ISO 15919 (Transliteration of Devanagari and related Indic scripts into Latin characters ) is an international standard for the romanization of Brahmic and Nastaliq scripts. Published in 2001, it is part of a series of international standards by the International Organization for Standardization .
135-465: Chanakya ( ISO : Cāṇakya , pronunciation ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher , author , strategist, philosopher , economist , jurist , and politician. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya or Viṣṇugupta , who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra , a text dated to roughly between the fourth century BCE and
270-409: A Dramila , implying that he was a native of South India . Chanakya was born with a full set of teeth. According to the monks, this was a sign that he would become a king in the future. Chanin did not want his son to become haughty, so he broke Chanakya's teeth. The monks prophesied that the baby would go on to become a power behind the throne . Chanakya grew up to be a learned shravaka , and married
405-525: A vishakanya (poison girl) to assassinate Chandragupta. Chanakya had this girl assassinate Parvata instead, with the blame going to Rakshasa. However, Parvata's son Malayaketu learned the truth about his father's death and defected to Rakshasa's camp. Chanakya's spy Bhagurayana accompanied Malayaketu, pretending to be his friend. Rakshasa continued to plot Chandragupta's death, but all his plans were foiled by Chanakya. For example, once Rakshasa arranged for assassins to be transported to Chandragupta's bedroom via
540-442: A Brahmin named Subandhu. According to this account, Chanakya was afraid that the wise Subandhu would surpass him at Chandragupta's court. So, he got Chandragupta to imprison Subandhu, whose son Tekicchakani escaped and became a Buddhist monk. The 16th-century Tibetan Buddhist author Taranatha mentions Chanakya as one of Bindusara's "great lords". According to him, Chanakya destroyed the nobles and kings of 16 towns and made Bindusara
675-520: A Brahmin woman. Her relatives mocked her for being married to a poor man. This motivated Chanakya to visit Pataliputra , and seek donations from the Emperor Nanda , who was famous for his generosity towards Brahmins. While waiting for the emperor at the imperial court, Chanakya sat on the emperor's throne. A dasi (slave woman) courteously offered Chanakya the next seat, but Chanakya kept his kamandal (water pot) on it, while remaining seated on
810-514: A basic set of laboratory techniques , theories, and terms, some of which are still in use today. They did not abandon the Ancient Greek philosophical idea that everything is composed of four elements , and they tended to guard their work in secrecy, often making use of cyphers and cryptic symbolism. In Europe, the 12th-century translations of medieval Islamic works on science and the rediscovery of Aristotelian philosophy gave birth to
945-570: A better minister. Meanwhile, Malayaketu had a conversation with Chanakya's spy Bhagurayana while approaching Rakshasa's house. Bhagurayana made Malayaketu distrustful of Rakshasa, by saying that Rakshasa hated only Chanakya, and would be willing to serve Nanda's son Chandragupta. Shortly after this, a messenger came to Rakshasa's house and informed him that Chandragupta had dismissed Chanakya while praising him. This convinced Malayaketu that Rakashasa could not be trusted. Malayaketu then decided to invade Pataliputra without Rakshasa by his side. He consulted
1080-408: A collection of deities that are each said to represent and protect a specific body part or region. Although those who practised Neidan prioritized meditation over external alchemical strategies, many of the same elixirs and constituents from previous Daoist alchemical schools of thought continued to be utilized in tandem with meditation. Eternal life remained a consideration for Neidan alchemists, as it
1215-510: A flourishing tradition of Latin alchemy. This late medieval tradition of alchemy would go on to play a significant role in the development of early modern science (particularly chemistry and medicine ). Modern discussions of alchemy are generally split into an examination of its exoteric practical applications and its esoteric spiritual aspects, despite criticisms by scholars such as Eric J. Holmyard and Marie-Louise von Franz that they should be understood as complementary. The former
1350-588: A highly influential work. In Sanskrit, rasa translates to "mercury", and Nāgārjuna Siddha was said to have developed a method of converting mercury into gold. Scholarship on Indian alchemy is in the publication of The Alchemical Body by David Gordon White. A modern bibliography on Indian alchemical studies has been written by White. The contents of 39 Sanskrit alchemical treatises have been analysed in detail in G. Jan Meulenbeld 's History of Indian Medical Literature . The discussion of these works in HIML gives
1485-453: A hungry Chandragupta. One day, Chanakya and Chandragupta overheard a woman scolding her son. The child had burnt his finger by putting it in the middle of a bowl of hot gruel. The woman told her son that by not starting from the cooler edges, he was being foolish like Chanakya, who attacked the capital before conquering the bordering regions. Chanakya realized his mistake, and made a new plan to defeat Nanda. He formed an alliance with Parvataka,
SECTION 10
#17327656946321620-448: A letter to Malayaketu warning him that his allies were treacherous. Chanakya also asked some of Chandragupta's princes to fake defection to Malayaketu's camp. In addition, Chanakya ordered Shakata-dasa's murder, but had him 'rescued' by Siddharthaka, a spy pretending to be an agent of Chandana-dasa. Chanakya's spy then took Shakata-dasa to Rakshasa. When Shakata-dasa and his 'rescuer' Siddharthaka reached Rakshasa, Siddharthaka presented him
1755-462: A magic ointment. Chanakya sensed their presence by covering the palace floor with a powder, and tracing their footprints. At the next meal, he caught them by filling the dining room with thick smoke, which caused the monks' eyes to water, washing off the ointment. Chanakya complained about the young monks' behavior to the head monk Acharya Susthita. The Acharya blamed people for not being charitable towards monks, so Chanakya started giving generous alms to
1890-417: A man so vengeful to destroy the fake emperor. He invited Chanakya to the emperor's assembly, promising him 100,000 gold coins for presiding over a ritual ceremony. Shakatala hosted Chanakya in his own house and treated him with great respect. But the day Chanakya arrived at the imperial court, Shakatala got another Brahmin named Subandhu to preside over the ceremony. Chanakya felt insulted, but Shakatala blamed
2025-657: A monk to avoid death. According to another Jain text – the Rajavali-Katha – Chanakya accompanied Chandragupta to forest for retirement , once Bindusara became the emperor. According to the Buddhist legend, the Nanda emperors who preceded Chandragupta were robbers-turned-rulers. Chanakya ( IAST : Cāṇakka in Mahavamsa ) was a Brahmin from Takkāsila ( Takshashila ). He was well-versed in three Vedas and politics. He
2160-490: A more obvious connection to medicine. The philosopher's stone of European alchemists can be compared to the Grand Elixir of Immortality sought by Chinese alchemists. In the hermetic view, these two goals were not unconnected, and the philosopher's stone was often equated with the universal panacea ; therefore, the two traditions may have had more in common than initially appears. As early as 317 AD, Ge Hong documented
