
Turning Gold into Medicine: The Alchemy of Hema Bhasma
Gold is a medicine — if you know how to prepare it. That is the premise of the Rasamuktāvalī, a treatise on rasaśāstra, the branch of Ayurveda that works wit...

This manuscript, titled Rasamuktāvaliḥ, is a treatise on Āyurvedic alchemy (rasaśāstra) focusing on the preparation, purification, and therapeutic properties of metallic and mineral substances, particularly gold (suvarṇa/hema). The text systematically describes various methods for calcining gold into medicinal ash (bhasma), detailing precise proportions of mercury, sulfur, and other ingredients, along with specific heating procedures (puṭa) and their therapeutic applications for treating consumption, fever, skin diseases, and other ailments. Notable is the inclusion of specialized alchemical preparations such as bālamṛgāṅka and rājamṛgāṅka, which combine gold with pearls, mercury, and sulfur, demonstrating the sophisticated metallurgical and pharmaceutical knowledge characteristic of medieval Indian medical literature.