Rasashastra

The Rasahṛdayatantra, the earliest of the Sanskrit alchemical works transmitted to us, is characterised by its concise style. With few flourishes, it succintly describes alchemical operations in a structured way, providing a quick overview of procedures. However, the brevity of its descriptions also means that it can be difficult to fully understand the described procedures. 

Yogis, adepts, experts: Who were the alchemists?

On the fifth floor Science and Technology Heritage gallery of the National Science Center, Delhi, a small diorama shows some of the instruments used by South Asian alchemists. This diorama shows a cluttered space, full of yantras (apparatuses) and ovens.

For many, Ayurveda is associated with natural remedies based on herbs, massages and cleansing treatments, and above all, with a healthy lifestyle of balanced nutrition and self-care. Ayurveda is indeed all that, but also much more. One of Ayurveda’s less well-known aspects is its historical connection with Indian alchemy, or Rasashastra (= rasaśāstra).

This blogpost was co-written by Dagmar Wujastyk, Jason Birch, and Jacqueline Hargreaves. A parallel version can be found at The Luminescent. A pdf version can be found here.

The year 2015 saw the beginning of two major European projects, one at the University of Vienna, Austria, the other based at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, both projects focused on the study of texts that describe practices belonging to the Sanskrit tradition.

In new research projects, one sets out to cover new ground, explore the unknown, make exciting discoveries, and set the record straight on some previous assumptions. With this focus on discovering the new, it is easy to forget just how much of research depends on work already done by others.

No need to introduce Arion Roşu (1924-2007), eminent scholar in the study of Ayurveda. Roşu was drawn to the subject of traditional Indian medicine from the 1950s. His doctoral thesis, supervised by Jean Filliozat, was published under the title Les conceptions psychologiques dans les textes médicaux indiens (Publications de l’Institut de civilisation indienne, 1978).

Image: The author melting zinc under the instructions of Andrew Mason. This is one of the steps in the preparation of a zinc rasāyana.