colossal copper statue of
Buddha, 80 ft. in height, which he found standing upright near about the famous Nalanda convent in
Bihar. It was constructed in the seventh century A.D., but disappeared possibly after a few centuries,
as no mention of it is found in later chronicles. There are numerous evidences about the use of copper
in India in the form of coins in early days by the Greek and Bactrian kings of the third century B.c., as
well as by the Kushan kings like Kanishka and his successors in the first century A.D., and by the Gupta
kings of the following period.
We have seen that there are ample evidences of copper being smelted on an extensive scale in
ancient India. In the Singbhum and Hazaribagh districts of Chotanagpur it is believed that copper was
mined and extracted some two thousand years ago. Deposits of copper slags were abundantly found
on the hills all around these places. Copper is now mined and extracted at Singbhum on a large scale
by an English company, The Indian Copper Corporation, Ltd. In various states of Rajputana many
extinct copper mines are found from which copper was obtained in ancient times. Some of these
'mines are worked even now on small : scales following the old indigenous methods. Nepal was an
important source of copper in ancient India. Copper is manufactured in Nepal even at the present
time according to the old methods. On account of its purity Nepal copper was highly valued in old
days. Copper mines were also worked in the Central Provinces, the Kumaun district, the district of
Gharwal, and also in some places of Madras Presidency.
The Ayurvedic treatise, Susruta-samhita (circa: 5th century B.c.) has made mention of two copper
ores: makshika (pyrites) and vimala (copper glance.) It has been noted further that makshika occurs in
two varieties: hema-makshika (hema means gold, hence signifies copper pyrites), tara-makshika (tara
means silver, hence signifies iron pyrites). The extraction of the metal from these ores by heating with
carbonaceous matter, alkali carbonate and borax, has been described at a later age in various
alchemical and iatro-chemical treatises like Rasaratnakara, Rasarnava, and Rasaratnasamuchchaya
(800-1300 A.D.).

COPPER ALLOYS
Among the alloys of copper, bronze has been mentioned in the Ayurvedic treatises, Charaka and
Susruta of the pre-Buddhistic era. In the latter, directions are given for drinking water in bronze
vessels.. In the writings of the Hindu Law-giver, Manu, of the 4th century B.C. there are mentions of
household utensils made of bronze. The alloy was also employed in making gongs or bells in those
clays. Hence, no distinction was made at that time between bronze and bell-metal. Both were
designated by the same term kamsya. Large quantities of ornamental bronze articles, found in the
excavation at Tinnevelly in the Madras Presidency (vide infra), furnish an irrefutable evidence of its
use in ancient India (circa 4th century B.c.). An alloy made of two parts of silver and one of copper has
been mentioned in Kautilyas Arthashastra (circa 3rd century B.c.) as triputaka. Preparation of kamsya,
consisting of eight parts of copper and two parts of tin, has been described in detail in
Rasaratnasamuchchaya of the 13th century A.U. Brass was prepared in early days by heating copper
and calamine with carbonaceous substances. Later on, in the iatro-chemical period (circa 14th century
A.D.) copper and metallic zinc were used for the purpose. But brass vessels, belonging to the first
century B.c. or near about, have been unearthed by excavations of ancient Buddhistic stupas.
According to archaeological evidences, brass coins were also in common use in those'days. The
Ayurvedic treatise Charaka also makes mention of brass. The alloy has been largely used in ancient
and mediaeval India for making statues of gods and goddesses. A very remarkable use of brass for a
very large scale constructional purpose has been mentioned by Hiuen-Tsiang. It i'efers to an
unfinished brass "vihara" (convent) near Nalanda, made during the reign of King Siladitya, known also
as Harshavardhana, in the seventh century A.D. It is mentioned that this vihara would measure 100 ft.,
when finished in accordance with the plan. This undoubtedly bears an eloquent testimony to the
remarkable skill displayed by the ancient Indians in large-scale brass work. In a later age, during the
Mogul period, large size guns and cannons were also made of brass and bronze. The great gun of Agra
has a length of 14 ft., a bore of 22.5 in., and weighs 1049 cwt. But the famous bronze gun of the
Moguls, known as "malik-i-maidan" (monarch of the plain) is possibly the largest of the kind still in
existence. It has a length of 14 ft. 3 in., with an enormous diameter of 4 ft. 10 in. at the mouth. It was
cast at Ahmednagar in 1548 A.D. and now lies at Bijapur. Handling and working of such a large amount
of alloy with little mechanical power available in those days reflect a great credit on the ability and
skill of Indian metal workers. Brass was recognized as an alloy (misra loha) in the 13th century A.D. in
India. illisra loha literally means mixed metal. Alchemical treatises like Rasaprakasha-sudhakara and
Rasaratnasamuchchaya have described it as such. In many alchemical writings alloys have been
designated as upadhatus (semimetals).