2295-465: A new form of alchemy. Neidan emphasized appeasing the inner gods that inhabit the human body by practising alchemy with compounds found in the body, rather than the mixing of natural resources that was emphasized in early Dao alchemy. For example, saliva was often considered nourishment for the inner gods and did not require any conscious alchemical reaction to produce. The inner gods were not thought of as physical presences occupying each person, but rather
2430-569: A normative text but a realist description of the art of running a state. - Shiv Shankar Menon , National Security Advisor Chanakya is regarded as a great thinker and diplomat in India. Many Indian nationalists regard him as one of the earliest people who envisioned a united India spanning the entire subcontinent . India's former National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon praised Chanakya's Arthashastra for its precise and timeless descriptions of power. Furthermore, he recommended reading of
2565-507: A person worthy of being a king. While wandering, he did a favour for the pregnant daughter of a village chief, on the condition that her child would belong to him. Chandragupta was born to this lady. When Chandragupta grew up, Chanakya came to his village and saw him playing "king" among a group of boys. To test him, Chanakya asked him for a donation. The boy told Chanakya to take the cows nearby, declaring that nobody would disobey his order. This display of power convinced Chanakya that Chandragupta
2700-501: A plan to get Vairodhaka killed. He knew that the chief architect of Pataliputra was a Rakshasa loyalist. He asked this architect to build a triumphal arch for Chandragupta's procession to the imperial palace. He arranged the procession to be held at midnight citing astrological reasons, but actually to ensure poor visibility. He then invited Vairodhaka to lead the procession on Chandragupta's elephant, and accompanied by Chandragupta's bodyguards. As expected, Rakshasa's loyalists arranged for
2835-427: A royal family, but was brought up by a hunter after his father was killed by an usurper, and the devatas caused his mother to abandon him. Astonished by the boy's miraculous powers, Chanakya paid 1000 gold coins to his foster-father, and took Chandragupta away, promising to teach him a trade. Chanakya had two potential successors to Dhana Nanda: Pabbata and Chandragupta. He gave each of them an amulet to be worn around
SECTION 20
#17327656946322970-431: A summary of the contents of each work, their special features, and where possible the evidence concerning their dating. Chapter 13 of HIML, Various works on rasaśāstra and ratnaśāstra (or Various works on alchemy and gems ) gives brief details of a further 655 (six hundred and fifty-five) treatises. In some cases Meulenbeld gives notes on the contents and authorship of these works; in other cases references are made only to
3105-401: A sweet-smelling perfume and immediately inhaled it. But then his eyes fell on a birch bark note with a curse written on it. The note declared that anybody who smelled this perfume will have to either become a monk or face death. Subandhu tested the perfume on another man, and then fed him luxurious food (something that the monks abstain from). The man died, and then Subandhu was forced to become
3240-406: A tunnel. Chanakya became aware of them by noticing a trail of ants carrying the leftovers of their food. He then arranged for the assassins to be burned to death. Meanwhile, Parvata's brother Vairodhaka became the ruler of his emperor. Chanakya convinced him that Rakshasa was responsible for killing his brother, and agreed to share half of Nanda's emperor with him. Secretly, however, Chanakya hatched
3375-651: A wide variety of topics including optics , comparative linguistics , and medicine, composed his Great Work ( Latin : Opus Majus ) for Pope Clement IV as part of a project towards rebuilding the medieval university curriculum to include the new learning of his time. While alchemy was not more important to him than other sciences and he did not produce allegorical works on the topic, he did consider it and astrology to be important parts of both natural philosophy and theology and his contributions advanced alchemy's connections to soteriology and Christian theology. Bacon's writings integrated morality, salvation, alchemy, and
3510-645: Is an international standard on the romanization of many Brahmic scripts , which was agreed upon in 2001 by a network of the national standards institutes of 157 countries. However, the Hunterian transliteration system is the "national system of romanization in India " and a United Nations expert group noted about ISO 15919 that "there is no evidence of the use of the system either in India or in international cartographic products." Another standard, United Nations Romanization Systems for Geographical Names (UNRSGN),
3645-541: Is as important a spiritual practice as Shangqing meditation. While Hongjing did not deny the power of alchemical elixirs to grant immortality or provide divine protection, he ultimately found the Scripture of the Nine Elixirs to be ambiguous and spiritually unfulfilling, aiming to implement more accessible practising techniques. In the early 700s, Neidan (also known as internal alchemy) was adopted by Daoists as
3780-457: Is generally understood to form the basis for Western alchemical philosophy and practice, called the hermetic philosophy by its early practitioners. These writings were collected in the first centuries of the common era. The dawn of Western alchemy is sometimes associated with that of metallurgy , extending back to 3500 BC. Many writings were lost when the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered
3915-527: Is no standard keyboard layout for ISO 15919 input but many systems provide a way to select Unicode characters visually. ISO/IEC 14755 refers to this as a screen-selection entry method . Alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word al-kīmīā , الكیمیاء ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy , a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China , India ,
4050-584: Is pursued by historians of the physical sciences , who examine the subject in terms of early chemistry , medicine , and charlatanism , and the philosophical and religious contexts in which these events occurred. The latter interests historians of esotericism , psychologists , and some philosophers and spiritualists . The subject has also made an ongoing impact on literature and the arts. The word alchemy comes from old French alquemie , alkimie , used in Medieval Latin as alchymia . This name
4185-575: Is quite peculiar to them, which in Sanskrit is called Rasāyana and in Persian Rasavātam . It means the art of obtaining/manipulating Rasa : nectar, mercury, and juice. This art was restricted to certain operations, metals, drugs, compounds, and medicines, many of which have mercury as their core element. Its principles restored the health of those who were ill beyond hope and gave back youth to fading old age. The goals of alchemy in India included
Chanakya - Misplaced Pages Continue
4320-498: Is still an open question whether these three strands share a common origin, or to what extent they influenced each other. The start of Western alchemy may generally be traced to ancient and Hellenistic Egypt , where the city of Alexandria was a center of alchemical knowledge, and retained its pre-eminence through most of the Greek and Roman periods. Following the work of André-Jean Festugière, modern scholars see alchemical practice in
4455-477: Is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire . Chanakya served as the chief advisor and Prime Minister of the both emperors Chandragupta Maurya and his son Bindusara . There is little documented historical information about Chanakya: most of what is known about him comes from semi-legendary accounts. Thomas Trautmann identifies four distinct accounts of
