Ali M
Indian Institute of History of Medicine, Hyderabad.
Bull Indian Inst Hist Med Hyderabad. 1993 Jul;23(2):151-66.
History of Indian alchemy can be traced to pre-Vedic period. The archaeological excavations at Mohenjodaro and Harappa in the Indus valley have brought to light that, the people in ancient India were possessing chemical knowledge as early as in the pre-historic period. In Vedic period single herbs were prescribed. Minerals and animal substances were also prescribed but no compound preparations were in use. Alchemy in India, was started for the preparation of an elixir of life for imparting immortality and later for the transmutation process for converting base metals into gold. Indian alchemy derived its colour and flavour to a large extent from the Tantric cult. Then, during the iatro-chemical period all the previous accumulated alchemical ideas were put into something more practical and tangible. a number of preparations of mercury and other metals were evolved as helpful accessories in medicine. Here a bried history of this Indian alchemy is presented which will give an idea about the development of chemical knowledge in India in its multiple aspects.
印度炼金术的历史可以追溯到吠陀时代之前。在印度河流域的摩亨佐·达罗和哈拉帕进行的考古发掘揭示，古印度人早在史前时期就掌握了化学知识。在吠陀时代，人们使用单味草药。也使用矿物质和动物制品，但不使用复方制剂。印度炼金术最初是为了制备长生不老药以赋予永生，后来则是为了进行将贱金属转化为黄金的嬗变过程。印度炼金术在很大程度上从密宗仪式中汲取了色彩和韵味。然后，在医化学时期，之前积累的所有炼金术思想都被应用到更实际、更具体的事物中。人们研制出了许多汞和其他金属的制剂，作为医学上的辅助药物。这里呈现的是印度炼金术的简要历史，它将让人了解印度化学知识在多个方面的发展情况。
