A REVIEW OF “SWARNA TANTRAM”- A TEXTBOOK ON ALCHEMY (LOHAVEDHA)

Rasa vidya (Indian Alchemy) roots far back to Veda kaala. In the 8 Century, Nagarjuna- ‘Father of Rasashastra' introduced this science to convert inexpensive metals like Copper, Lead and Tin to noble metals like Gold and Silver (Lohavedha), which gradually became a branch of Ayurveda- Rasashastra eventually empowering Ayurveda's reach and fame altogether. But the core use of Rasashastra vijnana was for Lohavedha. The concept of providing stability and quality to the inexpensive Dhatus is similar to Dehavada and Chikitsa where the aim is to relieve one from his ill condition and grant him optimum health and stability. “Swarna Tantram” is one such book that deals extensively on Lohavedha. It comprises mainly of 88 Kalpas along with 2 sections touching upon types of Puta and Yantra, all these elucidated in 1561 slokas. This book also contains few references for Dehavada, Vishista prayogas, Vedha yantra nirmana and Ekamulika prayogas for Chikitsa. A few other books which are dedicated to Lohavedha are Rasarnava and Rasahrudaya tantra.