Suvarna.

Gold enters into the composition of a large number of medicines for various diseases. Pure leaf-gold is used. It should be free from admixture of copper and silver, of a red colour when exposed to heat, and of saffron colour when rubbed on touchstone. It is purified by heating its leaves and cooling them alternately with kanjika, oil, cow's urine, butter-milk and a decoction of horse-gram. Gold is reduced to powder by being rubbed with mercury and exposed to heat in a covered crucible with the addition of sulphur. Two parts of mercury and one of leaf-gold are rubbed together into a mass with lemon juice and placed in a crucible with three parts of sulphur. The crucible is then covered and exposed to heat. This process of mixing the gold with mercury and exposing to heat is repeated fourteen times, when the gold completely loses its metallic character. In books it is stated that the gold should be rubbed with mercury only the first time, and that in roasting it afterwards sulphur alone should be placed in the crucible with the gold, but Kaviraja Binod Lal Sen tells me that he reduces gold to powder by mixing it with mercury every time it is roasted, and that he repeats the process till the gold is reduced to a dark brown impalpable powder. This powder of gold appears to undergo little change from its metallic state, for on being rubbed on an agate mortar it produces a brilliant yellow stain like that of massive gold, when it is rubbed on touchstone for ascertaining its purity.

Gold thus prepared for medicinal use is considered a valuable tonic and alterative. It is said to increase strength and beauty, to improve the intellect and memory, to clear the voice and to increase the sexual powers. It is used in fever, consumption, insanity, diseases of the nervous system and urinary organs, impotence, etc. Dose, one to two grains.

Jayamangala rasa.1 Take of mercury obtained by sublimation, of cinnabar, sulphur, borax, prepared copper, tin and iron pyrites, rock-salt, and black pepper, prepared iron and silver, each one part, prepared gold two parts, powder them well, mix and soak the mixture three times respectively in the juice of datura leaves, and leaves of Nyctanthes Arbor-tristis (sephalika), in the decoction of the ten roots, called dasamula, and of chiretta. Divide the mass into four-grain pills. They are taken with cumin-seed powder and honey. This medicine is used in old chronic fevers of all sorts and is said to be a powerful tonic and alterative, that may be administered with suitable adjuncts in many diseases.

Mrigάnka rasa2 Take of mercury one part, prepared gold one part, sulphur and pearls each two parts, borax one-fourth part, rub them together and beat into a ball with kάnjika. This is dried, enclosed in an earthen crucible and exposed to heat within a pot of rock-salt in the manner of a hot sand-bath for twelve hours. When cool the ball is taken out from the crucible and reduced to powder. It is administered in doses of one to four grains with about a scruple of black pepper in phthisis. Two other preparations used in this disease, and called Pottali hemagarbha rasa, and Ratnagarbha pottali rasa, respectively, are similar in composition to the Mrigάnka rasa. They contain mercury, sulphur, gold, pearls, borax etc, in varying proportions.

Svarna parpati.1 Take of mercury eight tolas, gold one tola,, rub them together, then add sulphur eight tolas and mix. Melt the mixture over the fire in an iron ladle smeared with ghee, and press the melted fluid between cow-dung balls enclosed in plantain-leaves in the manner described under Rasa parpati, so as to make thin round disks of it. This medicine is used like Rasa parpati in chronic diarrhoea, and anasarca. Milk diet is enjoined, and water and salt are prohibited. Dose grains two, gradually increased to grains ten in the course of twenty-one days, to be again gradually reduced to the original dose of two grains in another three weeks. Another preparation of the sort called Vijayaparpati contains diamond, pearls, silver, copper, and talc, in addition to gold, sulphur and mercury. It is used in the same cases as the Svarna-parpati above described.

Gold is much used as an alterative tonic. Prepared gold in doses of two grains daily with the addition of honey, ghee and emblic myrobalan, or root of Acorns Calamus (vacha) is recommend ded to be taken for a lengthened period.2 It is also given to infants under an impression that it will impart strength and beauty to their frames. The following composition is recommended for them. Take of powdered gold, root of Acorus Calamus (vacha) and Aplolaxis auriculata (kushtha), chebulic myrobalans, and leaves of Herpestes Monniera (brimhi) equal parts, powder and mix. Dose two grains with honey and ghee. It is recommended to be given to feeble infants a few days after birth.

The principal alterative tonic of the Hindu Materia Medica is the preparation popularly called Makaradhvaja. To prepare it, take of leaf-gold one tola, mercury eight tolas, beat into a mass, then aid sulphur sixteen tolas,and rub together till the mass becomes black. Rub this mass repeatedly with the juice of the red cotton flower and of Aloe Indica, and dry. Now take a bottle with a flat bottom, wrap it with layers of cloth and clay to strengthen it, and dry. Place the mixture of gold, mercury and sulphur at the bottom of the bottle, insert it in a sand-bath up to its neck and cover the mouth lightly with a piece of chalk. Apply heat gently at first. When the process of sublimation commences the heat should be increased, and the chalk-stopper removed. The sulphur now burns with its characteristic blue flame at the mouth of the bottle and a red sublimate collects below its neck. The narrow neck of the bottle is apt to be closed with sulphureous deposits and when there is this tendency, it should be cleared with an iron rod. The sublimation is over in the course of about nine hours. When done the bottle is broken, and the sublimate extracted from its neck in the shape of shining dark red scales. In this process the sulphur and mercury are sublimed in the form of red sulphide, and the gold remains at the bottom of the bottle. The latter may be used again in the preparation of Makaradhvaja or converted into powdered gold. Makaradhvaja is administered in doses of one grain daily with honey or other suitable adjuncts in nervous debility, weakness of brain from excessive mental labour, habitual costiveness, general debility, female complaints after delivery, spermatorrhoea etc.

Chandr odaya makaradhvaja.1 When Makaradhvaja is administered as an aphrodisiac, it is usual to mix it with some stimulant drugs, the resulting preparation being called Chandrodaya makara-dhvaja. Thus take of Makaradhvaja, one part, camphor, nutmegs, black pepper, and cloves, each four parts musk one-sixteenth part, mix together and make into pills about ten grains each. These pills are enclosed or wrapped in betle leaves and chewed. Along with this medicine a generous diet consisting of meat, ghee, milk, pulses, etc, should be taken. It is used in nervous debility, impotence, premature old age etc.* A preparation similar in appearance to Makaradhvaja and called Ashtavaktra rasa, is sublimed from a mixture of mercury, sulphur, gold, silver, lead, copper, zinc and tin in equal parts. It is used as a nervine tonic in general debility.