History of Alchemy in Ayurveda

Ayurvedic literature places great emphasis on the pharmaceutical process known as
samskara
.
Samskara literally means a process. It is designed to enhance the desirable qualities
of the drug being processed. The s
amskara
can be classified into two stages:
shodhana
(purification or detoxification of toxic substances) and
bhaishajya kalpana
(formulation of
a dosage form). A number of toxic herbal drugs like
Strychnos nuxvomica, Aconitum ferox,
Semicarpus anacardium, Commiphora mukul,
and almost all metal and mineral drugs are
purified and rendered safe for use, before their use as drugs.
In Ayurveda,
rasayana
is a well-developed concept. Literally,
rasayana
means the augmentation
of
rasa,
the vital fluid produced by the digestion of food, which sustains the
body through the strengthening of the
dhatus.
It is the
rasa
flowing in
the body that sustains
life; when it stops flowing, life comes to an end.
Rasayana
is the medium through which
the
rasa
is maintained, replenished, and augmented.
In modern terms, the study and practice of
rasayana
such as
rasvidya
is referred to as
alchemy. It is generally believed that alchemy appeared in India in the fifth or sixth century
A.D. and greatly prospered for the next seven or eight centuries under royal patronage.
Hindu tantriks
developed the mercury-based alchemy in India and related it to the
male–female symbolism (Shiva and Parvati). Mercury was regarded as male principle
(Shiva) and sulfur as the female principle (Parvati).
the laboratory of an Indian alchemist was known as
rasashala
, a place where the alchemists
carried out their various operations under the benign influence of the
rasalinga
, a
symbol of esoteric potentiality.
Rasalinga
was either a gold amalgam, prepared by triturating
gold and mercury, or a compound of mercury and sulfur shaped into a
linga
. The
text
Rasaratna Samuchchaya
describes how and where a
rasashala
can be established. It also
describes important apparatuses that should be available in a
rasashala
. It is amply clear
that knowledge of science of metals and its medicinal usage was well developed in India.
Alchemical or related texts can also be found in other Indian languages like Tamil,
Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, and Gujarati. There are more than
200 works in Tamil on the Siddha system of medicine. Plants occupied an important place
in the practices of Indian alchemists. More than 200 names of plants are mentioned in
different texts of
Rasashastra
. The Indian alchemists (rasavadins) treated the minerals and
metals with one medicinal plant or the other to render them the desirable chemical
properties. Even mercury considered to be divine was subjected to this process.


According
to the
Matrakabhedatantram,
“mercury cannot be reduced to bhasma without the help of
one or more of medicinal plants.”
The plants used were referred to as
divyausadhi
(divine medicinal plants). Mercury is
considered to be the king of
rasas
and it is referred to by various names like
parada
,
rasa
,
suta
,
maharasa
,
rasendra
,
svarnakaraka
,
sarvadhatupati,
etc. There are detailed descriptions of
a number of compositions with mercury as the chief ingredient. In Indian alchemical texts,
the chemical substances have been divided into five main categories:
maharasa
,
uparasa
,
dhatu
,
ratna
, and poisons (visha). There are eight maharasas , eight uparasas, and seven dhatus,
Scientific Basis for Ayurvedic Therapies
including three alloys: brass (pittala), bell metal (kamsya), and a mixture of five metals
(vartka). The precious gems were placed under the catagory of
ratnas
. Various plant products
and minerals having toxic properties are included in the category of poisons.