CATALOGUE OF GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 163 



grave trouble to man. Such diamonds cause unchastity: brings destruction; renders 

 man apprehensive of snake bites; creates fear; leads to ruin, loss of family dignity, 

 and death. Such stones are dangerous to pregnant, women and contact with them 

 may lead to abortion. 



A shapeless diamond is fraught with danger; a dirty diamond with grief; a rough 

 diamond with unhappiness, and a black diamond with various troubles. A three- 

 cornered diamond gives rise to quarrels; a four-cornered diamond occasions various 

 fears; a five-cornered one brings death; but a six-cornered stone is productive of good. 



Since the use of impure diamonds leads to danger, causes swelling in wounds, faint- 

 ness, leprosy, pleurisy, jaundice, etc., it is highly advisable to refine and purify the 

 stone before using it medicinally. 



The process is as follows: On some auspicious day dip the diamond in the juice of 

 Kantahari (solarium jaquiri) and then burn it in a fire made of dried cow or buffalo 

 dung. The burning should be carried on for a whole night. In the morning the 

 diamond should be put under horse's urine and again burnt. These operations are 

 continued for seven days. The stone is then immersed in a gruel made of various 

 leguminous seeds to which assafoedita and rock salt have been added and heated 

 repeatedly twenty and one times. By this means the diamond is purified and reduced 

 to ashes. The taking of a diami aid so treated gives longevity, strength , energy, beauty, 

 develops the parts, and effects a cure for every distemper. (Mani-Mala.) 



The Brahmin diamond is useful in chemical operations, and brings 

 about the acquisition of power, friends, wealth, position, and good 

 luck to one's family. A Kshatriya diamond wards off old age and 

 premature death; a Vaisya one crowns every endeavor with success; 

 while a Sudra one is a panacea. 



The Hindu held that the diamond was masculine, feminine, or 

 neuter according to its marking and appearance. The masculine 

 kinds were considered the best and were useful in medicine. The 

 feminine diamond was auspicious to women; but the neuter diamond 

 was destructive of vigor and brought weakness and disappointment; 

 as a medicine it was administered for impotency. 



According to the views of Arabian and Persian authorities the 

 diamond, if worn, imparted health and dispelled fear. Tied around 

 the thighs of a woman about to be confined it brought on a safe and 

 speedy delivery and assuaged the pain of labor. Cut into a hexagon 

 and worn on the arm it cured epilepsy. Combined with other in- 

 gredients and used as a dentifrice it rendered the teeth bright and 

 hard; its use in this manner was attended with risks, for on too long 

 a contact with the teeth it caused them to fall out; while the presence 

 of a single particle in the stomach was liable to produce death. It was 

 a fatal poison if taken internally without electuaries; and — - 



if by accident one takes a quantity of it his life should not be considered safe until he 

 is made to vomit it out by means of drinking a quantity of fresh cow's milk or some 

 heated clarified butter, or by any other means, such as applying the fingers to the inside 

 of the throat. The soup of some fatty flesh is then to be given to the patient to com- 

 plete the recovery. (Tagore, Treatise on Gems.) 



The Burmese call the diamond and arsenic by the same name, 

 chein, on the ground that they are both fatal poisons. 



