Rasārṇavakalpa by Mira Roy

Review by: Richard J. Cohen

Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 99, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1979), p. 541
Published by: American Oriental Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/602502 .
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 Brief Reviews of Books
in which the beginnings and endings of translations and the
author's comments on them are not clearly distinguished
taxes the patience of the reader.
RICHARD W. LARIVIERE
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Inner Development: The Yes! Bookshop Guide. By CRIS
POPENOE. Pp. 654. Washington, D.C.: YES! INC.
Distributed by RANDOM HOUSE. 1979. $9.95.
This is a strange book. It has all the earmarks of being a
compilation for what were called, in a different age, "flower
children"; yet it is an annotated bibliography on a variety of
subjects and usually contains a listing of the best scholarly
works (in English) on each subject. The subject headings
range from "African Philosophies" to "UFO's & Unex-
plained Phenomena." In between there are chapters on
Buddhism (subsections on Asvaghosa, The Dhammapada,
Jataka tales, Madhyamika, the Pali Canon, Tibetan
Buddhism, Milarepa, Zen, Dogen, Hui Neng), Indian
Philosophy, Islam, Jewish Mysticism, etc.
There are, certainly, more than enough entries by
Timothy Leary, Rajneesh, Swamf Muktananda, etc., but
just about the time one is ready to put the book down after a
page of annotated entries on such books as "Mayer, Nancy.
The Male Mid-Life Crisis: Fresh Starts AfterForty." there
will be pages of really solid works by such scholars as
Alexander Csoma de Koros, Erich Frauwallner, Jan
Gonda, Max Weber, M. Hiriyanna, E.W. Hopkins, Mircea
Eliade, Gershom Scholem, Louis Finkelstein, Masaharu
Anesaki, and many others.
This book is intended for those who are ceaselessly
searching for "inner truths," "life's meaning," "the essence
of the cosmos," and their car keys, but Cris Popenoe is to be
commended for including so much work by real scholars.
RICHARD W. LARIVIERE
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSLYVANIA
Rasarnavakalpa. Edited and translated by MIRA Roy, in
collaboration with B. V. SUBBARAYAPPA. Pp. 174.
Indian National Science Academy Monograph No. 5.
New Delhi: INDIAN NATIONAL SCIENCE ACADEMY.
1976. $5.00.
The Rasarnavakalpa belongs to the esoteric Rudraya-
malatantra, a division of Tantric science concerned with
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
541
strengthening the human body through the ingestion of an
elixir (rasayana), usually a mixture of mercury in
compound with some other mineral, metal or vegetable
substance. The text (ca. eleventh century A.D.) attempts to
codify alchemical knowledge into twenty-nine kalpas (here,
the inherent efficacy of a substance), broadly grouping these
into three parts: rasayanotpatti, benefits derived from the
preparation and use of elixirs; rasaprakriya, the uses of
mercury, especially in the transmutation of base metals into
gold and silver; and kalpaprabhdga, an enumeration of
plants, minerals and metals, their properties and uses.
The text has been edited from one manuscript owned by
The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta. The entire
Sanskrit text has been printed along with an English
translation of all verses dealing specifically with scientific
information. Unfortunately, the editor has chosen not to
translate verses directly concerned with allied religious
aspects of the subject, the inclusion of which would have
greatly enhanced the value of the book. An appendix
identifies thirty-nine plants mentioned in the text, giving
their botanical names and major chemical constituents. An
exhaustive glossary lists and explicates the highly technical
Sanskrit scientific terminology employed in the text. There
is a useful bibliography and index. B. V. Subbarayappa has
written a short, concise introduction, outlining the contents
of the text and comparing it to other rasascstra texts such
as the Rasaratnakara and the Rasarnava.
Despite leaving passages untranslated, which would have
been of interest to scholars of Indian religion, Ms. Roy
should be congratulated for bringing to light an important
primary source for the study of Tantric science and thought.
RICHARD J. COHEN
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSLYVANIA
Bhai Vir Singh: Poet of the Sikhs. Translated from the
Punjabi with introductions by GURBACHANSINGH
TALIB,and HARBANSSINGH,with YANNLOVELOCK. Pp.
x + 155. New Delhi: MOTILALBANARSIDASS. 1976.
Rs. 30.00.
This book is the second product of Professor Harbans
Singh's intention, as stated in his biography, Bhai Vir Singh
(reviewed in JAOS, 95.2), to carry out a thorough study of
the life and work of one of the most important authors of
modern Panjabi literature.
The publication is divided into two parts. Part One
contains an introduction by Professor Gurbachan Singh
Talib to the life of Bhai Vir Singh, the historical background
and characteristics of his poetry and the seminal role the