A History of Hindu Chemistry

Nonfiction book

For the history of chemistry in India, see Indian alchemy.

A History of Hindu Chemistry is a two-volume book authored by Prafulla Chandra Ray, who was Professor of Chemistry at Presidency College, Kolkata, and published in the first decade of the twentieth century. Volume 1 was published in 1902 and Volume 2 in 1909. Both volumes were published by Williams and Norgate, London. The full title of the book runs as follows: A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century AD with Sanskrit Texts, Variants, Translation and Illustrations. Both volumes are available for free download from Internet Archive.[1][2]

In contemporaneous review of Volume 1 of the book that appeared in the Nature magazine, the reviewer has summed up his review thus: "Dr Ray has ably carried out his task of proving that the ancient lore of the Hindus are far in advance of the rest of the world, China excepted."[3]

## Contents

[edit]

Volume 1 begins with a 79-page introduction divided into six chapters which respectively deal with the alchemical ideas in the Vedas, the Ayurvedic period, the transitional period, the tantric period, the iatrochemical period and the indebtedness of the Arabians to India. The Hindu chemistry of these periods are further elaborated in Volume 1 and also in Volume 2. Both volumes contain extracts and translation of Sanskrit texts dealing with chemistry.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol. 1". Internet Archive. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
2. ^ "A History Of Hindu Chemistry,Vol. 2". Internet Archive. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
3. ^ T. K. R. (21 May 1903). "A History of Hindu Chemistry". Nature. 68: 51–52. Retrieved 6 November 2022.

* v
* t
* e

Alchemy (general)

Alchemists|

| Greco-Egyptian|

* Agathodaemon (legendary)
* Chymes
* pseudo-Cleopatra
* pseudo-Democritus
* Hermes Trismegistus (legendary)
* Mary the Jewess
* pseudo-Moses
* Ostanes (legendary)
* Paphnutia the Virgin
* Zosimos of Panopolis

|

Ancient Chinese|

* Fang (alchemist)
* Ge Hong
* Master Geng
* Wei Boyang

Byzantine|

* pseudo-Olympiodorus
* Stephanus of Alexandria
* Synesius

Arabic-Islamic|

* Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (Rhazes)
* Alphidius
* pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana (Balīnūs/Balīnās)
* Artephius
* pseudo-Avicenna
* Ibn Arfaʿ Raʾs
* Ibn Umayl (Senior Zadith)
* Ibn Waḥshiyya
* al-ʿIrāqī
* Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Geber)
* pseudo-Khālid ibn Yazīd (Calid)
* al-Jildakī
* Maslama al-Qurṭubī
* al-Ṭughrāʾī
* al-Zahrāwī (Abulcasis)

Late medieval|

* pseudo-Albertus
* (pseudo-)Arnaldus de Villa Nova
* pseudo-Geber
* George Ripley
* Guido di Montanor
* Hugh of Evesham
* Johann of Laz
* John Dastin
* John of Rupescissa (Jean de Roquetaillade)
* Magister Salernus
* pseudo-Michael Scot
* Ortolanus
* Paul of Taranto
* Petrus Bonus
* pseudo-Ramon Llull
* (pseudo-)Roger Bacon
* Taddeo Alderotti
* Thomas Norton

Early modern|

* Andreas Libavius
* Basil Valentine
* pseudo-Bernard of Treviso
* George Starkey (Eirenaeus Philalethes)
* Gerhard Dorn
* Giovanni da Correggio
* Heinrich Khunrath
* Hennig Brand
* Isaac Newton
* Jakob Böhme
* Jan Baptist van Helmont
* Johann Rudolf Glauber
* John Dee
* Michael Maier
* Michael Sendivogius
* Paracelsus
* Pierre-Jean Fabre
* Robert Boyle
* Samuel Norton
* Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes)
* Wilhelm Homberg

Modern|

* Carl Jung
* Eugène Canseliet
* Frater Albertus
* Fulcanelli
* Mary Anne Atwood

Writings|

| Major Works|

* Atalanta fugiens
* Aurora consurgens
* Liber de compositione alchemiae (Morienus)
* Book of the Silvery Water and the Starry Earth
* Book of Mercy
* Books of the Balances
* Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit
* Cantong Qi
* Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
* Clavis sapientiae (Miftāḥ al-ḥikma)
* De consideratione quintae essentiae
* Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina)
* Leyden papyrus X
* Liber Hermetis de alchemia (Liber dabessi)
* Liber ignium
* Liber lucis
* Mappae clavicula
* Mirror of Alchimy
* Mutus liber
* Nabataean Agriculture
* Ordinal of Alchemy
* Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis
* Physika kai mystika
* Rosary of the Philosophers
* Rutbat al-ḥakīm (Step of the Sage)
* Seventy Books
* Sirr al-khalīqa (Secret of Creation)
* Sirr al-asrār (pseudo-Aristotle)
* Sirr al-asrār (al-Rāzī)
* Splendor solis
* Summa perfectionis
* Suspicions about the Hidden Realities of the Air
* Turba philosophorum
* Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine

|

Compilations|

* Aureum vellus
* Bibliotheca chemica curiosa
* De alchemia
* Deutsches Theatrum Chemicum
* Fasciculus chemicus
* Musaeum Hermeticum
* Theatrum chemicum
* Theatrum chemicum Britannicum
* Tripus aureus

Various|

* Alembic
* Alkahest
* Athanor
* Azoth
* Chrysopoeia
* Element
* Digestion
* Elixir of life
* Homunculus
* Iatrochemistry
* In art/entertainment
* Magnum opus
* Ouroboros
* Pill of Immortality
* Philosophers' stone
* Prima materia
* Rebis
* Spagyric
* Takwin
* Yliaster
* Processes
* Substances
* Symbols (Unicode, Suns in alchemy)

* All articles

* v
* t
* e

History of science

Background|

* Theories and sociology
* Historiography
* Pseudoscience
* History and philosophy of science

By era|

* Ancient world
* Classical Antiquity
* Medieval European
* Renaissance
* Scientific Revolution
* Age of Enlightenment
* Romanticism
* 19th century in science
* 20th century in science

By culture|

* African
* Argentine
* Brazilian
* Byzantine
* Chinese
* French
* Indian
* Japanese
* Korean
* Medieval Islamic
* Mexican
* Russian
* Spanish

Natural sciences|

* Astronomy
* Biology
* Chemistry
* Earth science
* Physics

Mathematics|

* Algebra
* Calculus
* Combinatorics
* Geometry
* Logic
* Probability
* Statistics
* Trigonometry

Social sciences|

* Anthropology
* Archaeology
* Economics
* History
* Political science
* Psychology
* Sociology

Technology|

* Agricultural science
* Computer science
* Materials science
* Engineering

Medicine|

* Human medicine
* Veterinary medicine
* Anatomy
* Neuroscience
* Neurology and neurosurgery
* Nutrition
* Pathology
* Pharmacy

* Timelines
* Portal
* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template