The Ocean of Mercury

ful passages. Additional help has also been derived from a comparison of several extracts from Rasárnava with which Rasendrachintámani, Rasaratnasamuchchaya, Sarvadarsanasamgraha, Yogatarangini etc. abound. In spite of all these collateral advantages there was much that could be desired. While the third and concluding part of the present work was in the press, I received a letter from Kaviráj Durgánáráyan Sen Sástrí, who had been to Jammù on a professional visit, volunteering his services for the search of rare Sanskrit MSS. bearing upon Chemistry and Medicine. Among the several MSS. which the scholarly instinct of the Kaviráj had hit upon was one entitled Rasakámadhenu. Although this work is merely a compilation, it proved to me like a God-send, as it is full of lengthy extracts from Rasárnava of remarkable textual accuracy. Indeed, so material has been the help rendered by Rasakámadhenu that it has been thought advisable to draw up a list of corrections based upon this work and it has been inserted as an appendix.

As the Preface appears over my signature alone, I avail myself of this opportunity of expressing my deep obligations to my collaborator, Pandit Harischandra Kaviratna, on whom has mainly devolved the vast labour of going carefully and critically through the text of the MSS. He has also drawn up the exhaustive table of contents (anukramaṇikā table of contents) and the alphabetical index with glossary of technical terms. It is to be hoped that even a casual reader will have no difficulty in finding out the particular information he is in need of.