The Ocean of Mercury

Blessing

I am very pleased to read the Hindi commentary titled 'Rasachandrika' on the Rasārṇavam, authored by Dr. Indradeo Tripathi. This commentary has been prepared with great devotion, hard work, and patience. This text is the most ancient and superior among all alchemical texts. Copies of it had become rare. The Asiatic Society of Calcutta had previously edited and published it, but after that, the text became rare again. The Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office had earlier published the original text alone under the editorship of Pt. Taradatta Panta, but that edition also became rare.

This time, Dr. Indradeo has worked very hard to provide a Hindi commentary. The technical terms in this text are very difficult. Even so, he did not lose courage and persisted. Finally, the work is complete.

Antiquity: Because this is the most ancient text of Rasashastra the science of alchemy/mercury, it holds great importance. Fragments of it are found collected in all current texts. Much of it is contained within the Rasaratnasamuccaya, Rasendracintāmaṇi, and Rasakāmadhenu.

The Rasārṇavam is mentioned in the list of Madhavacharya. In 1910, Sir P.C. Ray published a copy of it based on the Asiatic Society’s manuscript through the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Introduction to the Author: It is unknown when this book was written or who wrote it. The nature of the literature suggests that it was written by a scholar of the Shaiva sect. The Shaiva sect existed several hundred years before the common era, and the text is written in the form of questions and answers between Bhairava and Parvati.

Description: It consists of 18 patalas chapters. At the end of each chapter, it is written: "Thus ends the tantric manifestation in the Rasārṇavam text, from the dialogue between Parvati and Paramesvara."