KNOWLEDGE of the METALS in ANCIENT INDIA R. N. BHAGVAT St. Xavier's College, Bombay, India
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VERY student of chemistry is aware that, although chemistry as a science is only about two hundred years old, it has been practiced as an art in times antedating all historical records. Nevertheless, since modem scientific chemistry is undeniably European in origin, he is apt to acquire the impression that the art likewise originated in Europe. There are, however, many indications that chemistry flourished, both as a practical art and as a speculative philosophy, in the East, and particularly in India, long before its appearance in Europe. One finds theories concerning the constitution of matter (e. g., the atomic theory of Kauada) far more fully developed at quite an early date in India than elsewhere. Certain early philosophical concepts which are sometimes cited as illustrating the characteristic differences between Indian thought and that of the more materialistic Westerners, or indeed the superiority of the former over the latter, are also closely linked with chemical (or alchemical) speculation. There is, for instance, the theory of the "one elements'-that the entire universe is but the ephemeral manifestation of one eternal principle, Brahma, due to the primary quality, Maya (energy). I t is interesting to note the parallel between Indian and European alchemical thought, there being this difference, however, that in India thought continued in a metaphysical vein, whereas in Europe it took on a more materialistic trend.
I t is now a common belief that ancient civilization developed in four chief centers which influenced one another at various periods. The scheme may be sketched roughly as below. HAitic I Egyptian
I
~ e m k i c *:an I I Assyrian Hittite
I
I
~ t h i o ~ i c~rabic I
1n&an
I
t
Mongolian 1 Chinese I Japanese I i
Minoan :Cretan)
I Early Hkllenic
Tibetan
I ~urdese
I t is interesting to note that certain countries early became celebrated for particular arts which they had developed to an unusual degree. Thus Assyria was famed for its navigation, Egypt for its stone and wood work, India for its cotton and metals, and China for its porcelain and printing. The origin and early development of any art must remain largely a matter of conjecturepartly because these beginnings antedate all written records, and partly because of the universally secretive nature of the artisan class. The Indian arts of mining, metallurgy, and
metal-working are no exceptions in this. In some respects they may be said to present unique difficulties to the searcher into the secrets of the past. Among these may be mentioned the fact that India has no history, properly so called, which extends back farther than the thirteenth centuly A.D. Furthermore India was never a united empire like China and hence there are no long lines of dynasties with their corresponding well-recorded dates. India has always been occupied by three or four races which have never amalgamated to become one people or nation. Concerning the lack of historical data Fergussonl has written: The absence of sny historical record is the more striking because India possesses a written literature equal to, if not surpassing in variety and extent, that possessed by any other nation before the adoption and use of printing. The Vedas themselves with their Upanishadas and Brahmanas, and the commentaries on them, form a literature in themselves of vast extent, some parts of which are as old, possibly older, than any written works that are now known t o exist; and the Puranas, though comparatively modern. make up a body of doctrine mixed with mythologyaud tradition such as few nations can boast of. Besides this, however, are the two great epics, surpassing in extent, if not in merit, those of any ancient nation, and a drama of great beauty, written a t periods extending through a long series of years. I n addition t o these we have treatises on law, on arammar, on astronomy, on meta-
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J. FERGUSSON. "History of Indian and Eastern architecture," vol. 3, introduction and pp. 4, 5; 40.41.
physics and mathematics, on almost every branch of mental scienceliterature extending in fact t o many thousand works, but in all this not one book that can be called historical. No man in ancient India, so far as is known, ever thought of recording the events of his own life, or of repeating the previous experience of others, and i t was not until shortly before the Christian Era that they thought of establishing eras from which to date deeds or events.