4590-667: The Indian subcontinent ; and Western alchemy, which occurred around the Mediterranean and whose center shifted over the millennia from Greco-Roman Egypt to the Islamic world , and finally medieval Europe . Chinese alchemy was closely connected to Taoism and Indian alchemy with the Dharmic faiths . In contrast, Western alchemy developed its philosophical system mostly independent of but influenced by various Western religions . It
4725-658: The Muslim world , and Europe . In its Western form, alchemy is first attested in a number of pseudepigraphical texts written in Greco-Roman Egypt during the first few centuries AD. Greek-speaking alchemists often referred to their craft as "the Art" (τέχνη) or "Knowledge" (ἐπιστήμη), and it was often characterised as mystic (μυστική), sacred (ἱɛρά), or divine (θɛíα). Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials. Common aims were chrysopoeia ,
4860-646: The Vinjha forest. There, he made 800 million gold coins ( kahapana s), using a secret technique that allowed him to turn 1 coin into 8 coins. After hiding this money, he started searching for a person worthy of replacing Dhana Nanda. One day, he saw a group of children playing: the young Chandragupta (called Chandagutta in Mahavamsa ) played the role of a emperor, while other boys pretended to be vassals, ministers, or robbers. The "robbers" were brought before Chandragupta, who ordered their limbs to be cut off, but then miraculously re-attached them. Chandragupta had been born in
4995-401: The transliteration of Sanskrit rather than the transcription of Brahmic scripts. As a notable difference, both international standards, ISO 15919 and UNRSGN transliterate anusvara as ṁ , while ALA-LC and IAST use ṃ for it. However, ISO 15919 provides guidance towards disambiguating between various anusvara situations (such as labial versus dental nasalizations), which is described in
5130-609: The 13th century, Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon were the most notable of these, their work summarizing and explaining the newly imported alchemical knowledge in Aristotelian terms. Albertus Magnus, a Dominican friar , is known to have written works such as the Book of Minerals where he observed and commented on the operations and theories of alchemical authorities like Hermes Trismegistus , pseudo-Democritus and unnamed alchemists of his time. Albertus critically compared these to
5265-402: The 2nd to 5th centuries mention the transmutation of base metals to gold. According to some scholars Greek alchemy may have influenced Indian alchemy but there are no hard evidences to back this claim. The 11th-century Persian chemist and physician Abū Rayhān Bīrūnī , who visited Gujarat as part of the court of Mahmud of Ghazni , reported that they have a science similar to alchemy which
5400-571: The Book of the Master Who Embraces Spontaneous Nature (317 AD), Hong argued that alchemical solutions such as elixirs were preferable to traditional medicinal treatment due to the spiritual protection they could provide. In the centuries following Ge Hong's death, the emphasis placed on alchemy as a spiritual practice among Chinese Daoists was reduced. In 499 AD, Tao Hongjing refuted Hong's statement that alchemy
5535-560: The Classical planets, Isis , Osiris , Jason , and many others. The central figure in the mythology of alchemy is Hermes Trismegistus (or Thrice-Great Hermes). His name is derived from the god Thoth and his Greek counterpart Hermes . Hermes and his caduceus or serpent-staff, were among alchemy's principal symbols. According to Clement of Alexandria , he wrote what were called the "forty-two books of Hermes", covering all fields of knowledge. The Hermetica of Thrice-Great Hermes
Chanakya - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-640: The Composition of Alchemy") from an Arabic work attributed to Khalid ibn Yazid . Although European craftsmen and technicians pre-existed, Robert notes in his preface that alchemy (here still referring to the elixir rather than to the art itself) was unknown in Latin Europe at the time of his writing. The translation of Arabic texts concerning numerous disciplines including alchemy flourished in 12th-century Toledo, Spain , through contributors like Gerard of Cremona and Adelard of Bath . Translations of
5805-531: The Emperor Dhana Nanda. Chanakya ordered a fisherman to find the place where Dhana Nanda had hidden his treasure. As soon as the fishermen informed Chanakya about its location, Chanakya had him killed. Chanakya anointed Chandragupta as the new emperor, and tasked a man named Paṇiyatappa with eliminating rebels and robbers from the empire. Chanakya started mixing small doses of poison in the new emperor's food to make him immune to poisoning attempts by
5940-538: The Greek term. The first was proposed by Zosimos of Panopolis (3rd–4th centuries), who derived it from the name of a book, the Khemeu. Hermann Diels argued in 1914 that it rather derived from χύμα, used to describe metallic objects formed by casting. Others trace its roots to the Egyptian name kēme (hieroglyphic 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 khmi ), meaning 'black earth', which refers to the fertile and auriferous soil of
6075-618: The Greek texts a work as systematic as that which is presented, for example, in the Book of Seventy . Islamic philosophers also made great contributions to alchemical hermeticism. The most influential author in this regard was arguably Jabir. Jabir's ultimate goal was Takwin , the artificial creation of life in the alchemical laboratory, up to, and including, human life. He analysed each Aristotelian element in terms of four basic qualities of hotness , coldness , dryness , and moistness . According to Jabir, in each metal two of these qualities were interior and two were exterior. For example, lead
6210-402: The Greek texts shows that a very small part only was organized according to true experiments of laboratory: even the supposedly technical writings, in the state where we find them today, are unintelligible nonsense which refuses any interpretation. It is different with Jabir's alchemy. The relatively clear description of the processes and the alchemical apparati, the methodical classification of
6345-468: The Greek were mostly qualitative aspects of matter, not quantitative, as our modern elements are; "...True alchemy never regarded earth, air, water, and fire as corporeal or chemical substances in the present-day sense of the word. The four elements are simply the primary, and most general, qualities by means of which the amorphous and purely quantitative substance of all bodies first reveals itself in differentiated form." Later alchemists extensively developed
6480-474: The Jain monk Jiva-siddhi to decide an auspicious time for beginning the march. Jiva-siddhi, a spy of Chanakya, told him that he could start immediately. Jiva-siddhi also convinced him that Rakshasa was responsible for his father's death, but Bhagurayana persuaded him not to harm Rakshasa. Shortly after, Chanakya's spy Siddharthaka pretended to get caught with a fake letter addressed to Chandragupta by Rakshasa. Wearing
6615-504: The Jewess , Pseudo-Democritus , and Agathodaimon , but very little is known about any of these authors. The most complete of their works, The Four Books of Pseudo-Democritus , were probably written in the first century AD. Recent scholarship tends to emphasize the testimony of Zosimus, who traced the alchemical arts back to Egyptian metallurgical and ceremonial practices. It has also been argued that early alchemical writers borrowed
