Metallurgy, Materials & Chemistry
Rasashastra (iatrochemistry/alchemy)
c. 7th-13th c. CENagarjuna and later rasa-authorsRasa texts (e.g. Rasaratnakara)Pan-Indian / unspecified
601 CE
Systematic processing of metals and minerals (esp. mercury) for medicine, with distillation and calcination methods.
- Dated
- 601 CE–1300
- As scholars put it
- c. 7th-13th c. CE
- Originator
- Nagarjuna and later rasa-authors
- Source text
- Rasa texts (e.g. Rasaratnakara)
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Metallurgy, Materials & Chemistry
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- Medium
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Parallels alchemical/chemical work in the Islamic world and Europe.
Fair to say
Contains both genuine chemistry and pre-scientific theory; mercury-based remedies raise modern safety concerns.
Path to modern innovation
Early chemical laboratory techniques.
601 CERasashastra (iatrochemistry/alchemy)
1896Transmission
Exchanged with Islamic alchemy.
References
- 1P. C. Ray, History of Hindu Chemistry
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-043 on GitHub.