Mercury or Parada (पारद)

Courtesy: Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "mercury." Encyclopedia Britannica, August 20, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/science/mercury-chemical-element.

Pārada (Samskrit: पारद), as mentioned in various Rasashastra texts of ancient India, means Mercury in English. It is a chemical element with atomic number 80 and chemical formula 'Hg (Hydrargyrum)'. Mercury (Hg), a metallic chemical element belonging to the zinc group (Group 12 [IIb] of the periodic table), is the only elemental metal that is liquid at room temperature. Mercury is silvery white, slowly tarnishes in moist air, and freezes into a soft solid like tin or lead at −38.83 °C (−37.89 °F). The chemical symbol Hg derives from the Latin hydrargyrum, “liquid silver.” It is also called Quick Silver, as it appears like silver having the property of flowing.

According to Ayurveda Rasashastra, Rasa (रस) is the term used to denote Parada. Mercury was known to Indian alchemists for several millenniums.

परिचयः ॥ Introduction

Parada (mercury-Hg) is one of the important core ingredients in Rasa (metals and minerals) Aushadhi (medicine). Most of Rasa formulations have mercury as an important ingredient. It is evident that raw mercury has many toxic effects such as severe gastrointestinal irritations, peripheral circulatory collapse, metallic taste in mouth, excessive salivation, inflammation of gums, etc.

पर्यायाः ॥ Synonyms of Parada used in Ayurveda

According to Rasatarangini, the alternative names used for Parada are

रसो रसेन्द्रः सूतश्च रसेशश्च रसेश्वरः । चपलो रसराजश्च पारदश्च शिवाह्वयः ॥ १।।

रसनादभ्रकादीनां धातूनां कीर्तितो रसः । अभ्रकाद्यधिराजत्वाद्रसेन्द्र इति कथ्यते ॥२॥

देहलोहभयीं सिद्धिं सूतेऽतः सूत उच्यते । स्वभावाच्चपलो यस्मात् ततोऽसौ चपलः स्मृतः ।।३।।

आतङ्कपङ्कमग्नानां पारदानाच्च पारदः | अभ्रादिरसराजत्वाद्रसराजः स्मृतो बुधैः ॥४॥