The mythology of a nation is closely interwoven with its civilization and it might be expected that the progress of the arts could be traced in objects connected with worship. In this, however, India again disappoints the historian. The worship of the early Aryans was addressed to all that was beautiful and heneficient in the heavens above or the earth beneath, but it remained largely abstract. There is no trace to suggest that its deities (if such they may be called) were ever represented in wood or stone or that they required houses or temples to shelter them. The sculpture which remains to us is found to be entirely original and in some respects surpasses that of corresponding periods in any other part of the world but it dates back only to 200 or 250 B.C. According to Fergusson no coins earlier than 100 B.C. are known.2 Inscriptions are abundant in India and nearly all of them contain some historical information, but all of these bear upon periods after the fifteenth century. For our knowledge of the early state of the arts we must therefore have recourse to the religious, philosophical, and general literature of the country, supplemented by the writings of foreign travelers. The material available to us may be outlined briefly as follows. THE VEDAS
MATERIALSNECESSARY AT THE VEDIC SACRIFICES Vessels marked X were sometimes made of gold, silver, or copper though usually of wood.
The Vedas are the most ancient sacred literature of the Hindus, comprising in all more than a hundred books. According to the strictly orthodox faith of the Hindus the Vedas are not of human composition, being supposed to have been directly revealed by the Supreme Being, Brahma. They are thus called Shruti (i. e., that which is heard or revealed) as distinguished from Smriti (that which is remembered or is of human origin). According to Indian calculation the Vedic period extends from about 5000 to 4500 B.C. European scholars (except the Germans) place it more conservatively some where between 3200 and 1000 B.C. Originally there were three Vedas-the Riguedu, the Yajurueda, and the Samawedr-to which was subsequently added a fourth--the Arthuwaveda. The Rigoeda is the oldest and most important of the four Vedas. I t is a collection of over a thousand hymns invoking blessings from all sorts of deities. The Yajuwedu is a collection in prose and verse of the sacrificial rituals of the ancient Hindus. Occasionally it offers clues as to the origin of objects required for sacrificial purposes. The Snmavedu consists of hymns (many of which occur in the Rigveda) for which musical notation is added or indicated. The Arthawaoeda is the oldest literary monument of Indian medicine. It includes J. FERGUSSON, loc. cit., footnote 1. p. 18.
both prose and verse and comprises charms, prayers, curses, spells, etc. This work cannot belong to a period later than 1000 B.c.; it is possibly earlier. In the Vedic period gold and silver were well known and were worked into ornaments of various descriptions. Gold was often called hiranya (yellow) and silver, rajah (white). The use of the latter in connection with sacrificial ceremonies was prohibited as it was believed to have its origin in the tears of Rudra, later known as, or replaced by, the god, Siva. Steel razors are m e n t i o n e d as necessary to effect a clean shave-a necessary preliminary to participation in sacrificial rites. The warriors of old are described as protected by coats of mail and helmets of metals. Avas was a term used in the same sense as metal in general, though THE UPANISHADAS in later ages it came to stand for iron alone. In the Vedic literature iron seems to be designated by krishThe Upanishadas are a body of metaphysical works m y a s (the black metal) and copper by lohitayas (the of indefinite number representing the perfection of the red metal). Vedic philosophy. The earliest of them are supposed The Rigveda makes mention of nishka, a silver coin. by the Indians to belong to the period of about 2500 It also pictures the iron melter or blacksmith melting B.C. but are more conservatively dated by European iron at his forge, and tells of "a horse with golden mane scholars at about the sixth century B.C. and iron feet and fast as mind." "Arrows tipped with In the Chhandogya Upanishad, one of the earliest, we iron" are also mentioned, as are swords, spears, jave- read that lins, lances, and hatchets. These weapons are variOne binds gold by means of lamam (borax*) and silver by means ously described as "bright as gold," "golden," "shinof gold, and tin by means of silver, and lead by means of tin, and ing," "blazing," and as "made of iron." No doubt iron by means of lead, and wood by means of iron, and also by both copper (or its natural alloys) and iron were em- means of leather. ployed for such purposes in those times. The weapons THERAMAYANA were whetted on grindstones and polished to increase their brightness. I t is thus evidht that even in the The Ramayana is an ancient Hindu epic of the pretime of the most