Of the compounds of copper, the preparation of copper sulfide in a pure state has been described by
Chakrapani (1060 A.D.) in the alchemical treatise named Chakradat to after him. It was called
tamrayoga or tamra-Parpati, and was made from metallic copper and sulfur, or from copper amalgam
and sulfur by heat. Conversion of a metal into its sulfide by heating with sulfur is described as vida or
killing by many Indian authors of the transition and alchemical period. Thus in Rasanarva it is written :
"There is no such elephant of a metal which cannot be killed by the lion of a sulphur." Copper sulfate
has been known as tuttham from the days of Charaka and Susruta as a remedy for dis eases like ulcers,
leprosy, etc. It was also called mayuratuttharn and ' sasyakam in iatro-chemical treatises like
Rasaratnasamuchchaya, Rasendrasarasamgraha, and SarAngadhara. The word mayura-tuttham
indicates that its color resembles that of the throat of the peacock. That copper can be obtained from
blue vitriol has been mentioned in several places in Rasarnava and Rasaratnasamuchchaya. The
substance has also been prescribed as an emetic and an antidote to poisons.
Preparation of copper sulfate from copper and sulfuric acid (daha jal—lit. burning water) has been
described in Dhatukriya, a treatise of the 16th century A.D. on reactions of metals. Preparation of
copper chloride by heating copper with common salt and of copper oxide by heating the metal in air
have also been given in the same book.
It may be noted here as a significant fact that the Indian alchemists did not fail to make the
observation that copper and copper compounds give a blue color to the flame. The fact has been
recorded in Rasarnava of the 12th century.

IRON PRODUCTS
The metal iron appears to have been known to the ancient Indians of the Vedic age, for the word ayas
frequently occurs in. Rig and other Vedas. But the selfsame word has also been used in Vedas to
denote gold, as well as metals in general. In White Yajurveda the word shyanza has been used to
mean iron. In the Brahmans and Upanishads (circa 1000-500 B.C.) iron has been given the name of
krishnayas or black metal, while copper has been termed lohitayas or red metal. Later on, in the epic
age (circa 500-200 n.c.) we find that the Hindu Law-giver, Manu, in his Dharmashastra mentions
household utensils made of copper, iron, brass, bronze, tin, and lead. In the Ayurvedic treatise,
Susruta, we find description of about one hundred varieties mof surgical instruments, made possibly
of best steel. Iron implements and weapons in the form of swords, daggers, tridents, spears, javelins,
arrows, spades, hangers, beam rods, and tripods have been found in the excavations of numerous
burial sites in the gravelly mounds of the Tinnevelly district of the Madras Presidency, particularly at
Adittanattur. These must have been buried under the earth in an age when the custom of cremation
was unknown in southern India, i. e., before the 4th century B.C. Iron clamps, found at the Bodh-Gaya
temple, and the iron slag, found on excavation of the foundation of the stupa at the same place and
now preserved at the Calcutta museum, furnish evidences regarding the knowledge of the process of
manufacturing iron in ancient India as early as the 3rd century B.C.
The famous iron pillar near Delhi by the side of the Kutab Minar, which, from a consideration of the
script and the test of the inscription on the pillar, is believed to have been constructed sometime in
the 4th century A.D. during the reign of Chandra Gupta II, as a pillar of victory, and may be viewed as a
standing monument of the achievement of the early Indians in metallurgical work. It is about 24 ft.
long, 16.4 in. in diameter at the bottom, and 12 in. in diameter at the top. The engraved capital at the
top is 3 ft. 6 in. in length. The weight of the pillar has been estimated to be about six tons. Analyses of
specimens of the material of the pillar have proved that it is made of wrought iron without any alloy.
Specific gravity of the metal is 7.81, that of the purest wrought iron being 7.84. We quote here the
results of analysis given by Hadfield (3) in the
Journal of Iron and Steel Industries: Fe, 99.72; C, 0.08; Si, 0.046; S, 0.006; P, 0.114; Mn, nil; total,
99.996. Absence of managanese is significant. Low percentage of sulfur indicates the use of charcoal
as fuel. The pillar has wonderfully withstood the influence of rain and water for over fifteen centuries
without giving any sign of rust formation. Expert observers of all classes are of opinion that this pillar
presents an indisputable and permanent record of a very high metallurgical skill and engineering
ability of the ancient Hindus, which can reasonably claim unstinted admiration even of our present
time. It will, therefore, be not out of place here to quote extracts from the opinions of some of these
observers.
"The dexterity exhibited by the Hindus in the manufacture of wrought iron may be estimated from the
fact of the existence in the mosque of the Kutab near Delhi of a wrought iron pillar .. belonging to the
4th century. It is hot an easy operation at the present day to forge such a mass with our largest rolls
and steam hammers; how this could be effected by the crude hand labour of the Hindus we are at a
loss to understand." ... Roscoe and Schorlernmer (4).