6750-488: The Middle Ages. The efforts of Berthelot and Ruelle to put a little order in this mass of literature led only to poor results, and the later researchers, among them in particular Mrs. Hammer-Jensen, Tannery, Lagercrantz, von Lippmann, Reitzenstein, Ruska, Bidez, Festugière and others, could make clear only few points of detail .... The study of the Greek alchemists is not very encouraging. An even surface examination of
6885-806: The Nile valley, as opposed to red desert sand. According to the Egyptologist Wallis Budge , the Arabic word al-kīmiya ʾ actually means "the Egyptian [science]", borrowing from the Coptic word for "Egypt", kēme (or its equivalent in the Mediaeval Bohairic dialect of Coptic, khēme ). This Coptic word derives from Demotic kmỉ , itself from ancient Egyptian kmt . The ancient Egyptian word referred to both
SECTION 50
#17327656946327020-544: The Persian texts written by Muslim scholars. Researchers have found evidence that Chinese alchemists and philosophers discovered complex mathematical phenomena that were shared with Arab alchemists during the medieval period. Discovered in BC China, the "magic square of three" was propagated to followers of Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān at some point over the proceeding several hundred years. Other commonalities shared between
7155-592: The Roman Empire as originating from the Egyptian goldsmith's art, Greek philosophy and different religious traditions. Tracing the origins of the alchemical art in Egypt is complicated by the pseudepigraphic nature of texts from the Greek alchemical corpus. The treatises of Zosimos of Panopolis , the earliest historically attested author ( fl. c. 300 AD), can help in situating the other authors. Zosimus based his work on that of older alchemical authors, such as Mary
7290-653: The Taoist heavens, the ensuing deaths encouraged people to eschew this method of alchemy in favour of external sources (the aforementioned Tai Chi Chuan, mastering of the qi , etc.) Chinese alchemy was introduced to the West by Obed Simon Johnson . The introduction of alchemy to Latin Europe may be dated to 11 February 1144, with the completion of Robert of Chester 's translation of the Liber de compositione alchemiae ("Book on
7425-492: The ancient Chanakya-Chandragupta katha (legend): In all the four versions, Chanakya feels insulted by the Nanda king, and vows to destroy him. After dethroning the Nanda, he installs Chandragupta as the new king. The ancient Arthashastra has been traditionally attributed to Chanakya by a number of scholars. The Arthashastra identifies its author as Kauṭilya, a gotra or clan name, except for one verse that refers to him by
7560-560: The arch to fall on who they thought was Chandragupta. Vairodhaka was killed, and once again, the assassination was blamed on Rakshasa. Malayaketu and Rakshasa then formed an alliance with five kings: Chiravarman of Kauluta (Kulu), Meghaksha of Parasika , Narasimha of Malaya , Pushkaraksha of Kashmira , and Sindhusena of Saindhava . This allied army also included soldiers from Chedi , Gandhara , Hunas , Khasa , Magadha , Shaka , and Yavana territories. In Pataliputra, Chanakya's agent informed him that three Rakshasa loyalists remained in
7695-415: The baby. The baby, who had been touched by a drop (" bindu ") of the poison, was named Bindusara . After Chandragupta abdicated the throne to become a Jain monk, Chanakya appointed Bindusara as the new emperor. Chanakya asked Bindusara to appoint a man named Subandhu as one of his ministers. However, Subandhu wanted to become a higher minister and grew jealous of Chanakya. So, he told Bindusara that Chanakya
7830-598: The book for broadening the vision on strategic issues. The diplomatic enclave in New Delhi is named Chanakyapuri in honour of Chanakya. Institutes named after him include Training Ship Chanakya , Chanakya National Law University and Chanakya Institute of Public Leadership. Chanakya circle in Mysore has been named after him. Chanakya uses different terms to describe war other than dharma-yuddha (just war), such as kutayudhha (unjust war). Several modern adaptations of
7965-587: The burning of alchemical books after suppressing a revolt in Alexandria (AD 292). Few original Egyptian documents on alchemy have survived, most notable among them the Stockholm papyrus and the Leyden papyrus X . Dating from AD 250–300, they contained recipes for dyeing and making artificial gemstones, cleaning and fabricating pearls, and manufacturing of imitation gold and silver. These writings lack
8100-411: The capital: the Jain monk Jiva-siddhi, the scribe Shakata-dasa and the jewellers' guild chief Chandana-dasa. Of these, Jiva-siddhi was actually a spy of Chanakya, unknown to his other spies. Chandana-dasa sheltered Rakshasa's wife, who once unknowingly dropped her husband's signet-ring ( mudra ). Chanakya's agent got hold of this signet-ring, and brought it to Chanakya. Using this signet ring, Chanakya sent
8235-613: The country and the colour "black" (Egypt was the "black Land", by contrast with the "red Land", the surrounding desert). Alchemy encompasses several philosophical traditions spanning some four millennia and three continents. These traditions' general penchant for cryptic and symbolic language makes it hard to trace their mutual influences and genetic relationships. One can distinguish at least three major strands, which appear to be mostly independent, at least in their earlier stages: Chinese alchemy , centered in China; Indian alchemy , centered on
SECTION 60
#17327656946328370-462: The creation of a divine body (Sanskrit divya-deham ) and immortality while still embodied (Sanskrit jīvan-mukti ). Sanskrit alchemical texts include much material on the manipulation of mercury and sulphur, that are homologized with the semen of the god Śiva and the menstrual blood of the goddess Devī. Some early alchemical writings seem to have their origins in the Kaula tantric schools associated to
8505-409: The demons "the guardians of places" ( οἱ κατὰ τόπον ἔφοροι , hoi katà tópon éphoroi ) and those who offered them sacrifices "priests" ( ἱερέα , hieréa ), it is fairly clear that he was referring to the gods of Egypt and their priests. While critical of the kind of alchemy he associated with the Egyptian priests and their followers, Zosimos nonetheless saw the tradition's recent past as rooted in
8640-436: The element's physical properties. The elemental system used in medieval alchemy also originated with Jabir. His original system consisted of seven elements, which included the five classical elements ( aether , air , earth , fire , and water ) in addition to two chemical elements representing the metals: sulphur , "the stone which burns", which characterized the principle of combustibility, and mercury , which contained
8775-584: The emperor died. Using his yogic powers, Indradatta entered Nanda's body and granted Vararuchi's request for 10 million gold dinars (gold coins). The imperial minister Shakatala realized what was happening, and had Indradatta's body burnt. But before he could take any action against the fake emperor (Indradatta in Nanda's body, also called Yogananda), the emperor had him arrested. Shakatala and his 100 sons were imprisoned and were given food sufficient only for one person. Shakatala's 100 sons starved to death, so that their father could live to take revenge. Meanwhile,
8910-441: The emperor for this dishonour. Chanakya then untied his topknot ( sikha ), and vowed not to re-tie it until the emperor was destroyed. The emperor ordered his arrest, but he escaped to Shakatala's house. There, using materials supplied by Shakatala, he performed a magic ritual which made the emperor sick. The king died of a fever after 7 days. Shakatala then executed Hiranyagupta, the son of the fake emperor. He anointed Chandragupta,