ancient of the Vedas, metals, including Buddhistic period; i. e., it belongs to the fifth century iron, were well known and that the craft of metal- B.C. or earlier. I t deals a t length with the origin of the working had reached a fairly advanced stage. metals and specifically names mercury, gold, silver. The Yajurveda mentions gold, silver, iron, and several copper, bronze, tin, and lead. other metals, including lead and tin. THE MAHABHARATA The A r t h a m e d a contains numerous references to metals and metallic objects, among them "iron hooks" The Mahabharata is the great storehouse of Indian and "iron nets." There is also a formula for an alloy traditions. Indeed, a popular saying has it that, which served as the specific metal for an amulet. Gold "what is not in Bhnrata (Mahabharata) is not in was considered as a sort of elixir of lie; lead as an Bhuratu (India)." Together with the epic action is agent for combating magic. Such drugs as were known introduced a mass of speculative, social, and ethical a t that time were chiefly vegetable decoctions; only a discourse. The work dates from the centuries just very few of inorganic origin were used. preceding the Christian Era. The events which it celebrates are placed by scholars at about the twelfth THE BRAHMANAS century B.C. The chief arms of the heroes are bows and arrows. The Brahmanas are prose works of dogmatic nature, chiefly critical and explanatory, pertaining to the Vedic However, other weapons were used, including the club, ritual practices. According to Indian calculations they the thick lathi,t the sword, the spear, the axe, the date from about 4000 B.C. European estimates place hammer, the discus, and the missile. Thus it is seen them at about 1200 B.C. The Shutapatha Brahmanu that the Indian heroes had practically the same armacontains a description of a mattress made of gold * Borax (in the glassy form) was evidently considered to be a drawn-thread, and its special property of being cleaned metal. ta -A- -heavv stick. often of bambw. bound with iron, by heating in fire without any danger to its texture. -
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Masha (pulses of the order of Phaseolus mungo) and on fracture show bluish streaks. These also show formation of nodules on the surface; sometimes, however, there are others that have color like turmeric, spleen, or liver. On breaking, these expose layers of sand and shining bright tiny particlessmall, shot-likewhich neither break nor crack on strong heating but froth up and give off smoke. These gold ores are very useful for mixing with silver and copper. There are five names for gold according to their color shades--eriz., Jambunada, having a blue shade; Shrungashukti, conch-like, silvery; Shntakumbha, thorn-apple like; Hataka, common, marketable; Vainable, bamboo-like, yellow needles or longitudinal as in placer depositsand these are classified into three qualities depending upon the method of recovery; viz., pure (native), WROUGHT-IXON PILLAR NEAR DELHI chemical (artificial), and purified (recovered Ape from ores). These are similar to our present. not definitely known, but probably dates from about the fourth century A.D. Weight, approximately ten tons day blue,white, black, etc., varietieiof gold. Pure gold is described as being soft, heavy, ment as the Homeric heroes. Possibly their weapons without metallic ring, and of the color of the pollen of were likewise of bronze, for the word ayasa is used. I t the lotus flower. seems more probable, however, that by the time of the That gold which has the color of the pollen of lotus, is soft and Mahabharata the word ayns had come to signify the smooth, is shining but has no metallic ring is the best gold while specific metal, iron, rather than a metal in general. reddish yellow is the middling type as against the red one which The great iron ~ a d n s(maces) of Bhima and Duryod- is an inferior kind. hana, the heroes of opposing camps, as well as the story Test for pure gold.-Pure gold is yellow like turmeric, of the blind king Dritarashtra crushing to pieces in his but yields as many as sixteen different varieties with embrace the life-size iron statue of Bhima would seem different quantities of copper added to it. to indicate that iron was available in considerable quanBut if gold t o be tested leaves behind a mark on the touchstone tities, although once given iron it is of course possible to imagine i t in any quantity whatsoever. The He- of similar brightness as one of pure sample, then i t is pure. If this streak can be rubbed off the stone surface either by rubbing brews, for instance, had no difficulty in conceiving of with fingers or scratching with mils, then take it as pure. If, a city whose streets are paved with gold. while rubbing, some particles crumble off then i t can be safely stated that i t is a fraudulent variety. If the streak on the touchstone appears quite soft like the lotus filament and is smooth and shiningthen the sample is of the best variety.