"Taking A.D. 400 as a mean date—and it certainly is not far from the truth—it opens our eye to an
unexpected state of affairs to find the Hindus at that age capable of forging a bar of iron larger than
any that have been forged in Europe up to a very late date, and not frequently even now. As we find
them, however, a few centuries afterwards using bars as long as this in roofing the porch of the
temple at Konarak, we must now believe that they were much more familiar with the use of this metal
than they afterwards became. It is almost equally startling to find that after an exposure to wind and
rains for fourteen centuries, it is unrusted, and the capital and inscription are as clear and as sharp
now as when put up fourteen centuries ago," .. . Fergusson (5) .
The following excerpt from the opinion of an engineer is also worth quoting here (6):
“... while considering forging of large masses of iron and steel, it is not easy to forget the impression
caused by first seeing the iron pillar at Delhi. This column of wrought iron, which is 16 in. in diameter
and of which 22 ft. are above the ground, is finished perfectly round and smooth, with an ornamental
top, and was made many centuries ago from iron produced direct from the ore and built up piece by
piece. Remembering the lack of facilities men had in those days for first forging and then welding
together such an enormous mass makes one wonder at the iron worker of those days, who must have
possessed engineering ability. claiming the admiration of our times. It is questionable whether the
whole of the iron works of Europe and America could have produced a similar column of wrought iron
so short a time ago as the exhibition of 1851."
Numerous iron beams and clamps in the temple at Bhubaneswar (640 A.D.), similar beams of larger
dimension in the temple at Konarak (900-1000 A.D.), and huge iron girders in the temple at Puri (1174
A.D.), in the province of Orissa, are other striking instances which speak highly of the achievements of
the Hindu workers of the time in the art of manufacturing iron and steel. Of the beams at Konarak the
largest one has a measure of 35 ft. in length, 7-7.5 in. square, and weighs about 6000 pounds. In the
garden temple at Puri there are as many as 239 beams ranging up to 17 ft. in length and 6 X 4 or 6 X 6
in. in cross section. All these beams are made of pure wrought iron, as the analysis of a specimen of
Konarak beam piece given below, indicates (7) : move about is called bhramaka; one which kisses iron
is Fe, 99.64; C, trace; S, trace; P, 0.15; Mn, nil; total, named chumbaka; one that attracts iron is called
kar99.79. Specific gravity, 7.8. The nature of the iron is shaka; that which helps melting iron is called
dravaka; thus very similar to that of the Delhi pillar. and that which, when broken, shoots forth hair-
like
The iron pillar at Dhar, the ancient capital of Malaya, filaments is termed romakanta. It is the most
massive of its kind. It has been lying broken From what has been said about the properties of in three
pieces. The total length is 43 ft. 8 in., with different varieties of iron, it is apparent that munda average
width of 10.25 in. The cross-section of the cast iron owing to its brittleness and black pillar is not
uniform throughout, but partly square, fracture; tikshna can be identified with steel in view of partly
rectangular, and the rest octagonal. Its estimated strength, elasticity, and sharpness; and kanta mated
weight is approximately 7 tons. It is believed stands for wrought iron being the purest and the best to
have been constructed in the 12th century A.D., pos form of iron.

A third iron pillar, 12 ft. 9 in. in height, ending in a factured by the ancient Hindus is its remarkable re -
Siva's trisul (trident) at the top stands in the courtyard sistance to corrosion, as has been particularly
noticed of the temple Achaleswar on Mount Abu in Rajputana. In the case of the famous Delhi pillar. It
is difficult It is stated that the pillar was built in the early part of to account for it. Dr. A. S. Cushman
and Prof. H. Le the 15th century A.D. as a monument of victory. Chatelier (8) are of opinion that the
absence of manga-

Mention may now be made of some huge hammered nese with low sulfur and high phosphorus
content is priwrought iron guns of the Mogul time (16th and 17th marily responsible for the strikingly
high corrosion recentury A.D.). Most of these weigh about 30-47 tons. sistance and the exceptional
durability of the Delhi The maximum length found is 31 ft. and the largest pillar and the other
specimens of the ancient Indian iron. bore reaches about 1 ft. 7 in. in diameter. These guns It is,
however, more likely that their resisting power is were manufactured by Hindu mechanics and were
con due to a thin film of magnetic oxide of iron mixed also structed of iron bars of square section laid
longitudin with some sulfide of iron, produced on the surface of the ally along, the bore, over which
iron rings were slipped, metal by treatment like heating and quenching after one at a time, while red
hot. On cooling they shrank being painted with a mixture of different salts and orand fastened the iron
bars strongly together. Near the ganic substances. There are evidences of iron being breech the guns
were often strengthened by a second subjected to such treatment for improving their qua'ity layer of
rings. in some of the Indian alchemical treatises.
