--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski
<piotr.gasiorowski@...> wrote:> The first and literal meaning of
<rasa-> is 'sap, juice, liquid, fluid', > HENCE the compound <soma-
rasa-> 'soma-juice'. <rasa:yana-> was the art > of using medicinal
elixirs (mainly herbal ones) to strengthen the> "humours"
or "quintessences" of the human body (to which the term > <rasa->
was also applied), and <rasava:da-> was the respective doctrine. >
The interpretation of either as the transmutation of base metals
into > gold, electrum or whatever seems to be a product of your own
imagination.
Certainly not, Piotr. Why should i be imagining when the ancient
texts are so emphatic? Maybe, this is not the forum to post excerpts
from these texts. But I will just provide some pointers.
I will start with P.C. Ray's Hindu Chemistry and Jan Gonda's
treatise (1991) on Gold in vedic texts. Better still, start with my
Indian Alchemy: Soma in the Veda (forthcoming, Delhi, Munshiram
Manoharlal). You can also look up Joseph Needham's notes on Pammena
in Egypt. You will get all the citations from Rasaratnasamucchaya
and works of Nagarjuna. Cheers.