The sources which we have briefly outlined as represeutative of the period up to the Great Buddha (fifth century B.c.) obviously furnish us with clues which are Gold, on rubbing with ferrous sulfate, or heating with largely circumstantial and a t best fragmentary. In cinnabar and cow's urine becomes white. the fourth century B.c., however, we encounter a veriPurification of gold.-If there is a whitish tinge in the best vatable mine of information in the "Treatise on Polity," riety of gold, then this should be purified by heat. I f , however, written by Chanakya or Kautilya (the Indian Mach'ia- it becomes brittle, it should be heated with a 6re of dry cow velli), the famous prime minister of Chandra Gupta. dung. But if i t is brittle due t o excessive dryness (roughness) i t This notable work presents a magnificent account of he kept in oil and cow dung. the political, industrial, social, and military organiza- should In case the gold recovered from the mines is brittle due to tion of India in the fourth centnrv B.C. Amont. other mixture of lead then i t is softened (and thus purified) either by things, ores and mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, hammerine i t out into thin sheets and then subiectina . . i t t o trituand tin are described. The following material which ration, or it i c trcntcd with c r t r w t clf nslm of thc yalnl trrr Fteln constitutes substantially a digest of selected quotations or th3t of ;lmorplroplmllus ~ n n r p o w r l , ~ l ~ r . from the "Treatise on Polity" conveys a general idea Silrrer of the status of the metal-working arts a t that period.
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Gold Gold ores are found in mines or on mountain sides and are unmixed yellow, red, or reddish yellow like the
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Silver ores have the color of shells, camphor, alum, pigeon, rosy red-garnet, or peacock neck, and have a sheen of blue stone, cat's eye, gur (molasses), or sugar. But those that have shades of Kovidar (Bauhinia variegatn), red lotus, trumpet flower, flax seed, dark red pea (of the order of Phaseolus mungo), and lin-
seed have lead in them, and on breakage they show white on the surface but black inside or m a versa. All these have streaks and nodules and are soft and " elossv. . These do not crack on heatiie hut froth uo and evolve nrofuse fumes. Silver according t o appearance is known as Tuttkodgata, alumlike; Gaudika, molasses-like; Chakrawelika, of ruddy goose tinge; Kamhka, of mother of pearl shade ~~~~
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There are both impure and pure varieties of silver. Pure silver.-Pure silver is white, soft and smooth and heavy. Similarly it is also nodulated (spitting) and clear, shining and of the color of curds. Any variety having properties other than these, or cracks, is of an inferior kind. Purification of si1uer.-Impure silver is to be purified by mixing it with one-fourth its weight of lead and heating it in a cupella. When its surface becomes brilliant in luster and appears like curds then i t should be taken as purified. Copper Copper is found both on the surface of mountains or below the surface enclosed in mines. Metallurgy of coPPer.-The copper ore is well crushed and then mixed with cattle dung and formed into balls, sun-dried and baked and then put into the furnace for extraction of the metal.
The latter operation was generally conducted in underground and dark places. The furnace was constructed by the smelter himself. The reduction was carried on in big crucibles which were used over and over again. The necessary forced draft was fed by bellows made out of whole goat skins. The process lasted for eight or nine hours and the purified metal was collected the next day. The product was further purified by heat and then cast into sticks or bricks. This process of copper recovery was carried on until foreign competition eventually made it unprofitable. It is interesting to compare the foregoing account with that published by Captain Boilcan3 in the year 1831. The mines are described as being tortuous and of great extent; a t the working faces i t was the custom t o Light 6res which caused the rock t o splitup. Lamps wereused which the minus carried i n their heads and with a gad and hammer extracted the ore. The principal ore found appears t o have been pyrites. It was sold a t retail by auction t o the proprietors of different furnaces. The pounding or crushing was effected on a stone anvil with a hammer weighing eight or ten seers;' when completely reduced to powder the ore was made up into balls with cow dung and roasted. The blast furnaces were prepared in the following manner. A quantity of common sand was spread on the floor of a circular hut, in the centre of which a depression. 12 t o 15 inchesin diameter and 2 or 3 inches deep, was made; in this a layer of fine sand and another of ashes were laid t o prevent the metal from adhering t o the bottom of the receiver; two clay nozzles of tuyers were then placed on opposite sides of this hollow and a third between them, leaving the fourth side vacant for the slag t o escape.
