8,090
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: + + Line 15:
Line 17: − + + + + + Line 25:
Line 31: − − === Vedic References === − Bharatiya literature is replete with many references of metals and minerals used for various Line 167:
Line 170: − + − + − + − + − + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + + + − + + + +
adding content and references
{{ToBeEdited}}
Mineralogy (Samskrit: धातुशास्त्रम्) or metallurgy discusses the chemistry of Dhatus (minerals), their properties, composition, reactions, combination products namely alloys and their uses. A related topic, mining of metals, involves the chemistry of extraction from ores, smelting and forging activities. History of mining in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to pre-Harappan period where the evidence of earliest settlements of farming communities using metal implements have been found.<ref name=":0">Singh. R. D, (1997) ''History of Technology in India, Vol. 1, From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. by A. K. Bag.'' New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. (Chapter Mining: Page 48 - ) </ref>
Mineralogy (Samskrit: धातुशास्त्रम्) or metallurgy discusses the chemistry of Dhatus (minerals), their properties, composition, reactions, combination products namely alloys and their uses. A related topic, mining of metals, involves the chemistry of extraction from ores, smelting and forging activities. History of mining in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to pre-Harappan period where the evidence of earliest settlements of farming communities using metal implements have been found.<ref name=":0">Singh. R. D, (1997) ''History of Technology in India, Vol. 1, From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. by A. K. Bag.'' New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. (Chapter Mining: Page 48 - ) </ref>
Mention about metalsmith (कार्मारः) is made in Rigveda (9.112.2)<blockquote>कार्मारो अश्मभिर्द्युभिर्हिरण्यवन्तमिच्छतीन्द्रायेन्दो परि स्रव ॥२॥ (Rig. Veda. 1.191.15)</blockquote>A furnace, blower and fire - the setup used by a metalsmith has been described. Fire is described as a 'cradle of gems' that melts gold and the blower (ध्मातरी dhmaatari) or metalsmith blows to produce sharp flame in a furnace. <blockquote>यदीमह त्रितो दिव्युप ध्मातेव धमति शिशीते ध्मातरी यथा ॥५॥ (Rig. Veda. 5.9.5)</blockquote>Shatapatha Brahmana introduces the word "bhastraa" meaning a leather bellow used to blow air into a furnace (1.1.2.7, 1.6.3.16).
Mention about metalsmith (कार्मारः) is made in Rigveda (9.112.2)<blockquote>कार्मारो अश्मभिर्द्युभिर्हिरण्यवन्तमिच्छतीन्द्रायेन्दो परि स्रव ॥२॥ (Rig. Veda. 1.191.15)</blockquote>A furnace, blower and fire - the setup used by a metalsmith has been described. Fire is described as a 'cradle of gems' that melts gold and the blower (ध्मातरी dhmaatari) or metalsmith blows to produce sharp flame in a furnace. <blockquote>यदीमह त्रितो दिव्युप ध्मातेव धमति शिशीते ध्मातरी यथा ॥५॥ (Rig. Veda. 5.9.5)</blockquote>Shatapatha Brahmana introduces the word "bhastraa" meaning a leather bellow used to blow air into a furnace (1.1.2.7, 1.6.3.16).
