[INDOLOGY] Question

[Paul Thomas]

Hi Everyone,
I happen to be going through the few verses on alchemy in the *Vimalaprabhā*,
so I have been researching the topic.  *jāraṇam* in an alchemical context
(and in a general metallurgic context?) is usually understood to mean
"digestion."   It is the process by which processed quicksilver
incorporates other substances such as mica or metals into itself, which
results in "activated" quicksilver that is able to transmute other metals
into gold, or the mortal human body into a divine one.  *māraṇam* is linked
to this process of digestion.  With *jāraṇam *and the other concomitant
processes at the culmination of the alchemical work, the quicksilver is
also "killed" (*mṛtam*), and thus fully activated.  On the other hand, I
don't know what *saṃśamanam* would refer to . . .
Paul

On Fri, Oct 3, 2025 at 9:01 PM Lyne Bansat-Boudon via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear Matthew,
>
> Of course, this is probably a right understanding of the term in the
> context of Alchemy, and it is undoubtely a technical term, yet it works as
> a metaphor, by transfer from one realm to another.
> Semantic derivation, particularly in Sanskrit, owes much to the
> metaphorical use of words.
> It could be useful to note other occurrences of the term and the context
> in which it appears, or to find glosses of the term (*saṃśamayet* being
> glossed by *jārayet*, for instance). However, the research undoubtedly
> exceeds the scope of the question!
>
> Best regards,
>
> Lyne
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *De :* Matthew Kapstein <mattkapstein at proton.me>
> *Envoyé :* vendredi 3 octobre 2025 16:54
> *À :* Lyne Bansat-Boudon <Lyne.Bansat-Boudon at ephe.psl.eu>
> *Cc :* Patrick Olivelle <jpo at austin.utexas.edu>; Indology List <
> indology at list.indology.info>
> *Objet :* RE: [INDOLOGY] Question
>
> Dear Lyne,
>
> I placed "killing" in quotation marks as it is the term used by Roy. And I
> believe that this has a special significance with reference to metals in
> the alchemical context, and should not be confused with life, aging and
> death among mortal beings.
>
> best regards,
> Matthew
>
> Matthew T. Kapstein
> Professor emeritus
> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris
>
> Associate
> The University of Chicago Divinity School
>
> Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
>
> https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein
>
> https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/
>
>
> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1
>
>
> https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1
>
> https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949
>
> Sent with Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> secure email.
>
> On Friday, October 3rd, 2025 at 4:48 PM, Lyne Bansat-Boudon <
> Lyne.Bansat-Boudon at ephe.psl.eu> wrote:
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> It seems to me that taking root *jr̥̄ *to mean ‘to kill’ is a bit radical
> (although it may have this meaning contextually).
>
> It's more in the semantic field of old age, wear and tear, decay. See the
> origin myth of Indian theatre (1st chapter of the *Nāṭyaśāstra*), in
> which the well-named demons (the Vighnas) who obstruct (!) the archetypal
> representation are "torn to pieces" (*jarjarībhūta*) by Indra, thanks
> to the pole of his standard, henceforth called *‘jarjara’,* and not all
> of them are killed.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> LBB
>
> Lyne Bansat-Boudon
>
> Directeur d'études pour les Religions de l'Inde
>
> Ecole pratique des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses
>
> Membre senior honoraire de l'Institut universitaire de France
> ------------------------------
> *De :* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> de la part de
> Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Envoyé :* vendredi 3 octobre 2025 00:12
> *À :* Patrick Olivelle <jpo at austin.utexas.edu>
> *Cc :* Indology List <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Objet :* Re: [INDOLOGY] Question
>
> Hi Patrick,
>
> You may wish to look at Roy’s History of Hindu Chemistry on the topic of «
> killing » gold and other metals, in rasaśāstra.  The verb used is jārayed,
> but śam caus. can also mean to kill.
>
> Maybe there is more recent work on this as well.
>
> best,
> Matthew
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 2, 2025 at 19:20, Patrick Olivelle via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info
> <On+Thu,+Oct+2,+2025+at+19:20,+Patrick+Olivelle+via+INDOLOGY+%3C%3Ca+href=>>
> wrote:
>
> Sorry, Johnston translates: “makes it too soft.”
>
> Patrick
>
>
> Dear All:
>
> In Aśvaghoṣa’s Saundarananda, we have the following verse:
>
> dahet suvarṇaṁ hi dhamann akāle jale kṣipan saṁśamayed akāle /
> na cāpi samyak paripākam enaṁ nayed akāle samupekṣamāṇaḥ // 16.66 //
>
> The problem verb is saṃśamayet. Covill translates: "make it cool down”;
> and Johnston: “bring it to maturity.” My feeling is that the term has a
> technical meaning within the metallurgic tradition. Someone suggested “make
> it brittle”, which is tempting, but I do not know that the Sanskrit term
> has this meaning. Any help from those of you better versed in ancient
> Indian metallurgy would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Patrick Olivelle
>
>
>
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