a
BALL,"Geology of India;' Part 111.
' A weight of
varying value. scer. or ser, equals 2.057 lb.
The government
The nozzles were then connected by moist clay and a circular rim of mud, a few inches in height, was raised, on which three annular vessels of fire-clay were placed t o form the body of the furnace, each of these was 15 inches in external diameter, 10 inches high and 3 inches thick. They were used repeatedly but the lower part of the furnace had t o be reconstructed for every charge. The bellows were simply goat-skins connected with the nozzles, and were worked by the families of the smelters. After a preliminary firing, to dry the mud, the furnace was charged with charcoal, roasted ore and iron slag, the latter being employed as a flux. I n a day of nine or ten hours' duration, 3 maundst of charcoal, 2 and ' / z of the roasted ore, and 2 of the iron slag were consumed. The slag was drawn off and the smelted copper which had accumulated a t the bottom of the furnace was removed on the following day. It was then remelted and refined in an open furnace under a strong blast from bellows, and cast into small bars or ingots, which were subsequently removed t o the Mint and cut up and fashioned into coins. The ore was said to yield only from 2 and I/, t o 7 and 11%per cent. of metal, but the profits must have been not inconsiderable as the Khetri Raja is said to have claimed one-sixth of the value of the copper in addihon t o Rs. 14,000 received for the lease. The quality of the metal is said t o have been inferior t o that of Basawar, this being attributed t o the use of the iron slag as a flux.
Pure Lopper.-Copper is heavy, soft, smooth, and in color either yellowish red, greenish reddish, or bright red. Mercury Mercury is described as being put to use for extraction of other metals, and the knowled~cof distillation of mercury was absolutely necessary for the director of mines and his assistants. It was especially in the form of compounds in medicine that mercury was chiefly used.
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Iron Iron ore should have a color of the orange, faint red or red like vermilion.
Of course these are evidently brown or red hematites t Mamd: a greatly varying weight, running from less than
19 1h. t o more than 163 lh. The government maund is 100 lb. troy (82.286 lh. av.).
found abundantly in India. Although pyrite was horn in ~ ~ literature, ~ it seems ~ not to dhave been used for iron manufacture. One need not say that' India is quite rich in iron ore deposits. I t is a matter of great regret that Sanskrit literature, which is filled with detailed accounts of various things
Only the richest ores of iron are employed, and the fuel as well The blast furnace consists of a hearth with a circular shaft or chimney from 2 to 6 feet high and 2 t o 3 feet broad, and the blast is admitted with a handbellows through a hole. As charcoal is a much purer form of earbon than coal the iron produced by heating the ores with charcoal is exceedingly pure. No flux seems t o have been used as only pure ores were employed.* though Dr. Vemhere testifies that in Waziristan a flux of limestone is added even a t the present day. The malleable iron thus obtained directly from the ores is hammered in the hot condition in order t o make the iron solid and homogeneous. The iron slag during the process of heating is tapped offfrom time t o time through another hale or tuyere, and the adhering portion of i t is squeezed out during the hammering. The iron seems t o have been obtained as lumps and not in the molten condition. asithe reducing ~ agent is charcoal.