A Sanskrit alchemical manuscript, Yuktikalpataru, Iron produced in ancient India was mostly wrought
of the 11th century A.D. classifies iron into different iron. For, with their use of charcoal as fuel, the
temperavarieties and describes their relative qualities as fol ture raised in the furnace could not have
been high lows: . enough to melt the metal and thus to ensure absorption
Crouncha iron is twice as good as samanya (ordinary) of carbon 'for the production of cast iron. At the
low iron, kalinga (Orissan) iron is eight times as good as temperature thus prevailing in the furnace,
the whole crouncha iron, bhadra iron is one hundred times as good of the ore used, however, was
never completely reduced, as kalinga, bajra iron is one thousand times as good as and a large portion
escaped reduction. Furnaces embhadra, pandi iron is again one hundred times as good ployed
resemble those of the Catalan type.
as bhadra, niranga iron, on the other hand, is ten times Steel has been prepared and used in India
from very
as good as pandi, and finally the kanta iron is one billion early times. We find its use in the making of a
large
times as good as niranga. number of surgical instruments described in the Ayur-
The iatrochemical treatise, Rasaratnasamuchchaya, vedic treatise Susruta of the pre-Buddhistic era. It
has describes three varieties of iron, distinguished as munda been also mentioned by some ancient
writers that about (cast iron), tikshna (sharp iron or steel), and kanta 40 lb. weight of steel was
presented by King Porus to (wrought iron). Alexander the Great, who conquered his kingdom. It is
Munda again is subdivided into three types: mridu, believed that the Indian steel was exported to the
westkuntha, and kadara. That which melts easily, does not ern countries as early as 2000 years ago. It
was known break, and has a glossy appearance is called mridu; in Europe as "wootz." This seems to
have been manuthat which expands with difficulty when hammered is factured from a very early time
in Nizam's dominion, known as kuntha; while one which breaks when struck Mysore, Salem, and other
parts of the Madras Presiwith a. hammer and shows a black frac Lure is described dency. This was the
metal from which the famous as kadara. Damascus blades were prepared. The Indians were
Tikshna has also got six varieties: viz., khara, sara, noted for their skill in the tempering of steel, and it
was hrinnala, tarabatta, bajira, and kala tauha (black metal), from them that the secret of the
operation was learned distinguished by their difference in appearance, nature by the Persians and,
through them, the Arabs. Steel and appearance of fracture, elasticity, and brittleness. was produced in
early days in India by a process resemKanta has also been distinguished into five kinds : bling the
modern cementation or crucible process. namely, bhramaka, chumbaka, karshaka, dravaka, and
Wrought iron was produced directly from magnetic iron romakanta. The variety which makes all kinds
of iron ore and charcoal. This was then heated in closed crucibles with dry wood chips, stems and
leaves of plants in a charcoal fire maintained by blowing air with .large bellows. The process was
completed in 4-6 hours, whereas the modern cementation process generally takes up 6-7 days. The
steel first obtained was heated again in closed crucibles whereby the excess of carbon was burned off.
Sometimes water was poured on the hot metal which was thus hardened on being quenched.
Descriptions of the sulfide ores of iron are given in the ancient Hindu medical treatises like Charaka
and Susruta. Their general name was tapya, as they were obtained from the bank of the river Tapi.
Two varieties of tapya, golden and silver, were distinguished in the Ayurvedic literature. Latterly the
name makshika was substituted for tapya, and the two varieties were designated as swarna makshika
(golden or copper pyrites) and raupya makshika (silver or iron pyrites).
Oxide ores of iron are described in Kautilya's Arthashastra of the 4th century B.C., where it is stated
that their color is either orange, or red like vermilion. They evidently refer to hematite, limonite, or
ochres. The name gairika was subsequently used for these ores, and the two varieties were
distinguished as pashana gairika (hematite), which is hard and copper-colored, and swarna gairika
(limonite or yellow ochre), i. e., of the color of gold. Ochres were also used in early days for dyeing
clothes.
Of the compounds of iron, the methods for the preparation of the oxide and the sulfide have been
described by the well-known Indian alchemist Nagarjuna in the 8th century A.D. As in the case of
copper, these processes for preparing the oxide and the sulfide were known -as "killing" of the metal,
and the products passed under the name of "killed iron" for use as drugs. Charkapani (11th century
A.D.) recognized that killed iron (the oxide variety) and mandura (the rust of iron) possess identical
properties. Mandura was as a medicine.
A product, obtained by heating iron with a mixture of salts including the common salt, has also been
described. It obviously contains ferrous chloride and oxychloride of iron besides the unacted metal
and its oxides. The process has been described in the Ayurvedic treatise Susruta as ayaskriti (roasting
of iron) which renders the metal fit for internal administration. When the mixture of salts contained
vitriols and alums, sulfates and basic sulfates were also formed. The mixture of the salt used was
technically called "vida" in the later alchemical treatise Rasarnava, as already mentioned. The process
ayaskriti had been applied to all the metals known in those days and may be viewed as a crude and
imperfect method for the preparation of metallic salts in general, as the mineral acids were then not
known.
