Dear respected colleagues,

I wonder if anyone here knows about alchemy (rasāyana) and can clarify the meaning of the word jīrṇa in that context. In the passage below (ĪPvv III p. 328), in discussing mystical experience, Abhinavagupta uses an alchemical metaphor involving siddharasa (≈ mercury), drutarasa, and kanakadhātu. The meaning of the passage is fairly clear to me, I am just wondering about the alchemical significance of of jīrṇa (matured?) and drutarasa.

the passage follows.

yadā tu parāmṛṣṭa-nityatva-vyāpitvādi-dharmakaiśvarya-ghanātmanā ahambhāva-siddharasena śūnyādi-deha-dhātv-antaṃ vidhyate yena prameyatvāt tat cyavata iva, tadā turyadaśā;
yadāpi viddho 'sau prāṇa-dehādi-dhātuḥ saṃvid-rasena abhiniviṣṭo ’tyantaṃ kanaka-dhātur iva jīrṇaḥ kriyate yena sa druta-rasa iva ābhāti kevalaṃ tat-saṃskāraḥ, tadāpi turyātīta-daśā sā bhavati
'But when the [layers of limited selfhood] from Void to the physical body are penetrated by the “alchemical elixir” that is the (true) I-sense—replete with the sovereignty of the qualities of eternality, all-pervasiveness, etc. which are cognized [as aspects of that I], by which their objectivity falls away as it were, then it is the Fourth State.
When, further, these elements of prāṇa, body, etc., penetrated by the elixir of Consciousness, are completely immersed [in it], they are “matured” like the element of gold . . .'(?)

best wishes,

Christopher Wallis, M.A. (Cal), M.Phil. (Oxon), Ph.D. (ABD, Cal)

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