This may safely be taken as the process that must have been followed for ages with no more than minor alterations. The thing is complete in itself, at least for the purpose and condition. The ores that were employed were magnetic oxide and rich red and brown hematites. The process described above gives wrought iron or malleable iron directly, and is called the "direct process" by Prof. Neyogi as it does not require the previous preparation of cast iron, in distinction from the modern European process ("indirect process"), in which wrought iron is obtained by the almost total removal of carbon from cast iron which is first directly obtained from the ores. Iron produced by the Indian methods always yielded wrought iron. That this ought to be so is clear if one bears in mind the simple method of draft with crude animal skin bellows. The temperature in the furnaces could never be higher than just enough to soften iron so that the small particles might agglutinate, but not sufficientto melt it and give rise to the solution of carbon. Steel and which displays throughout the general power of observation of the ancient Indians, contains little or practically no information regarding the actual methods of the manufacture of iron or even the furnaces employed in smelting the ores or in forging iron, though one can easily conceive that these furnaces must have been of considerable dimensions and of well conceived plan to yield non-corrosive iron.4 That this branch of metallurgy must have been well established is clearly seen from the words Lohavida and Dhatuvida (meaning experts in iron and metals, respectively) occurring in the Vedic literature. The only thing that can account for the absence of any description of the metallurgy of iron seems to be that it must have been thought too common to need any serious attention. The rationale of the process gathered from various records and books on subjects even other than on metallurgy or chemistry is summed up by Prof. Neyogi4 as follows:
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The steel manufacturers of old h e w the art of converting crude iron into steel. To get the right percentage of carbon they added carbon in excess and then removed the excess by a process of slow heating and annealing. They could thus control the percentage of carbon to any nicety desired. Tmfiering of steel.-Tradition ascribes the art of tempering to Shukracharya, the preceptor of gods. In his teachings he is declared to say: One who desires for wealth should temper his sword by plunging i t in blood; if goad progeny, then in ghee; if constant acquisition of wealth then in water or milk of horse, camel, or elephant. However, if a very sharp edge is required toddy gives the best result. A sword previously treated with a coat of a paste of oil of latex of Calotropis giganla and ashes of h u n t sheep horns, when tempered, becomes so strong t h a t i t does not break even though struck against stones. 1nstGnents tcrnprred by plunging them in solutions of the ash of plaintain tree, or in buttermilk, do not hend or breakorhlunt t h e r c d ~ e sagainst stonc or iron.
P. NEVOGI,7 r o n in ancient India," chap. 5, p. 64. PROF. NEYOGIdeclares the quality of the iron t o have been a matter * Our analysis of certain slags found by Mr. Naravane does not agree with this. of accident rather than design.
Lead Lead is black like the crow or also of the color of a pigeon or even of yellow ochre. It has white streaks and gives out a bad odor on heating. ~~~~~
Tin
Tin has either variegated shades of a marshy place or of baked earth. Boraz Borax (Mani, i. e., glass-metal, as the Indians called it, mistaking it for a metal) is clear, soft, lustrous, pink in color, and with a metallic ring.
weanons, thouzh .. it is doubtful that such delicate adjus&ents of instrument to technic were observed in the latter case. Sushrnta recommended pure iron for most surgical instruments and emphasized the desirability of employing a skilful and experienced smith. Other suitable materials were admissible, particularly if iron of good quality was not available, but the use of impure iron was strongly deprecated. Mention is made of use of a copper needle in the operation for recliuation of cataract. Tin was used as a material for blunt instruments. sushruta also speaks of plates of tin, lead, copper, iron to tumors and to protect healthy tissues in the application of cautery.
Miscellaneous LATER WRITINGS
Directions are also given for the hardening and softening of miscellaneous metals, for the preparation of alloys and for coatings and other surface treatments to protect metals from corrosion. one also h d s detailed specifications for the construction of beam scales and cautions against various accidental and fraudulent sources of error in weighing. . Among the latter is mentioned the influence of a concealed magnet. This trick was apparently unknown in Europe until comparatively recent times.