Yajurveda was the first literature to mention gold (हिरण्यं), "shyaamaayasa (श्यामं)" or "krshnaayasa" which is black metal or iron specifically, loha or red metal copper (लोहं), sisam or lead (सीसं) and trapu or tin (त्रपु) in the Rudrachamaka.<blockquote>हिरण्यं च मे यश् च मे श्यामं च मे लोहं च मे सीसं च मे त्रपु च मे यज्ञेन कल्पन्ताम् ॥ (Shuk. Yaju. Veda. 18.13)</blockquote>
Yajurveda was the first literature to mention gold (हिरण्यं), "shyaamaayasa (श्यामं)" or "krshnaayasa" which is black metal or iron specifically, loha or red metal copper (लोहं), sisam or lead (सीसं) and trapu or tin (त्रपु) in the Rudrachamaka.<blockquote>हिरण्यं च मे यश् च मे श्यामं च मे लोहं च मे सीसं च मे त्रपु च मे यज्ञेन कल्पन्ताम् ॥ (Shuk. Yaju. Veda. 18.13)</blockquote>Atharvaveda describes the genesis of the shankha (conch) and mukta (pearl) in the oceans.<blockquote>दिवि जातः समुद्रजः सिन्धुतस्पर्याभृतः । स नो हिरण्यजाः शङ्ख आयुष्प्रतरणो मणिः ॥४॥ (Athar. Veda. 4.10.4)<ref>Atharvaveda ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%83/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A3%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%82_%E0%A5%AA/%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D_%E0%A5%A7%E0% Kanda 4 Sukta 10])</ref></blockquote>Summary: This Atharvaveda sukta (4.10.1-7) extols the greatness of shankha as the precious gem which has taken birth from Vayu, Antariksha and other mandalas as the remover of all papa (sins) and protector from all kinds of ailments, remover of poverty and unforseen disasters. Shankha first arose in the celestial worlds and then from the oceans on earth.<ref>Atharvaveda Subodh Bhashya, Volume 1 (Pages 163-164)</ref>
Chandogya Upanisad recognised that metals have intrinsic properties irrespective of the shapes that these may assume (Cha. Up 6.1.5 & 6). It stipulated that one can join gold with the help of borax, lead with the help of tin 'etc.<blockquote>तद्यथा लवणेन सुवर्णँ सन्दध्यात्सुवर्णेन रजतँ रजतेन त्रपु त्रपुणा सीसँ सीसेन लोहं लोहेन दारु दारु चर्मणा ॥ ७ ॥ (Chan. Upan. 4.17.7)<ref>Chandogya Upanishad ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9B%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%AA Adhyaya 4 Khanda 17])</ref></blockquote>Summary: Just as one would join together (pieces of) gold by borax, by gold silver, by silver tin, by tin lead, by lead iron, by iron wood or by leather.<ref>Mm. Ganganath Jha. (1923) ''Chhandogya Upanishad and Sri Sankara's Commentary.'' Madras: The India Printing Press. (Page 261)</ref>
It is interesting to note that ancient texts have mentioned many matters regarding the existence and usage of metals, their properties, nature and their extraction. Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya acclaimed [[Uddalaka (उद्दालकः)|Uddalaka Aruni]] as ''''the first scientist in the world'''<nowiki/>'. Uddalaka Aruni as mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad propounded that everything in the universe including man evolved out of three elements, and even mind is a product of matter. According to Chattopadhyaya Uddalaka preceded Theles of Greece by nearly two centuries.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad. (1991) ''History of Science and Technology in Ancient India ll Formation of the Theoretical Fundamentals of Natural Science.'' Calcutta: Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd., </ref>
== Metals and Gems ==
== Metals and Gems ==
In his Brhat Samhita, Varahamihira gave a scientific explanation that the gems were caused by the characteristic qualities of the earth. <blockquote>रत्नानि बलाद्दैत्याद्दधीचितोऽन्ये वदन्ति जातानि । केचिद्भुवः स्वभावाद्वैचित्र्यं प्राहुरुपलानाम् ।। (Brht. Samh. 80.3)</blockquote>Meaning: Gems, they say, were born of the bones of the daitya Bala; while others state that they were born of Dadichi; yet others say that the wonderful variety of germs is caused by the characteristic qualities of the earth.<ref name=":3">Sastri, V. Subrahmanya and Bhat. M. Ramakrishna, (1946) ''Varahamihira's Brihat Samhita with an English Translation and Notes.'' Bangalore City: V. B. Soobbiah and Sons (Page 628 - 629)</ref>
In his Brhat Samhita, Varahamihira gave a scientific explanation that the gems were caused by the characteristic qualities of the earth. <blockquote>रत्नानि बलाद्दैत्याद्दधीचितोऽन्ये वदन्ति जातानि । केचिद्भुवः स्वभावाद्वैचित्र्यं प्राहुरुपलानाम् ।। (Brht. Samh. 80.3)</blockquote>Meaning: Gems, they say, were born of the bones of the daitya Bala; while others state that they were born of Dadichi; yet others say that the wonderful variety of germs is caused by the characteristic qualities of the earth.<ref name=":3">Sastri, V. Subrahmanya and Bhat. M. Ramakrishna, (1946) ''Varahamihira's Brihat Samhita with an English Translation and Notes.'' Bangalore City: V. B. Soobbiah and Sons (Page 628 - 629)</ref>
== Gem-Minerals ==
== Gem-Minerals ==
== The Ores of Metals ==
== The Ores of Metals ==
The present section reviews the important metals and interesting point about their role with respect to the world metal usage.
