iiv 



present day. In the North- West Provinces, the Nirghantu, 

 compiled by Madanpala, is generally perused by students. In 

 Bengal, avery superficial compilation, under the name of Raja- 

 vallabba, is in currency. In Orissa, a superior work, called 

 Satkantha-ratnabharana, is used. 



The progress of chemistry or rather of the art of oalcining, 

 subliming and of otherwise preparing mineral substances for me- 

 dioal use, was comparatively slow in the early ages. Susruta used 

 the natural salts, such as chloride of sodium, impure carbonates 

 of potash and soda, borax, etc ; he emplojed iron in anaemia, and 

 briefly referred to the supposed properties of silver, copper, tin, 

 lead and the precious stones, but he gave no detailed instructions 

 regarding their calcination, preparation or administration in 

 special diseases. Chakradatta gives some processes for reducing 

 to powder iron, copper and talc, and a few prescriptions contain- 

 ing these remedies. The olde&t work containing a detailed 

 account of the calcination or preparation of the different metals 

 ( such as gold, silver, iron, mercury, copper, tin and lead ), for 

 internal use, with formulae for their administration, is I believe 





a concise treatise on medicinal preparations by Sarangadhara. 

 Opium and pellitory root are mentioned in this work, hence it 

 must have been compiled during the Mussulman period. Since 

 then a host of works on metalio preparations and combinations 

 have been prepared both in Bengal and the North- West Provinoes, 

 and mineral medicines have been largely adopted in the treatment 

 of diseases. The more important parts of the information con- 

 tained in these works are embodied in the Bhavaprakasa and tho 

 two works on inorganic medicines generally used in Bengal, 

 namely, Rasendra-chintamani and Rasendrasarasangraha. As 

 observed on page 54, most of the mineral preparations of the 

 Hindus consist of their few metallic remedies combined or mixed 

 together in an endless variety of forms. Nevertheless we cannot 

 help admiring the ingenuity and boldness of the Hindu physicians, 

 when we find, that they were freely and properly using such 

 powerful drugs as arsenic, mercury, iron, etc., while the Mussul- 

 man Hakims around them, with imperial patronage and the 

 boasted learning of the west, recording such remarks regarding 

 them ae the following : 