9045-407: The emperor ordered Subandhu to convince Chanakya to give up his suicide plan. Subandhu, while pretending to appease Chanakya, burned him to death. Subandhu then took possession of Chanakya's home. Chanakya had anticipated this, and before retiring, he had set up a cursed trap for Subandhu. He had left behind a chest with a hundred locks. Subandhu broke the locks, hoping to find precious jewels. He found
9180-411: The emperor ordered him to be thrown out of the assembly. Chanakya broke his sacred thread in anger, and cursed the emperor. The emperor ordered his arrest, but Chanakya escaped in the disguise of an Ājīvika . He befriended Dhananada's son Pabbata, and instigated him to seize the throne. With help of a signet ring given by the prince, Chanakya fled the palace through a secret door. Chanakya escaped to
9315-640: The emperor. They allowed the Emperor Nanda to go into exile, with all the goods he could take on a cart. As Nanda and his family were leaving the city on a cart, his daughter saw Chandragupta, and fell in love with the new emperor. She chose him as her husband by svayamvara tradition. As she was getting off the cart, 9 spokes of the cart's wheel broke. Interpreting this as an omen, Chanakya declared that Chandragupta's dynasty would last for 9 generations. Meanwhile, Parvataka fell in love with one of Nanda's visha kanyas (poison girl, assassin). Chanakya approved
9450-404: The empire" (this possibly refers to Chanakya's expulsion from the emperor's assembly). For this reason, Chanakya vowed not to tie his top knot ( shikha ) until the complete destruction of Nanda. Chanakya made a plan to dethrone Nanda, and replace him with Chandragupta, his son by a lesser empress. Chanakya engineered Chandragupta's alliance with another powerful king Parvateshvara (or Parvata), and
9585-417: The enemies. Chandragupta, who was not aware of this, once shared the food with his pregnant empress Durdhara, who was seven days away from delivery. Chanakya arrived just as the empress ate the poisoned morsel. Realizing that she was going to die, Chanakya decided to save the unborn child. He cut off the empress's head and cut open her belly with a sword to take out the foetus. Over the next seven days, he placed
9720-405: The enemy?" Chandragupta replied that he trusted his master to make the best decision. This convinced Chanakya that Chandragupta would remain under his influence even after becoming the king. On another occasion, Chanakya similarly escaped the enemy by chasing away a washerman, and disguising himself as one. Once, he cut open the belly of a Brahmin who had just eaten food, and took out the food to feed
9855-419: The fake emperor appointed Vararuchi as his minister. As the emperor's character kept deteriorating, a disgusted Vararuchi retired to a forest as an ascetic. Shakatala was then restored as the minister, but kept planning his revenge. One day, Shakatala came across Chanakya, a Brahmin who was uprooting all the grass in his path, because one blade of the grass had pricked his foot. Shakatala realized that he could use
9990-509: The false promises of transmutation made by pseudo-alchemists. Roman Catholic Inquisitor General Nicholas Eymerich 's Directorium Inquisitorum , written in 1376, associated alchemy with the performance of demonic rituals, which Eymerich differentiated from magic performed in accordance with scripture. This did not, however, lead to any change in the Inquisition's monitoring or prosecution of alchemists. In 1404, Henry IV of England banned
10125-463: The foetus in the belly of a goat freshly killed each day. After seven days, Chandragupta's son was "born". He was named Bindusara because his body was spotted with drops ( bindu ) of goat's blood. The earliest Buddhist legends do not mention Chanakya in their description of the Mauryan dynasty after this point. Dhammapala 's commentary on Theragatha , however, mentions a legend about Chanakya and
10260-437: The idealized principle of metallic properties. Shortly thereafter, this evolved into eight elements, with the Arabic concept of the three metallic principles: sulphur giving flammability or combustion, mercury giving volatility and stability, and salt giving solidity. The atomic theory of corpuscularianism , where all physical bodies possess an inner and outer layer of minute particles or corpuscles, also has its origins in
10395-467: The influx of alchemical thought. The 11th-century St Anselm put forth the opinion that faith and rationalism were compatible and encouraged rationalism in a Christian context. In the early 12th century, Peter Abelard followed Anselm's work, laying down the foundation for acceptance of Aristotelian thought before the first works of Aristotle had reached the West. In the early 13th century, Robert Grosseteste used Abelard's methods of analysis and added
10530-500: The jewels given by Rakshasa, he pretended to be an agent of Rakshasa. The letter, sealed with Rakshasa's signet-ring, informed Chandragupta that Rakshasa only wished to replace Chanakya as the prime minister. It also stated that five of Malayaketu's allies were willing to defect to Chandragupta in return for land and wealth. An angry Malayaketu summoned Rakshasa, who arrived wearing Parvata's jewels that Chanakya's agent had sold him. When Malayaketu saw Rakshasa wearing his father's jewels, he
10665-406: The king of a mountain kingdom called Himavatkuta, offering him half of Nanda's empire. After securing Parvataka's help, Chanakya and Chandragupta started besieging the cities other than Pataliputra. One particular city offered a strong resistance. Chanakya entered this city disguised as a Shaivite mendicant, and declared that the siege would end if the idols of the seven mothers were removed from
10800-401: The lake, and disguised himself as a meditating ascetic. When the enemy soldier reached the lake, he asked the 'ascetic' if he had seen Chandragupta. Chanakya pointed at the lake. As the soldier removed his armour to jump into the lake, Chanakya took his sword and killed him. When Chandragupta came out of the water, Chanakya asked him, "What went through your mind, when I disclosed your location to
10935-410: The late 7th and early 8th centuries through Syriac translations and scholarship. In the late ninth and early tenth centuries, the Arabic works attributed to Jābir ibn Hayyān (Latinized as "Geber" or "Geberus") introduced a new approach to alchemy. Paul Kraus , who wrote the standard reference work on Jabir, put it as follows: To form an idea of the historical place of Jabir's alchemy and to tackle
11070-476: The legend of Chanakya narrate his story in a semi-fictional form, extending these legends. In Chandragupta (1911), a play by Dwijendralal Ray , the Nanda king exiles his half-brother Chandragupta, who joins the army of Alexander the Great . Later, with help from Chanakya and Katyayan (the former Prime Minister of Magadha), Chandragupta defeats Nanda, who is put to death by Chanakya. ISO 15919 ISO 15919
11205-618: The location of Rakshasa's family. On hearing this, Rakshasa rushed to Pataliputra to surrender and save the life of his loyal friend Chandana-dasa. When he reached Pataliputra, Chanakya, pleased with his loyalty to Chandana-dasa, offered him clemency. Rakshasa pledged allegiance to Chandragupta and agreed to be his prime minister, in return for release of Chandana-dasa and a pardon for Malayaketu. Chanakya then bound his top knot, having achieved his objective, and retired. Two books are attributed to Chanakya: Arthashastra , and Chanakya Niti , also known as Chanakya Neeti-shastra . The Arthashastra