Green vitriol or ferrous sulfate has been mentioned in Charaka and Susruta under the name kasisa. It
has been further distinguished in Rasaratnasamuchchaya (14th century A.D.) into two kinds : vatuka-
or dhatukasisa, the green variety, and pushpa-kasisa, the basic yellowish variety. This has also been
mentioned in an earlier tantric treatise, Rasakalpa or Rudraymala Tantra.
Among the other metals gold and silver were known from time immemorial in ancient India. They
were also used in medicine from very early times after undergoing processes of purification and
killing. Rasaratnasamuchchaya mentions of a variety of gold which is obtained by the transmutation of
the baser metals. It is difficult to decide what it refers to. Obviously, it cannot be brass or bronze, both
of which were well known at the time. The process of killing gold by roasting with saltpeter, green
vitriol, borax, salammoniac, salt, etc., in covered crucibles, as described in Rasarnava, possibly led to
the partial formation of gold chloride. Roasting or killing with sulfur in the same way evidently gave
rise to the sulfide of gold. That silver can be easily alloyed with lead and can be purified by this means
has been described in Rasaratnasamuchchaya as follows :
"Silver melted with lead and borax undergoes purification . . Arrange on an earthen dish a mixture of
lime and ashes in a circular row and place in it silver with its equal weight of lead. Now roast it over
fire until the lead is consumed. Silver, thus purified, is to be used for medicinal purposes."
The process practically resembles that of cupellation and is mentioned also in the earlier treatise
Rasaratnakara of Nagarjuna (8th century A.D.). The method employed for killing silver by heating it
with sulfur or orpiment in a covered crucible over a sand bath obviously leads to the formation of
sulfide.
Two varieties of tin have been distinguished by the author of Rasaratnasamuchchaya : kshurakam and
misrakam. The former is white, soft, readily fusible and bright, and does not clink when struck. The
latter is dirty white. This reminds one of white and grey tin. The same author gives a method of
reducing tin to ashes by heating it with orpiment and plant ashes. This obviously leads to the
formation of tin sulfide. Another recipe given in Rasendrasarasamgraha, which consists in heating the
metal with plant ashes over fire with constant stirring of the molten mixture, is likely to yield the oxide
of tin.
Lead has been described in Rasaratnasamuchchaya as a readily fusible, very heavy metal with a black
and bright appearance on fracture. It was supposed to possess a fetid odor. The author gives a recipe
for obtaining a bright red ash of the metal by heating it strongly with plant ashes and mercury in air
while stirring the mixture continuously with an iron spoon. Both Rasendrachintamani and
Rasendrasarasamgraha describe a process for converting lead into a vermilion-like powder, in which
the metal is heated with plant ashes repeatedly for seven times as described above. The process
evidently yields red lead. The method described for killing the metal by heating with orpiment in a
closed crucible leads, as in other cases, to the formation of its sulfide. An alloy made of lead, iron,
copper, kamsya (bronze), and pittala (brass) has been described in Rasaratnasamuchchaya under the
name of vartaloham. It may, therefore, be regarded as an alloy of five metals : lead, iron, copper, tin,
and zinc.

MERCURY
Mercury (Parada) has been mentioned in Susruta Vagbhata. But it was particularly studied by the In-
dian alchemist, Naga,rj una, and in his treatise Rasaratnakara the detailed recipes for the preparation
and purification of mercury and of its compounds are given. Mercury has been described by
Nagerjuna as the king of rasas (minerals). The word rasa was subsequently reserved for signifying
mercury, the study of whose properties became the central theme of Indian alchemy. Preparation of
mercury by distillation from cinnabar has been described in Rasaratnakara and Rasaratnasa-
muchchaya. Cinnabar was known as darada from Dardistan, the mountainous region about Kashmir,
from where it was obtained. Mercury was, therefore, regarded as an essence of darada, of which the
latter was also known as hingula. Purification of mercury from lead and tin by digestion with sour
gruel, followed by distillation, has been described in the alchemical treatise, Rasahridaya, of Bikshu
Govinda. A description of the apparatus for the sublimation and distillation of mercury has also been
given by the author. The appa, rat.us employed for the purpose and known as "Patana Yantram"
consists of two vessels, so adjusted that the neck of one fits into that of the other, the junction being
luted airtight with a composition made of lime, sugar, iron, and milk. The lower vessel is heated over a
fire, when the sublimate collects on the under surface of the upper vessel. The description of this
process and the apparatus has been quoted verbatim in later works like the alchemical treatise,
Rasendrachudamani by Somadeva and the iatrochemical treatise, Rasaratnasamuchchaya. In these
latter there are descriptions of improved apparatuses for the purpose. These are called "Dheki
Yantram" and "Vidyadhara Yantram," In the former the distilling vessel is a closed pot below the neck
of which there is a hole, and into this is introduced the upper end of a bamboo tube, the lower end of
it fitting into a brass vessel filled with water and made of two hemispherical valves. Vidyadhara
Yantram consists of two vessels, one placed over the neck of the other. The upper one contains cold
water, and the mercury condenses at its bottom when the lower one containing cinnabar is heated
over a fire. Killing or fixing of mercury by heating with sulfur in closed vessels, which obviously yields
its sulfide, has been described in Rasaratnakara, Rasarnava, and Rasaratnasamuchchaya. The process
of fixation as described in the latter two treatises is given below.
