THE 



MATERIA MEDICA OF THE HINDUS. 



PART I. 



INORGANIC MATERIA MEDICA 



GENERAL REMARKS ON MINERAL MEDICINES. 



Mineral or inorganic medicines are generally described under 

 five heads, namely, Rasa or mercury which forms a class by itself ; 

 Upaais't or metallic ores and earths, Dhdtu or metals, Lavana or 

 salts, and Batna or precious stones. The metals used in Sanskrit 

 medicine are mercury, gold, silver, copper, tin, zinc, lead, iron, bell- 

 metal, and brass. The Uparasas used are sulphur, talc or mica, two 

 sorts of iron pyrites called Svarnamdkshika and Tdramdkshika, 

 leadstone, orpiment, realgar, sulphate of copper, sulphate of 

 iron, cinnabar, minium or red lead, sulphuret of lead, calamine 

 (hharpaxr), SiUjatu ( a bituminous substance containing iron ), 

 alum, borax, chalk, obtained cowries and conch shells, Qtiirika a 

 sort of red mountain earth or oohre, Kankushta a sort of mountain 

 earth, 8aurd$kiri a fragrant earth from Surat, sand, clay, etc. 



The precious stones described are, I JL'raka, diamond ; 2 Gdrut* 

 loaf, emerald,- 3 PnshparAga, topaz ; 4> Mdnikya, ruby; 5 Indira* 

 7", sapphire ; 6 Qomeda, a yellow gem of the colour of fat ; 

 7 Vaidurya, a gem of a dark blue colour, the lapis lazuli ; 8 Maufa 

 tiJca, pearls; 9 Kidruma, corals. Collectively they are called 

 STavatutm or the nine gems. Bdytuartiu an inferior kind of dia- 

 mond from Virat, and Vo?'krri)da, another inferior kind of diamond, 

 are .sometimes used instead of diamond. 



Salts.— Of these the following are noticed by most writers, 

 viz., Saiudhava, rock salt: Sdmbara. Sambar lake salt; Sauvarchala, 

 sonchal salt ; Bit, black salt ; Sdmnrfra, sun-dried sea salt, com- 

 monly known as Karl<i<h : Awlbhtda. a saline efflorescence on reh 

 lands ; Pdnsuja or salt obtained from saline earth ; Yavafakdra 



mpure carbonate of potash ; tetfahdra, impure carbonate 



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