11340-477: The marriage, and Parvataka collapsed when he touched the girl during the wedding. Chanakya asked Chandragupta not to call a physician. Thus, Parvataka died and Chandragupta became the sole ruler of Nanda's territories. Chanakya then started consolidating the power by eliminating Nanda's loyalists, who had been harassing people in various parts of the empire. Chanakya learned about a weaver who would burn any part of his house infested with cockroaches. Chanakya assigned
11475-476: The master of all the territory between the eastern and the western seas ( Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal ). The Kashmiri version of the legend goes like this: Vararuchi (identified with Katyayana ), Indradatta and Vyadi were three disciples of the sage Varsha. Once, on behalf of their guru Varsha, they travelled to Ayodhya to seek a gurudakshina (guru's fee) from Emperor Nanda. As they arrived to meet Nanda,
11610-446: The middle of a cake, and thrown away the edges. The woman scolded him, saying that he was eating food like Chandragupta, who attacked the central part of the empire instead of conquering the border villages first. Chanakya and Chandragupta realized their mistake. They assembled a new army, and started conquering the border villages. Gradually, they advanced to the empire's capital Pataliputra (Pāṭaliputta in Mahavamsa ), where they killed
11745-410: The monks. Meanwhile, Chandragupta had been patronizing the non-Jain monks. Chanakya decided to prove to him that these men were not worthy of his patronage. He covered the floor of the palace area near the women's rooms with powder and left the non-Jain monks there. Their footprints showed that they had sneaked up to the windows of the women's rooms to peep inside. The Jain monks, who were assessed using
11880-747: The mystical aspects of this concept. Alchemy coexisted alongside emerging Christianity . Lactantius believed Hermes Trismegistus had prophesied its birth. St Augustine later affirmed this in the 4th and 5th centuries, but also condemned Trismegistus for idolatry. Examples of Pagan, Christian, and Jewish alchemists can be found during this period. Most of the Greco-Roman alchemists preceding Zosimos are known only by pseudonyms, such as Moses , Isis, Cleopatra , Democritus , and Ostanes . Others authors such as Komarios, and Chymes , we only know through fragments of text. After AD 400, Greek alchemical writers occupied themselves solely in commenting on
12015-463: The mystical, philosophical elements of alchemy, but do contain the works of Bolus of Mendes (or Pseudo-Democritus ), which aligned these recipes with theoretical knowledge of astrology and the classical elements . Between the time of Bolus and Zosimos, the change took place that transformed this metallurgy into a Hermetic art. Alexandria acted as a melting pot for philosophies of Pythagoreanism , Platonism , Stoicism and Gnosticism which formed
12150-427: The neck with a woolen thread. One day, he decided to test them. While Chandragupta was asleep, he asked Pabbata to remove Chandragupta's woolen thread without breaking it and without waking up Chandragupta. Pabbata failed to accomplish this task. Some time later, when Pabbata was sleeping, Chanakya challenged Chandragupta to complete the same task. Chandragupta retrieved the woolen thread by cutting off Pabbata's head. For
12285-420: The next seven years, Chanakya trained Chandragupta for imperial duties. When Chandragupta became an adult, Chanakya dug up his hidden treasure of gold coins, and assembled an army. The army of Chanadragupta and Chanakya invaded Dhana Nanda's empire, but disbanded after facing a severe defeat. While wandering in disguise, the two men once listened to the conversation between a woman and her son. The child had eaten
12420-404: The origin of alchemy's character. An important example of alchemy's roots in Greek philosophy, originated by Empedocles and developed by Aristotle, was that all things in the universe were formed from only four elements: earth , air , water , and fire . According to Aristotle, each element had a sphere to which it belonged and to which it would return if left undisturbed. The four elements of
12555-458: The personal name of Vishnugupta. Kauṭilya is presumably the name of the author's gotra (clan). One of the earliest Sanskrit literatures to identify Chanakya with Vishnugupta explicitly was the Panchatantra . K. C. Ojha proposes that the traditional identification of Vishnugupta with Kauṭilya was caused by a confusion of the text's editor and its originator. He suggests that Vishnugupta
12690-481: The practice of multiplying metals by the passing of the Gold and Silver Act 1403 ( 5 Hen. 4 . c. 4) (although it was possible to buy a licence to attempt to make gold alchemically, and a number were granted by Henry VI and Edward IV). These critiques and regulations centered more around pseudo-alchemical charlatanism than the actual study of alchemy, which continued with an increasingly Christian tone. The 14th century saw
12825-451: The problem of its sources, it is advisable to compare it with what remains to us of the alchemical literature in the Greek language . One knows in which miserable state this literature reached us. Collected by Byzantine scientists from the tenth century, the corpus of the Greek alchemists is a cluster of incoherent fragments, going back to all the times since the third century until the end of
12960-614: The prolongation of life. His correspondence with Clement highlighted this, noting the importance of alchemy to the papacy. Like the Greeks before him, Bacon acknowledged the division of alchemy into practical and theoretical spheres. He noted that the theoretical lay outside the scope of Aristotle, the natural philosophers, and all Latin writers of his time. The practical confirmed the theoretical, and Bacon advocated its uses in natural science and medicine. In later European legend, he became an archmage. In particular, along with Albertus Magnus, he
13095-446: The responsibility of crushing the rebels to this weaver. Soon, the empire was free of insurgents. Chanakya also burned a village that had refused him food in the past. He filled the imperial treasury by inviting rich merchants to his home, getting them drunk and gambling with a loaded dice . Once, the empire suffered a 12-year long famine. Two young Jain monks started eating from the emperor's plate, after making themselves invisible with
13230-416: The rites of the Egyptian temples. Zosimos of Panopolis asserted that alchemy dated back to Pharaonic Egypt where it was the domain of the priestly class, though there is little to no evidence for his assertion. Alchemical writers used Classical figures from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology to illuminate their works and allegorize alchemical transmutation. These included the pantheon of gods related to
13365-487: The same method, stayed away from the women's rooms. After seeing this, Chandragupta appointed the Jain monks as his spiritual counsellors. Chanakya used to mix small doses of poison in Chandragupta's food to make him immune to poisoning attempts. The emperor, unaware of this, once shared his food with Empress Durdhara . Chanakya entered the room at the instant she died. He cut open the dead empress's belly and took out
13500-574: The signet-ring, claiming to have found it at Chandana-dasa's home. As a reward, Rakshasa gave him some jewels that Malayaketu had gifted him. Sometime after this, another of Chanakya's agents, disguised as a jeweller, sold Parvata's jewels to Rakshasa. Sometime later, Rakshasa sent his spies disguised as musicians to Chandragupta's court. But Chanakya knew all about Rakshasa's plans thanks to his spies. In front of Rakshasa's spies, Chanakya and Chandragupta feigned an angry argument. Chandragupta pretended to dismiss Chanakya, and declared that Rakshasa would make