"Mercury is to be rubbed with its equal weight of gold and then further admixed with sulphur and
borax, etc. The mixture is then to be transferred to a crucible, which is then covered with its lid and
submitted to gentle heating. By partaking of this elixir (sublimate) the devotee acquires a body not
liable to decay."
"Take mercury and one-fourth its weight of killed gold and with the addition of sulphur make a ball.
Now add an equal weight of sulphur and roast the mass in a covered crucible. The mercury thus
treated is afterwards killed with six times its weight • of sulphur."
The shining reddish brown crystalline sublimate of the sulfide of mercury, thus obtained, is a very
well-known remedy in the Hindu system of medicine. It is reported to be a panacea for all the ills that
human flesh is heir to. In the Hindu medical treatises the red sulfide of mercury, prepared by heating
mercury with sulfur, is described as "Makaradhwaj" and "Rasasindura" (minimum like mercury). When
prepared as described above with the use of gold, it is often called "Swarnasindura" (gold vermilion).
Of course, the sublimate of mercury sulfide cannot contain any gold which is left behind. But the
product, prepared in the presence of gold, is believed to be much more efficacious than when made in
its absence.
Preparation of the black modification of mercury sulfide under the name of kajjali or rasaparpati has
also been described in Rasaratnakara, Siddha Yoga of Vrinda, and in Chakrapani. The process consists
in rubbing together mercury and sulfur in a mortar.
A process of killing mercury has been described in Rasarnava, which evidently yields calomel. In this,
green vitriol, alum, salt, borax, and some other vegetable drugs are heated together with mercury in a
covered crucible. The white sublimate is to be collected. Similar descriptions are found also in various
other later alchemical and iatrochemical treatises: viz., Rasaprakasa Sudhakara, Rasapradipa,
Rasendrachintamani, Rasendrasarasamgraha, and Bhavaprakasa. The product rasakarpura (calomel)
was recommended as a remedy for leprosy hnd syphilis.
Killing of mercury with the aid of purely vegetable products has been described in
Rasaratnasamuchchaya. This obviously gives the oxide of mercury (yellow or red), as the metal, on
being heated with plant ashes, is finally converted into the oxide.
The processes described for killing or fixing metals by the ancient Indian workers lead evidently to the
formation of their oxides, sulfides, or chlorides. The products were generally known as bhasmas
(ashes). According to Hindu workers there are thus four kinds of mercury bhasma, namely, black
(kajjali), red (rasasinduravermilion), white (rasakarpura, calomel), and yellow (mercuric oxide).
Zinc has been extracted in India from calamine as early as the 8th century A.D. Preparation of zinc as
the essence of calamine, by heating the latter in a covered crucible with carbonaceous matter, has
been described in Rasaratnakara by Nagarj una. Calamine was known in India as rasaka or kharpara in
the Ayurvedic age and was employed for making brass. Both Rasarnava and Rasa.ratnasamuchchaya
give a detailed account of the extraction of zinc from calamine. The process described in the latter
treatise is so elaborate that it may be transferred bodily without any change into any modern
textbook of chemistry. It utilizes the principle of distillation per descensum and takes note of the
bluish flame of burning carbon monoxide. The following gives a literal translation of the original text :
"Calamine is to be powdered with lac, treacle, white mustard, myrobalan, natron and Norax, and the
mixture boiled with milk and clarified butter. This is then made into balls. The balls are dried and
afterwards heated in a `1Costhi' apparatus. The apparatus consists of a vessel closed with a perforated
saucer over which is inverted another vessel charged with the balls as prepared above. The lower
vessel contains cold water and is placed in position in a hole under the ground; the upper vessel lying
over the ground is strongly heated by means of charcoal fire. Metallic zinc drops or distils into the
water below. In another method a tubulated crucible is filled with the above mixture made of
calamine. The mouth of this crucible is then closed with another inverted over it. On the application of
heat, when the flame issuing from the molten calamine changes from blue to white, the crucible is
caught hold of by a pair of tongs and is thrown on to the ground with its mouth downards. The
essence, possessing the lustre of tin, which is dropped, is collected for use."
