''Rasaratna Samuccaya'' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

: रसरत्न समुच्चय) is an Indian

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

treatise on

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

. The text is dated between 13th to 16th century CE. The text contains detailed descriptions of various complex

metallurgical Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

processes, as well as descriptions of how to set up and equip a laboratory and other topics concerning Indian alchemy. It is a work that synthesises the writings and opinions of several earlier authors and presents a coherent account of medieval Indian alchemy.

Among the diverse scientific content of this text is:Ancient Indian Chemistry.
Hindu culture (blog) * Systematic approach to the

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

. (Rasaratna Samuccaya 6/2) * Philosophy of scientific explanation. * Two kinds of

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

with

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

calamine Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication used to treat mild itchiness. This includes from sunburn, insect bites, poison ivy, poison oak, and other mild skin conditions. It may also help dry out skin irritation. It is applie ...

and

Smithsonite Smithsonite, also known as zinc spar, is the mineral form of zinc carbonate ( Zn CO3). Historically, smithsonite was identified with hemimorphite before it was realized that they were two different minerals. The two minerals are very similar in a ...

. (Rasaratna Samuccaya 2-149) * Color and nature of the mineral. (' Artha-sastra' '2 -30) * Color of minerals with

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

. * Properties of some chemicals, such as calcium carbonate. (Rasaratna Samuccaya 3 / 130-131) *

Distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

of mercury. (Rasaratna Samucchaya 3/144) * Explanation of the

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engi ...

(Rasārṇava 7/97) * The color of the flame (Rasārṇava 4/51) * Three types of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

(Rasaratna Samuccaya 5/69) * Two kinds of

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

(Rasaratna Samuccaya 5 / 153-154) * The

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

(Rasaratna Samuccaya 5/170) * The

metal (Rasataraṅgiṇi 19/95) * The

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

(Rasendra Cūḍāmaṇi14 / 154) * The bronze (Rasaratna Samuccaya 5/205) * Conditions of a laboratory and the people who work within it.

References

External links

Indian Institute of Science and HeritageIntroduction
*[http://sarit.indology.info/exist/apps/sarit/works/sarit__rasaratnasamuccaya_bodhin%C4%AB_%E1%B9%AD%C4%ABk%C4%81 Electronic text based on the 1927 Calcutta printed edition, with extracts from the Bodhinī commentary, in the SARIT library.] History of chemistry History of metallurgy Historiography of India {{India-book-stub

Contents

References

External links