13635-520: The son of the real emperor Nanda, as the new emperor (in Kshemendra's version, it is Chanakya who installs Chandragupta as the new emperor). Shakatala also appointed Chanakya as the imperial priest ( rajpurohita ). Having achieved his revenge, he then retired to the forest as an ascetic. According to the Mudrarakshasa version, the Emperor Nanda once removed Chanakya from the "first seat of
13770-590: The study and development of Greek alchemy in the Byzantine period. The 2nd millennium BC text Vedas describe a connection between eternal life and gold. A considerable knowledge of metallurgy has been exhibited in a third-century AD text called Arthashastra which provides ingredients of explosives (Agniyoga) and salts extracted from fertile soils and plant remains (Yavakshara) such as saltpetre/ nitre , perfume making (different qualities of perfumes are mentioned), granulated (refined) Sugar. Buddhist texts from
13905-408: The substances, mark an experimental spirit which is extremely far away from the weird and odd esotericism of the Greek texts. The theory on which Jabir supports his operations is one of clearness and of an impressive unity. More than with the other Arab authors, one notes with him a balance between theoretical teaching and practical teaching, between the 'ilm and the amal . In vain one would seek in
14040-643: The table below. The table below shows the differences between ISO 15919, UNRSGN and IAST for Devanagari transliteration. Only certain fonts support all Latin Unicode characters for the transliteration of Indic scripts according to this standard. For example, Tahoma supports almost all the characters needed. Arial and Times New Roman font packages that come with Microsoft Office 2007 and later also support most Latin Extended Additional characters like ḍ, ḥ, ḷ, ḻ, ṁ, ṅ, ṇ, ṛ, ṣ and ṭ. There
14175-559: The teachings of the personality of Matsyendranath . Other early writings are found in the Jaina medical treatise Kalyāṇakārakam of Ugrāditya, written in South India in the early 9th century. Two famous early Indian alchemical authors were Nāgārjuna Siddha and Nityanātha Siddha. Nāgārjuna Siddha was a Buddhist monk. His book, Rasendramangalam , is an example of Indian alchemy and medicine. Nityanātha Siddha wrote Rasaratnākara , also
14310-488: The technique to purify the human soul ). They believed in the four elements and the four qualities as described above, and they had a strong tradition of cloaking their written ideas in a labyrinth of coded jargon set with traps to mislead the uninitiated. Finally, the alchemists practised their art: they actively experimented with chemicals and made observations and theories about how the universe operated. Their entire philosophy revolved around their belief that man's soul
14445-488: The third century CE. As such, he is considered the pioneer of the field of political science and economics in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical economics . His works were lost near the end of the Gupta Empire in the sixth century CE and not rediscovered until the early 20th century. Around 321 BCE, Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power and
14580-421: The throne. The servant offered him a choice of four more seats, but each time, he kept his various items on the seats, refusing to budge from the throne. Finally, the annoyed servant kicked him off the throne. Enraged, Chanakya vowed to uproot Nanda and his entire establishment, like "a great wind uproots a tree". Chanakya knew that he was prophesied to become a power behind the throne. So, he started searching for
14715-573: The time included the Turba Philosophorum , and the works of Avicenna and Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi . These brought with them many new words to the European vocabulary for which there was no previous Latin equivalent. Alcohol, carboy , elixir , and athanor are examples. Meanwhile, theologian contemporaries of the translators made strides towards the reconciliation of faith and experimental rationalism, thereby priming Europe for
14850-399: The town's temple. As soon as the superstitious defenders removed the idols from the temple, Chanakya ordered his army to end the siege. When the defenders started celebrating their victory, Chanakya's army launched a surprise attack and captured the town. Gradually, Chanakya and Chandragupta subdued all the regions outside the capital. Finally, they captured Pataliputra and Chandragupta became
14985-465: The transmutation of " base metals " (e.g., lead ) into " noble metals " (particularly gold ); the creation of an elixir of immortality ; and the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to result from the alchemical magnum opus ("Great Work"). The concept of creating the philosophers' stone was variously connected with all of these projects. Islamic and European alchemists developed
15120-406: The two alchemical schools of thought include discrete naming for ingredients and heavy influence from the natural elements. The silk road provided a clear path for the exchange of goods, ideas, ingredients, religion, and many other aspects of life with which alchemy is intertwined. Whereas European alchemy eventually centered on the transmutation of base metals into noble metals, Chinese alchemy had
15255-458: The two rulers agreed to divide Nanda's territory after subjugating him. Their allied army included Bahlika , Kirata , Parasika , Kamboja , Shaka , and Yavana soldiers. The army invaded Pataliputra (Kusumapura) and defeated the Nandas. Parvata is identified with King Porus by some scholars. Nanda's prime minister Rakshasa escaped Pataliputra, and continued resisting the invaders. He sent
15390-532: The unpublished manuscripts of these titles. A great deal remains to be discovered about Indian alchemical literature. The content of the Sanskrit alchemical corpus has not yet (2014) been adequately integrated into the wider general history of alchemy. After the fall of the Roman Empire , the focus of alchemical development moved to the Islamic World. Much more is known about Islamic alchemy because it
15525-415: The unusual clarity with which they were described. By the end of the 13th century, alchemy had developed into a fairly structured system of belief. Adepts believed in the macrocosm-microcosm theories of Hermes, that is to say, they believed that processes that affect minerals and other substances could have an effect on the human body (for example, if one could learn the secret of purifying gold, one could use
15660-805: The use of gunpowder spread to Japan, the Mongols , the Muslim world, and Europe. Gunpowder was used by the Mongols against the Hungarians in 1241, and in Europe by the 14th century. Chinese alchemy was closely connected to Taoist forms of traditional Chinese medicine , such as Acupuncture and Moxibustion . In the early Song dynasty , followers of this Taoist idea (chiefly the elite and upper class) would ingest mercuric sulfide , which, though tolerable in low levels, led many to suicide. Thinking that this consequential death would lead to freedom and access to
15795-514: The use of metals, minerals, and elixirs in early Chinese medicine. Hong identified three ancient Chinese documents, titled Scripture of Great Clarity, Scripture of the Nine Elixirs , and Scripture of the Golden Liquor, as texts containing fundamental alchemical information. He also described alchemy, along with meditation, as the sole spiritual practices that could allow one to gain immortality or to transcend. In his work Inner Chapters of
15930-417: The use of observation, experimentation, and conclusions when conducting scientific investigations. Grosseteste also did much work to reconcile Platonic and Aristotelian thinking. Through much of the 12th and 13th centuries, alchemical knowledge in Europe remained centered on translations, and new Latin contributions were not made. The efforts of the translators were succeeded by that of the encyclopaedists. In