In the beginning the Indian alchemists did not quite recognize the essence of calamine as a separate
metal. But, later on in the 14th century, it came to be classified as a new metal under the designation
of Jasada. Killing of zinc by heating it with orpiment has also been mentioned in
Rasaratnasamuchchaya. This evidently yields a mixture of sulfide and arsenide.
There is no mention of antimony as a distinct metal in Indian alchemical treatises. Naturally occurring
sulfide of lead and of antimony were, however, distinguished as sauviranjana and nilanjana,
respectively. They were both regarded as uparasas or inferior minerals and valued for use as anjanas
(collyrium). We find, however, in Rasendrachudamani of Somadeva that nilanjana mixed with tikshna
(steel) and heated several times yields a superior kind of lead, which is readily fusible and is of mild
black color. The metal antimony was thus confounded with lead, and particularly nilanjana (stibnite)
was often mistaken for sauviranjana (galena). The use of stibnite and galena has been mentioned even
in the Ayurvedic treatises of Charaka and Susruta.
Color of Flames. That flame is colored by many metals and metallic compounds was known to the
metal workers in early India. The blue color, produced in a flame by copper and its compounds, has
already been referred to. The tantric treatise Rasarnava thus writes :
"Copper yields a blue flame . . . that of the tin is pigeon coloured, that of the lead is pale tin t ed, . . .
that of iron is tawny, . ."

OTHER MINERALS AND METALS

A few more minerals and metallic compounds with which the ancient Indians were familiar may now
be mentioned here.
Sulfur has been used as a medicine in ancient India from the Vedic age. It is, however, mentioned in
the alchemical and iatrochemical treatises that there are four kinds of sulfur: yellow, white, red, and
black, the last one being rare.
Both realgar (manassila) and orpiment (harital) have been freely used as medicines in ancient India
from the Ayurvedic age.
Alum has been mentioned in Susruta and Rasarnava as saurashtri from Saurashtia (modern Surat)
where it was found. Its other name is tuvari. It is stated in Rasaratnasamuchchaya that tuvafi dyes
cloth and fixes the color of madder. Generally it was used in medicine.
Sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate were both denoted by the same term kamakustham in the
alchemical treatises Rasakalpa and Rasarnava, and no distinction seems to have been made between
them.
Saltpeter or niter was known in the time of Sukraniti and Rasarnava, and the term sauvarchala was
applied to it. It is one of the five salts mentioned in Charaka.
Treatises of the alchemical period make mention of another salt under the name of navasara or
chulikalavana, which means sal ammoniac. Chulika-lavana is literally salt deposited in the hearth.
Rajavarta is the term which was applied to lapis lazuli by the Indian alchemists.
Among the other minerals known to the early Hindus mention may be make of abhra or kechara
(mica) and vaikranta (spinels). Their different varieties and color have been described in some details
in Rasaratnasamuchchaya.
A fairly detailed knowledge of physical and chemical properties of a large variety of minerals, valued
as gems or precious stones, was acquired by the ancient Indians as early as the 3rd or 4th century A.D.
Testing of genuineness or otherwise of gold and gems, and a knowledge of their coloring, constituted
one of the sixty-four branches of arts and sciences recognized in the ancient treatise, Kamasutra of
Vatsayana. Much useful informations on the subject are found also in Vrihatsamhita of Varahamihira,
composed in the 6th century A.D. Gems were valued in India from time immemorial not only for
decorative and ornamental purposes as jewels, but they were also largely used as an antidote against
bad luck and evil influences of unfavorable planets. Since their values were believed to depend upon
their purity and freedom from all physical defects, methods for their testing were fairly well
developed. These related to their relative weight, hardness, luster, transparency and color, fusibility—
particularly when heated with alkalies, presence of impurities or adulterations, crystalline character,
etc. Diamond was recognized as the hardest of all, for a diamond alone will scratch a diamond. After
diamond, corundum was placed next in order of hardness. Both ruby and sapphire were regarded as
varieties of corundum only. Change in color undergone by some of the gems, such as ruby and
sapphire, under the influence of heat has also been carefully observed. The octahedral character of
diamond crystals has been described by many workers of those days as having six angles, eight faces,
and twelve edges.
KNOWLEDGE OF ALKALIES AND ACIDS
I shall now conclude this article after giving a brief account of the knowledge of alkalies and acids as
were known to the ancient Indians.
So far as the preparation of caustic alkali is concerned it may be stated without any fear of
contradiction that the early Hindus attained a high degree of perfection in this respect. This is evident
from the following descrip-
JUNE, 1948 335

tion of the preparation of alkaline carbonates and caustic alkalies from the Ayurvedic treatise Susruta
(circa 5th century B.C.).
