Historical review of Svarna Maksika.

ABSTRACT

The old age Ayurvedic claim about the therapeutic importance of metals and mineral bhasmas are time tasted. To make available the evidence for use of metals and minerals in therapeutics and to provide the knowledge of processing techniques in ancient India it is very much necessary to look over the history. Rasa sastra is the branch of Ayurvedic science which deals with the pharmaceutical processings of the metals and minerals. Svarna Maksika is one of the most important materials described in various Rasa literatures as well as in Sarmhitas and in other Ayurvedic texts. Going through the different literatures its different features, geological distributions and various processing techniques like sodhana, marana are found. In Samhita period only the features were described but during 7th Cen. AD & onwards its processings were found. Now a day Svarrna Maksika is correlated with chalcopyrite by modern metallurgists. The features of chalcopyrite are also given to assist the more study in this regard. In the current paper it is tried to collect and compile all the related area about Svarna Maksika from all possible ancient literary resources as well as from possible modern texts, to facilitate further research.