The Ocean of Mercury

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Citations from it are found in many texts. A similar style is found in the Rasopanishad, but its types are different. The Anandakanda and Goraksha Samhita are also texts of the same category. They are all dialogues between Parvati and Parameshwara. The Goraksha Samhita has been composed by considering Shakti and Neelakantha as symbols of Parvati and Parameshwara.

Historical study of alchemy does not provide knowledge of a specific time, but based on style and process, the beginning of alchemical literature should be set. According to Acharya Priyavrata Sharma’s "Scientific History of Ayurveda," it is the twelfth century. Scholars of alchemy will deliberate on this.

The Rasarnava is divided into eighteen patalas chapters. The first chapter contains questions and answers regarding Jivanmukti and a discussion on the origin of mercury. The second chapter describes the characteristics of the guru and disciple and their duties. The third chapter explains the sequence of building the Rasashala alchemical laboratory and the arrangement of mantras. The fourth chapter discusses instruments, crucibles, and the names and characteristics of fire. The fifth chapter shows the nature of regulation and alchemical work and provides a glimpse of various methods. The sixth chapter describes the types of mica, their characteristics, and purification methods. The seventh chapter describes the purification and alchemical processes of major minerals like gold-pyrite, secondary minerals like sulfur, metals like gold and silver, and gems like diamonds. The eighth chapter discusses the number of colors, the method of dyeing, and the method of seed manipulation. The ninth chapter explains the methods for manipulating the "seed" and creating Vidas alchemical catalysts. The tenth chapter describes the characteristics of mercury, its purification, and standard definitions. The eleventh describes the method of Charana moving and Jarana digestion of mercury; the twelfth deals with the binding of mercury; the thirteenth with Baddha-jarana digestion of the bound; and the fourteenth deals with the Vajrabandha diamond-like binding of mercury through other methods. The fifteenth chapter describes the binding of mercury with major minerals, secondary minerals, and metals; the sixteenth describes the melting and digestion of "bound" mercury; the seventeenth describes the method of transmuting iron with mercury; and the eighteenth chapter describes the method of transmuting the body, the path to the sky, and the attainment of the state of perfection (Siddhavastha). Thus, various actions from the question of Jivanmukti to the attainment of the state of perfection have been described. Incidentally, means for attaining health have also been explained. This is the brief subject matter of this text.