Later writings, such as Rasarmva and Rasaratnasamychaya (A.D.1200-1400) and the Ayeen Akbari (A.D. 1600) reveal increasing knowledge of the metals and their compounds as well as of their technical manipulation. The art of metallurgy in general and of iron and of iron-working in particular apparently reached a
CHARAKAANDSUSHRUTA
CHARAKA (200 to 300 B.c.) is regarded as the earliest and the best Hindu writer on medicine. His date is not definitely established, but he belongs to the preBuddhistic period. SUSHRUTA (about A.D. 800), another medical author, was preeminently a surgeon rather than a physician like Charaka. Among many other appliances, Charaka mentions gold and silver needles as accessories in obstetrical work. To cut the navel-cord of the new-born child he recommends a knife of either gold, silver, or iron. Sushruta gives detailed directions for the shaping and finishing, the sharpening and the care of a wide variety of surgical instruments. These were classified in two main divisions-blunt and sharp. The former division included six sub-varieties; the latter, twenty-one. Cutting instruments were both sharpened and tempered in accordance with the specific uses for which they were intended. Thus Sushruta enjoins that the edges of the instruments used in incising should be of the fineness of a mosure; of those used in scarifying, of half a masura; of those used in puncturing and evacuating, of a hair; and those used in dividing, of half a hair. The instruments are tempered in three ways: by immersing the heated instrument in an alkaline solution. or water. or oil. Those tempered in an alkaline solution are used in rutting bones and in excising arrows and other forcign bodies. Those tempered in water are used in incising, cutting or clearing muscles, and those tempered in oil are used in puncturing veins and dividing nerves and tendons.
It is also mentioned that the processes for tempering surgical instruments are the same as for tempering
peak at about the seventeenth century. ~h~ conservatism of the Indian artisans was the indirect cause of their decline from that time on, however, for the rapidly improving European technology soon introduced the killing blight of foreign competition.
HINDU THEORIES
CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF THE METALS
derive their properties in various proportions from these. Mercury was conceived as influencing most strongly Hindu theories of the origin of the metals con- the mechanical characteristics, while sulfur contributed tained much of the fanciful. Various theories existed to the appearance. On this basis the metals were more or less conclassified as white currently and with (zinc, tin, lead, and evident interminsilver) and yellow gling and i t is im(copper and gold). possible t o t r a c e It was also the any gradual develbelief that the baser opment with chronmetals werecapable ological sequence. of gradual transforSome accounts were mation i n t o t h e purely mythologinobler ones. This cal legends; others belief had some sought to account support in the coinlogically f o r t h e cidental occurrence properties of t h e of metals. Silver, metals and their f o r instance, i s ores as they were found in conjuncthen known. Probtion with both lead a b l y t h e foland zinc and it was lowing m a y be conjectured that by taken as representap r o p e r manipulative. BEAMSWHICH FORMED A PORTION OP THE PORCA ROOFOP TAB TEMPLE tion it might be preIt was argued pared from them. AT KONARAK that the organic A few centuries later than the Delhi pillar. The results of exworld springs from a perimental (or techsingle germ and then grows and multiplies, and that nical) work also lent countenance to such views. Since therefore there must have been a first germ or cause silver could be obtained from galena and gold from for the metals, also. pyrites there seemed to be nothing irrational in the Accordingly there arose a belief which propounded belief that they could also be manufactured from other that the metals were born of the union of Hara and metals. The fact that copper sulfate deposits copper Parvati through the help of Agni. Hence the symbolism: on iron was apparently a demonstration of transmutaMercury = the semen of Hara (Shiva) tion. Tin and lead give an alloy resembling silver and Earth (or crucible) = Parvati (consort of Hara) hence were considered the parents of that metal. Sulfur = Agni (god of fire) Although these ideas seem somewhat ridiculous toIn more concrete terms it was postulated that there day, it should be recognized that it was the knowledge must have been some first metal in the earth from which rather than the reasoning of the ancients which was a t all others evolved. Mercury and sulfur were considered fault. Their conclusions were altogether natural upon the genitive pair and other metals were supposed to the basis of the facts available to them.