16065-502: The vocabulary of Greek philosophical schools but did not implement any of its doctrines in a systematic way. Zosimos of Panopolis wrote in the Final Abstinence (also known as the "Final Count"). Zosimos explains that the ancient practice of "tinctures" (the technical Greek name for the alchemical arts) had been taken over by certain "demons" who taught the art only to those who offered them sacrifices. Since Zosimos also called
16200-439: The work of Jabir. From the 9th to 14th centuries, alchemical theories faced criticism from a variety of practical Muslim chemists, including Alkindus , Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī , Avicenna and Ibn Khaldun . In particular, they wrote refutations against the idea of the transmutation of metals . From the 14th century onwards, many materials and practices originally belonging to Indian alchemy ( Rasayana ) were assimilated in
16335-549: The works of these predecessors. By the middle of the 7th century alchemy was almost an entirely mystical discipline. It was at that time that Khalid Ibn Yazid sparked its migration from Alexandria to the Islamic world, facilitating the translation and preservation of Greek alchemical texts in the 8th and 9th centuries. Greek alchemy was preserved in medieval Byzantine manuscripts after the fall of Egypt , and yet historians have only relatively recently begun to pay attention to
16470-428: The writings of Aristotle and Avicenna, where they concerned the transmutation of metals. From the time shortly after his death through to the 15th century, more than 28 alchemical tracts were misattributed to him, a common practice giving rise to his reputation as an accomplished alchemist. Likewise, alchemical texts have been attributed to Albert's student Thomas Aquinas . Roger Bacon, a Franciscan friar who wrote on
16605-508: Was a redactor of the original work of Kauṭilya. Thomas Burrow suggests that Chanakya and Kauṭilya may have been two different people. According to the Jain account, Chanakya was born to two lay Jains ( shravaka ) named Chanin and Chaneshvari. His birthplace was the Chanaka village in Golla vishaya (district). The identity of "Golla" is not certain, but Hemachandra states that Chanakya was
16740-489: Was believed that one would become immortal if an inner god were to be immortalized within them through spiritual fulfilment. Black powder may have been an important invention of Chinese alchemists. It is said that the Chinese invented gunpowder while trying to find a potion for eternal life. Described in 9th-century texts and used in fireworks in China by the 10th century, it was used in cannons by 1290. From China,
16875-419: Was better documented: indeed, most of the earlier writings that have come down through the years were preserved as Arabic translations. The word alchemy itself was derived from the Arabic word al-kīmiyā (الكيمياء). The early Islamic world was a melting pot for alchemy. Platonic and Aristotelian thought, which had already been somewhat appropriated into hermetical science, continued to be assimilated during
17010-522: Was born with canine teeth, which were believed to be a mark of royalty. His mother feared that he would neglect her after becoming an emperor. To pacify her, Chanakya broke his teeth. Chanakya had an ugly appearance , accentuated by his broken teeth and crooked feet. One day, the Emperor Dhana Nanda organized an alms-giving ceremony for Brahmins. Chanakya went to Pupphapura ( Pushpapura ) to attend this ceremony. Disgusted by his appearance,
17145-447: Was convinced that there was indeed a treacherous plan against him. He executed his five allies in a brutal manner. The rest of Malayaketu's allies deserted him, disgusted at his treatment of the five slayed allies. Rakshasa managed to escape, tracked by Chanakya's spies. One of Chanakya's spies, disguised as a friend of Chandana-dasa, got in touch with him. He told Rakshasa that Chandana-dasa was about to be executed for refusing to divulge
17280-440: Was credited with the forging of a brazen head capable of answering its owner's questions. Soon after Bacon, the influential work of Pseudo-Geber (sometimes identified as Paul of Taranto ) appeared. His Summa Perfectionis remained a staple summary of alchemical practice and theory through the medieval and renaissance periods. It was notable for its inclusion of practical chemical operations alongside sulphur-mercury theory, and
17415-613: Was developed by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) and covers many Brahmic scripts. The ALA-LC romanization was approved by the Library of Congress and the American Library Association and is a US standard. The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is not a standard (as no specification exists for it) but a convention developed in Europe for
17550-497: Was discovered in 1905 by librarian Rudrapatna Shamasastry in an uncatalogued group of ancient palm-leaf manuscripts donated by an unknown pandit to the Oriental Research Institute Mysore . Arthashastra is serious manual on statecraft, on how to run a state, informed by a higher purpose, clear and precise in its prescriptions, the result of practical experience of running a state. It is not just
17685-563: Was divided within himself after the fall of Adam. By purifying the two parts of man's soul, man could be reunited with God. In the 14th century, alchemy became more accessible to Europeans outside the confines of Latin-speaking churchmen and scholars. Alchemical discourse shifted from scholarly philosophical debate to an exposed social commentary on the alchemists themselves. Dante , Piers Plowman , and Chaucer all painted unflattering pictures of alchemists as thieves and liars. Pope John XXII 's 1317 edict, Spondent quas non-exhibent forbade
17820-419: Was externally cold and dry, while gold was hot and moist. Thus, Jabir theorized, by rearranging the qualities of one metal, a different metal would result. By this reasoning, the search for the philosopher's stone was introduced to Western alchemy. Jabir developed an elaborate numerology whereby the root letters of a substance's name in Arabic, when treated with various transformations, held correspondences to
17955-529: Was itself adopted from the Arabic word al-kīmiyā ( الكيمياء ). The Arabic al-kīmiyā in turn was a borrowing of the Late Greek term khēmeía ( χημεία ), also spelled khumeia ( χυμεία ) and khēmía ( χημία ), with al- being the Arabic definite article 'the'. Together this association can be interpreted as 'the process of transmutation by which to fuse or reunite with the divine or original form'. Several etymologies have been proposed for
18090-487: Was responsible for the death of his mother. Bindusara confirmed the allegations with the nurses, who told him that Chanakya had cut open the belly of his mother. Bindusara became enraged, and started hating Chanakya. As a result, Chanakya, who had grown very old by this time, retired and decided to starve himself to death . Meanwhile, Bindusara learned the detailed circumstances of his birth, and implored Chanakya to resume his ministerial duties. After failing to pacify Chanakya,
18225-403: Was the one worthy of being a king. Chanakya took Chandragupta to conquer Pataliputra, the capital of Nanda. He assembled an army using the wealth he had acquired through alchemy ( dhatuvada-visaradan ). The army suffered a severe defeat, forcing Chanakya and Chandragupta to flee the battlefield. They reached a lake while being pursued by an enemy officer. Chanakya asked Chandragupta to jump into
#631368