Since the days of Sir W. Jones, Sanskrit literature, in almost every department, has been zealously ransacked by Scholars, both European and Indian. As the results of their labours we are now in possession of ample facts and data, which enable us to form some idea of the knowledge of the Hindus of old in the fields of Philosophy and Mathematics including Astronomy, Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry and Geometry. Even Medicine has received some share of attention. Wilson in a series of essays published in the Oriental Magazine (1823). Royle in his Antiquity of Hindu Medicine (1837), and Wise in his commentary on the Hindu System of Medicine (1845), were amongst the first to bring to the notice of the European world the contents of the ancient medical works of the Hindus, and recently the Thakur Sahib of Gondal has added his quota. These contributions are, however, of a fragmentary nature. A comprehensive history of Hindu medicine has yet to be written. Materia Medica has also found, in Udoy Chand Dutt, an able exponent. One branch has, however, up till this time, remained entirely neglected- namely, Chemistry. Indeed, it may be assumed that on account of its complex and technical nature it has hitherto repelled investigators.
The progress of chemical knowledge among the ancient nations has always had a fascination for me. The classical works of Thomson, Hoefer and Kopp have been my favourite companions for the last twelve years and more. In the course of my studies in this field I was naturally led to an inquiry into the exact position which India occupies therein, and with this view I undertook a systematic examination, from the chemical standpoint, of the Charaka, the Susruta and the various standard works of the Ayurvedic and latro chemical periods, which have escaped the ravages of time. It was at this stage that I was brought into the communication with M. Berthelot some five years ago-a circumstance which has proved to be a turning point, if I may so say, in my career as a student of the history of chemistry. The illustrious French savant, the Doyen of the chemical world, who has done more than any other person to clear up the sources and trace the progress of chemical science in the West, expressed a strong desire to know all about the contributions of the Hindus, and even went the length of making a personal appeal to me to help him with information on the subject. In response to his sacred call I submitted to him, in 1898, a short monograph on Indian alchemy; it was based chiefly on Rasendrasara Samgraha, a work which I have since then found to be of minor importance and not calculated to throw much light on the vexed question as to the origin of the Hindu Chemistry.
M. Berthelot not only did me the honour of reviewing it at length but very kindly presented me with a complete set of his monumental work, in three volumes, on the chemistry of the Middle Ages, dealing chiefly with the Arabic and Syrian contribution on the subject, the very existence of which I was not till then aware of. On perusing the contents of these works I was filled with the ambition of supplementing them with one on Hindu Chemistry. Although I have written all along under the inspiration of a mastermind, it is not for a moment pretended that my humble production will at all make an approach to the exemplar set before my eyes.
When we go through our history we have hundreds of thousands of reasons to be proud of. But many of these treasures remain hidden in Sanskrit literature. Most of them are not un-earthed, because we do not know their value. In this context the attempt of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray is highly appreciated. Obviously we are proud to reprint "A History of Hindu Chemistry" by Acharya Ray; it is our maiden venture in this direction.
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