66
HINDU CHEMISTRY
the apparatus is taken out." [This description, in almost identical recension, occurs in r. r. s. under the name of जारणायन्त्रम्. The language is faulty and the meaning not very clear.]
Garbha Yantram
"I shall now describe the Garbha Yantram for reducing pistikā[1] to ashes. Make a crucible 4 digits in length, and 3 digits in width, with its mouth rounded. Take 20 parts of salt and one of bdellium and pound them finely, adding water frequently; rub the crucible with this mixture. * * Make a fire of paddy husks and apply gentle heat. In the course of one to three days the mercury is reduced to ashes." [Vide Illustrations.]
Efficacy of the Apparatus
"For killing and colouring mercury, an apparatus is indeed a power. Without the use of
- ↑ A cake of mercury and sulphur.