Rasārṇavakalpa (English critical edition)

The verses do not follow established metrical rules. The 814 verses are divided into specific kalpas (chapters or sections of practice) based on the uses of different vegetable, mineral, and other natural products. This division of the subject matter into kalpas is somewhat new within the spectrum of Indian alchemical literature.

The work is of a mixed character, consisting of alchemical processes and preparations on one hand, and symbolic or esoteric tantric rites on the other. In some portions of the text where ritual matters are interwoven with alchemical ideas, the style of expression—using symbolic connotations—is somewhat obscure and enigmatic. This type of composition is known as sandhyābhāṣā or "intentional" language, which often appears in tantric literature.

It appears that the Rasārṇavakalpa may have been composed in the Vindhya region. This is based on internal evidence, such as the description of the alchemical properties of the earth and water of mountainous regions (like Mahendra, Malaya, Amarakaṇṭaka, and Nāgamaṇḍala) and rivers (such as the Candrabhāgā, the Śoṇa, and the Narmadā). The river boundaries of this region include the Candrabhāgā in the west, the Śoṇa in the east, and the Narmadā in the south. This assumption regarding the Vindhya region is supported by the place of composition of the Rudrayāmalatantra (of which, as previously stated, the Rasārṇavakalpa is a part), which was the Viṣṇukrāntā region. According to ancient authorities, this region extended from the Vindhya mountains to Chattala (Chittagong)¹.

Probable date of the text

The date of the Rasārṇavakalpa is not exactly known. A portion of this text, from verses 78 to 207, appears in an almost unaltered form in the well-known rasaśāstra (science of mercury/alchemy) text called the Rasārṇava, which is believed to date to about the 12th century A.D. The Rasārṇava has also borrowed a number of verses from the Rasaratnākara of Nāgārjuna, which seems to belong to the 8th or 9th century A.D. The Rasārṇavakalpa, which is a larger text than the Rasaratnākara but smaller than the Rasārṇava, contains only one verse taken from the Rasaratnākara (verse 367). From the point of view of contents, arrangement, and presentation of material in terms of kalpas, as well as frequent references to even profane tantric rites, the Rasārṇavakalpa appears to sit midway between the Rasaratnākara and the Rasārṇava. The tantric elements described in the Rasārṇavakalpa are Brahmanical (as opposed to the Buddhist Rasaratnākara) and are in tune with those mentioned in the Rasārṇava. It is well-known that the flourishing period of rasaśāstra texts was between the 10th and 16th centuries A.D., although alchemical practices were in vogue a century or two earlier. The Rasārṇavakalpa appears to mark the beginning of this flourishing period.

¹ Avalon, Arthur, Principles of Tantra, Madras, 1952, p. 87.

Considering the facts above, the date of the Rasārṇavakalpa may be taken to lie between the 10th and 12th centuries A.D., possibly about the 11th century A.D.¹

Regarding the originality of the Rasārṇavakalpa, it seems to be in the nature of a codification of the alchemical knowledge prevalent at the time. It may be mentioned that the treatment of the subject is not as uniform or continuous as we find in the Rasārṇava. In addition, the emphasis on certain rites and tantric practices to be observed before the use of plants and other substances, the mythological accounts regarding the origin of plants, minerals, and mineral waters, and the esoteric approach to alchemical procedures (in contrast to what we find in the Rasārṇava on similar matters), suggest that the Rasārṇavakalpa represents a compilation of alchemical practices in a formative stage. Although the Rasārṇava has a number of verses in Chapter XII that are almost identical to those in the Rasārṇavakalpa (verses 78-207), it is very difficult, based on our current knowledge, to conclude that the former borrowed from the latter. The possibility of a common source for both works cannot be easily dismissed. However, it may be conjectured that the Rasārṇavakalpa might have been an earlier compilation than the Rasārṇava. This is substantiated to some extent by the fact that the Rasārṇavakalpa places more emphasis on material immortality and transmutation processes than on the iatro-chemical (medicinal-chemical) methods that characterize the later phase of Indian alchemy.

Contents of the Rasārṇavakalpa

Literally, the word Rasārṇavakalpa means "manifold powers of the ocean of rasa." The term rasa refers to any potent fluid—vegetable or mineral in general, and mercury in particular—while the term kalpa has different meanings, the most appropriate being "that which is capable of performance by its own potency" (original: "कल्पते स्वक्रियायै समर्थो भवत्वत्र" — kalpate svakriyāyai samartho bhavatvatra — Śabdakalpadruma). The different kalpas incorporated in the Rasārṇavakalpa are mainly concentrated on the powers of different substances for bringing about perfection: the transmutation of base metals like copper or lead into gold or silver, and the bestowal of psychic power on human beings. This allows them to attain material immortality—specifically, the unusual prolongation of life, possession of perennial youth and beauty, the ability to take any form at will, the acquisition of immense strength (especially virile power), assuming invisibility, moving through the air, and even the power of observing every part and particle of the "three worlds." In the tantric way of life, this is referred to as kāyasādhanā (cultivation of the body), dehasiddhi (perfection of the body), or kāyakalpa (rejuvenation), a type of physical culture to become divine. This was performed by various means, such as the practice of yoga and āsana (postures), and the consumption of elixirs.

¹ Dr. D. Joshi, Department of Rasaśāstra, Institute of Medicine, Banaras Hindu University, is of the view that the Rasārṇavakalpa may be of a later age than the Rasārṇava (Personal communication).