The present section reviews the important metals and interesting points about their role since ancient times.
=== Gold and Silver ===
=== सुवर्णम् रजतश्च ॥ Gold and Silver ===
Early reference to gold is to be found in the Rigveda samhita. The noble metals, gold and silver, are found in the native state, and were used to make jewellery and sheet metal due to the great ductility and lustre of the pure metals. In ancient times, gold was collected by panning alluvial sands from placer deposits. However, India has the distinction that the deepest ancient mines in the world for gold come from the Maski region of Karnataka with carbon dates from the middle of the first millennium BC. Interestingly, as far as silver production goes, the Aravalli region in North-West India ranks amongst the few major ancient silver producing sites in the world.
Early reference to gold is to be found in the Rigveda samhita. The noble metals, gold and silver, are found in the native state, and were used to make jewellery and sheet metal due to the great ductility and lustre of the pure metals. In ancient times, gold was collected by panning alluvial sands from placer deposits. However, India has the distinction that the deepest ancient mines in the world for gold come from the Maski region of Karnataka with carbon dates from the middle of the first millennium BC. Interestingly, as far as silver production goes, the Aravalli region in North-West India ranks amongst the few major ancient silver producing sites in the world.
* Oldest literary reference to usage of Gold and Silver in Rigveda
* Oldest literary reference to usage of Gold and Silver in Rigveda
* World's deepest gold mines are found in Karnataka state of India
* World's deepest gold mines are found in Karnataka state of India
=== Copper ===
=== ताम्रम् ॥ Copper ===
Early copper artifacts are reported from the pre-Indus valley sites of Baluchistan, the northwestern part of Indian subcontinent. Evidence of ancient mining of copper ores was from the Khetri region of Rajasthan in India dating to about 3rd-2nd millennium BC. Huge quantities of copper objects such as blades, arrow-heads, fish hooks were found from the sites of Pre-harappan excavations. It may be asserted based on evidence that copper metallurgy was developed indigenously in the Indian subcontinent well before 4000 BC.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />
Early copper artifacts are reported from the pre-Indus valley sites of Baluchistan, the northwestern part of Indian subcontinent. Evidence of ancient mining of copper ores was from the Khetri region of Rajasthan in India dating to about 3rd-2nd millennium BC. Huge quantities of copper objects such as blades, arrow-heads, fish hooks were found from the sites of Pre-harappan excavations. It may be asserted based on evidence that copper metallurgy was developed indigenously in the Indian subcontinent well before 4000 BC.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />
* Ores of copper as pyrites was identified far before any other nation.
* Ores of copper as pyrites was identified far before any other civilization.
* Oldest reference of use of indigenous copper metullurgy is found in Indian civilization
* Oldest reference of use of indigenous copper metullurgy is found in Indian civilization
=== Mercury ===
=== रसः ॥ Mercury ===
Mercury is a metal that has been of great alchemical importance in ancient times. [[Rasashastra (रसशास्त्रम्)|Rasashastra]] was highly developed using mercurial compounds.
Mercury is a metal that has been of great alchemical importance in ancient times. It is a volatile metal, which is easily produced by heating cinnabar followed by the downward distillation of mercury vapour. Some of the earliest literary references to the use of mercury distillation come from Indian treatises such as the Arthashastra of Kautilya. Ayurvedic texts have presented the science of using mercury, as [[Rasashastra (रसशास्त्रम्)|Rasashastra]].
