Rasa-Jala-Nidhi, vols. 2–5

very gratifying to note that the first volume of Rasa-jala-nidhi has met with much appreciation not only in India, but also in foreign countries.

It is a pity that no Indian University has hitherto given any attention to the study of Indian Chemistry and Indian medicine which are more important than the other branches of Indian culture. It is very difficult to foresee whether any of our Universities will ever come to realize the importance of the branches of ancient Indian culture, but, if men like Sir Chimanlal Setalvad, the present Vice-Chancellor of the Bombay university, continue to be at the helm of University affairs in India, time may come when my dream of the resurrection of the moribund Indian sciences may be fulfilled.

Whatever that may be, the publication of any work involves immense commercial possibilities. It is a matter of common knowledge that a great many of the allopathic drugs are prepared from Indian herbs, the properties of which the allopaths came to learn from the Indian books on herbal medicines but unfortunately, the allopaths have not yet had the opportunity of knowing that by far the greater portion of the literature on Indian medicines is still a terra incognita unknown territory not only to them but to many of the practitioners of Indian medicine themselves.

Of the innumerable metallic medicines prescribed in books on Indian Chemistry, Rasa-sinduram or ordinary sulphide of mercury (wrongly called "makara-dhwaja" which is prepared out of sulphur and mercury which has digested gold, i.e. that is swallowed some gold without any increase in its original weight so much so that the gold, thus swallowed can by no