"Various plants (their names are given in the original text) are collected, cut into pieces and then
burnt. Thirty two seers (about 2 pounds make a seer) of the ashes thus produced should be stirred or
mixed with six times their quantity of water and then strained through cloth. This should be repeated
twenty-one times. The strained fluid should then be boiled slowly in a large pan and agitated with a
ladle. When the fluid becomes clear, pungent and soapy to the feel, it should be removed from the
fire and strained through cloth. The residue being thrown away, the strained fluid should be again
boiled. From this alkaline solution take three quarters of a seer. Then take eight palas (one pala is
about 38 gm.) each of burnt limestone, conch shell and bivalve shells, and heat them in iron pan till
they are of the colour of fire. Then moisten them in the same vessel with the above mentioned three
quarters of a seer of the alkaline water and reduce them to powder. This powder should be thrown on
sixty-four seers of the alkaline water, and boiled with constant and careful agitation by the ladle. Care
should be taken that the solution is neither too thick or thin. When reduced to proper consistence, the
solution should be removed from the fire and poured into an iron jar. The opening or the mouth of
the jar should be covered and it should be kept in a secluded place. This preparation is called
madhyama kshara or alkaline caustic of middling strength. When the alkaline water is simply boiled to
the proper consistence (first stage) without the addition of burnt shells etc., the preparation is called
mridu kshara or weak alkaline solution."
We thus find that a clear distinction was made between alkaline carbonate (mridu kshara) and caustic
alkali (madhyamik and tikshna kshara). Kshara is the term applied generally to alkali. Mridu,
madhyamik, and tikshna in the literal sense mean respectively mild, medium, and sharp or strong.
Products obtained in this manner are evidently potassium carbonate and caustic potash. But we also
find other varieties of alkalies mentioned in the alchemical treatise Rasarnava and in the iatrochemical
treatise Rasaratnasamuchchaya. These are, namely, borax (tankanam), sodium carbonate—trona or
natron (sarjika-kshara), and potassium carbonate (yava-Kkshara).
The early Indians were well acquainted with many organic acids, both naturally occurring and
prepared by fermentation from starchy materials. The term kanjika (fermented rice water) has been
applied to the latter, which is evidently crude vinegar. The neutalization of acid by alkali was also
recognized in those days, and Susruta thus accounts for the process of neutralization:
"If you question, my son, how is it that the application of the pungent acid of kanjika relieves the
burning of the fire-like hot alkaline caustic, then hear the following explanation from me. Alkalies
possess all the tastes except that of the acid. The acrid taste prevails in it and the saline one to a less
degree. The sharp saline taste, when mixed with acid, becomes very mild, and gives up its sharp
quality. From this modification of the saline taste, the pain of caustic is relieved as fire is extinguished
by water."
Alkalies have been recommended in Susruta both for external and internal uses as a remedy for a
variety of diseases. It is thus stated:
"Alkalies are of two sorts, namely for external application and internal administration. They are used
externally in the skin diseases called kustha (leprosy), in keloid, ring worm, leucoderma, lepra, fistula-
in-ano, tumors, unhealthy ulcers, sinuses, moles, warts, piles, external inflammations, diseases of the
mouth, threat, gum, etc. Alkaline solutions are administered internally in chronic or slow poisoning,
abdominal tumors, loss of appetite, indigestion, urinary deposits, calculi, intestinal worms, piles, etc.. "
Of the naturally occurring organic acids we find in Rasaratnasamuchchaya the mention of citrons and
lemons, tarmaind, oxalis corniculata, the acid exudation of Ziziphus jujuba, pomegranata, etc.
The mineral acids were, however, unknown to the Indians until at a later period in the alchemical age.
The distillation of alum, referred to in Rasarnava and of green vitriol in Rasaratnasamuchchaya,
obviously give rise to some sulfuric acid. Only in some medical works of the 16th and 17th centuries,
the preparation of mineral acids has been described in some details. In these, directions ale given for
distilling a mixture of, among other things, alum, green vitriol, sal ammoniac, saltpeter, and borax in a
glass retort. A dilute solution of nitro-muriatic acid is thereby obtained, which is recommended in a
remedy in derangement of liver and spleen. It is called samkha dravaka (lit. solvent for conch shell)
and is described as endowed with the property of dissolving metals. The term dravaka (solvent) seems
to have been used for the mineral acids.
Recipes for the preparation of the three mineral acids, sulfuric, nitric, and muriatic acid, have been
found in the writings of many workers of the Mogul period, particularly during the reign of Emperor
Akbar. It is givep there that sulfuric acid is prepared by burning sulfur with a small piece of niter in
strong earthen vessels. Nitric acid is prepared by distilling a mixture of saltpeter and alum; and
muriatic acid from the distillation of a mixture of common salt and alum.
This concludes a more or less synoptic survey of the achievements of the Indians of the ancient and
mediaeval ages in the field of practical chemistry; and it can be stated without any fear of
contradiction that it is by no means a poor record for that time.'