* Vermilion or Cinnabar, mercuric sulphide, is used to make the red/maroon mark on the forehead as described in ancient texts of Sanatana Dharma
* Vermilion or Cinnabar, mercuric sulphide, is used to make the red/maroon mark on the forehead as described in ancient texts of Sanatana Dharma
[[File:Delhi Iron Pillar.png|thumb|Delhi Iron Pillar " The Rustless Wonder"]]
=== अयस् ॥ Ayas (Iron) ===
Ores of Iron : Haematite (Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>), Magnetite (Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>), Goethite (HFeO<sub>2</sub>) and Limonite (FeO (OH)<sub>n</sub>*H<sub>2</sub>O).
Earliest Iron Age sites in India show that the discovery and use of iron started around 1200 BC indigenously and independently in at least three nuclear zones- Karnataka area in the south, U.P and Rajasthan area in the north and West Bengal-Bihar area in the north-east. The evidences of early experimentation justify the theory of indigenous origin. Since iron could not be melted and cast easily, carburization of thin sheets of iron in charcoal fire and subsequent lamination and forge-welding of alternate layers of uncarburized and carburized sheets proved to be a.spectacular and.useful Indian discovery made much before the era of laminated Egyptian knife dated 900-800 BC.<ref name=":1" />
The forging of wrought iron seems to have reached its zenith in India in the first millennium AD. The earliest large forging is the famous iron pillar with a height of over 7 m and weight of about 6 tons at New Delhi ascribed to Chandragupta Vikramaditya 400- 450 CE . The inscription of the Gupta period of the 4th century CE is in Brahmi script of Sanskrit (Figure 8).The pillar is believed to have been made by forging together a series of disc-shaped iron blooms. The Iron Pillar, the earliest and the largest surviving iron forging in the world, is regarded as a metallurgical marvel because it has defied the laws of corrosion of iron even after so many centuries, earning the nickname, the ‘rustless wonder’. Its astounding corrosion-resistance is partly due to its composition; high slag and phosphorus (0.25 p.c.) content and low manganese (0.05) and sulphur (0.005) content.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />
Another more recent product of repute is the high carbon steel manufactured in the past by the crucible process. Wootz is the anglicized version of ukku in the languages of the states of Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, a term denoting steel. Literary accounts suggest that steel from the southern part of the Indian subcontinent was exported to Europe, China, the Arab world and the Middle East. Studies on Wootz indicate that it was an ultra-high carbon steel with between 1-2% carbon and was used to make the fabled Damascus swords.
* The Largest and Earliest Rustless Iron Forging Wonder : Iron Pillar of Chandragupta Vikramaditya at Delhi
* Wootz Steel prepared by indigenous crucible process.
* Monumental Iron pillars such as the one at Dhar in Central India and Kodachadri in coastal Karnataka and iron beams of the Konark temple.
=== Iron ===
=== सीसम् ॥ Lead ===
The Harappans were acquainted with lead ores such as galena (Lead sulphide) and cerussite (carbonate), and their smelting process which is simple on account of easy reducibility and low melting point of the metal. Lead was commonly alloyed with copper and bronze for making castings. The mineral-rich Aravalli region of Rajasthan was one of the important early lead mining regions in antiquity.
* Lead was used in making alloys.
=== Lead ===
=== Zinc ===
The earliest firm evidence for the production of metallic zinc comes from India. Of the eight metals used in antiquity zinc is one of the most difficult to smelt since it volatalizes at about the same temperature of around 1000 °C that is needed to smelt zinc ore. As a result, it forms as a vapour in the furnace which would immediately get reoxidised and hence the pure form is lost. So there are very few references to metallic zinc in early treatises. In India there is unique evidence for the extensive and semi-industrial production of zinc at the Zawar area of Rajasthan. An ingenious method was devised of downward distillation of the zinc vapour formed after smelting zinc ore using specifically designed retorts with condensers and furnaces. The zinc vapour could be cooled down drastically to get a melt that could solidify to zinc metal. The Rasaratnakara, Nagarjuna describes this method of production of zinc.
* Zawar Zinc mines using downward distillation process to produce metallic zinc.
त्रपु ॥ Tin
== References ==
== References ==
<references />
<references />