Gold Bhasma
Gold AshSvarna Bhasma (Ayurveda)
Gser thal (Tibet)
Minerological name:
Aurum cini
Parts used:
Prepared Gold
Temperature & Taste:
Mildly Warm, dry. Bitter and Sweet
Unani says Gold is neither Hot or Cold,
Classification:
Uses:
1. Increases Qi, Nourishes Essence: (West, Ayurveda, Tibet)
–Rasayana (tonifies 7 Body Constituents) (Ayurveda)
–Tonic to the Heart, Brain, Liver and all Body Tissues (Unani)
–Rejuvenating; promotes Longevity, maintains Youthfulness (Ayurveda, Tibet)
–Adaptogenic
–Improves Strength,a. tonic in general debility
–used as an Aphrodisiac, and for Infertility
–chronic wasting diseases, Consumption
–Diabetes
2. Clears Heat, Resists Poison: (West, Ayurveda, Tibet)
–Fevers, including Chronic Fever, Tuberculosis, Glandular Fever etc .
–Poisons
–Abscesses, Leprosy, Syphilis
–Chronic Dysentery
–Scrofula, Tumors, Cancer
3. Benefits the Heart, Cheers the Spirit: (West, Ayurveda, Tibet)
–Heart weakness, Palpitations
-Promotes Happiness (Exhilarant)
–promotes Intellect, enhances Memory, benefits Eyesight
4. Settles the Nerves, Stops Wind::
–Epilepsy
–Hysteria
–Mental illness including Schizophrenia
–Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dose:
10–30mg twice daily, in Honey, Butter, Ghee, Milk or Cream
Vehicles for Gold Bhasma:
-used for inflammation; take with Fish (or other) Bile
-Nutritive, Tonic and Aphrodisiac if taken with the juice of Eclipta
-also a Tonic if taken with Milk
-as an Aphrodisiac, with sugar and milk
-Rasayana (tonic to the 7 Body Tissues) if taken with Ghee
-to improve Health and Beauty, with Saffron
-for Heart disease, with milk, Terminalia arjuna bark and sugar
-Improves Eyesight, taken with Boerhaavia diffusa
-Improves memory, taken with Calamus
-used for Tuberculosis and Wasting, if taken with Milk
-also for Tuberculosis, taken with the juice of Garlic
-for Insantiy due to derangement of all 3 Dosas (Wind, Phlegm and Bile), taken with Black Pepper, Cloves and Ginger.
-Gold Bhasma is taken in doses of 12 Barley Corns weight with Black Pepper and Ghee. It is very good for Consumption, Poor Appetite, Asthma, Nausea, Jaundice, Chronic Diarrhea, and all types of Poison. It is a powerful tonic, increasing Strength and Vitality.
Purification of Gold:
1. A general method that can be used to Purify all Metals:
Gold leaves are heated and quenched 7 times each in Sesame Oil, Butter Milk, Cow’s Urine, Kanji (type of Vinegar), and a Decoction of Dolichos biflora. This method can be used for Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Brass and Bronze.
Tin, Lead and Zinc can be processed with the same liquids, however, these metals are melted and poured slowly through a stone plate with a hole in it where the melted metals falls into each of the abovementioned liquids, 7 times in each liquid.
In most cases, further processing is required for each specific Metal to ensure proper purification.
2. “Prepare a fine leaves of gold pearceble with needle, cut these into fine pieces with scissor. Put these into pyrex glass beaker or in ordinary beaker wrapped with mud and cloth. Put the beaker on tripoid stand and apply heat through spirit lamp adding hydro chloric acid slowly and nitric acid 1/4 to hydrochloric acid till gold is dissolved. Heating may be continued for sometime to evaporate excess acid. Add some oxalic acid mixed with water. By
this method dissolved gold become precipitated in the form of fine powder at the bottom of the glass beaker. Now wash it with water till its acidic content is removed. On drying collect pure gold powder from It. This may be
used for further processing (marana/incenaration).”
This is a modern way of purification of Gold. (Rasamritam)
Preparation:
1. Bhasma of Gold (1):
“Mix purified gold powder with equal part of white Arsenic powder (Somala). Triturate these with Kancanara ( Bauhinia variegata) juice arid Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) leaf juice. Make its pellets and allow these to dry. Then these are subjected to laghu puta heating by puta system. From second puta onwards mix white arsenic
1/4 th part only, such 10 putas make reddish colour gold bhasma.” (Rasamritam)
2. Bhasma of Gold (2):
Thin leaves of Gold are smeared with a paste made of Lead Bhasma and Lemon juice, then subjected to Putam; this is repeated 3 times. The Lead is removed by rubbing with Cinnabar, and it is subjected to Putam a further 3 times.
3. Bhasma of Gold (3):
Gold leaf is smeared with a paste made of the juices of Cassia fistula, Semecarpus anarcardium, and Borax; this is then heated in Gaja Puta. Repeat 7 times
4. Bhasma of Gold from Siddha:
Triturate 54 grains each of Gold leaf and corrected Hen’s Egg Shells together and drop in it 5 drops of the milk drawn from the plant Daemia extensa (not the juice of the leaves) and mix. Place this in a Gold Smith’s crucible, cover it with a lid pan, seal with cloth and clay, and dry.
Take a big mud pot, half fill with paddy husks, place the crucible over the husks, filling up with more of the husks. Burn, cool and powder.
Main Combinations:
1. As a potent tonic:
i. Gold Bhasma, Mica Bhasma, Triphala, Long Pepper, taken with Milk or Ghee
2. Fever, Influenza, Epidemic Fevers, Gold Bhasma, Silver Bhasma, Zinc Bhasma, Pearl, Ruby, Realgar, Aconite root (as in Nava Boopathi Mathrai)
Major Formulas:
Pancha Ratnam
Nava Boopathi Mathrai
Great Cold Compound Precious Black Pill (Tibetan)
Great Precious Hot Compound (Rin chen tsha sbyor chen mo)
Precious Wish Fulfilling Jewel (Rin chen ratna bsam ‘phel)
Cautions:
Ayurveda says if Gold is used in its raw, unpurified form, it may reduce the strength and intellect of the person. When purified and reduced to Bhasma, it then increases strength and Intellect, among other effects. However, Gold has been in leaf form without further preparation in various systems. So we should interpret this as Gold being more effective ()more easily absorbed) when properly reduced to Bhasma.
Toxicity:
Gold is not toxic in itself. Further, testing of Gold Bhasma in chronic administration to animals showed no toxicity when judged by histological, SGPT, SGOT, serum creatinine and urea levels.
Main Preparations used:
Nothing at Present
GENERAL / REVIEW:
–Physicochemical characterization of Suvarna Bhasma, its toxicity profiling in rat and behavioural assessment in zebrafish model.
–Blood compatibility studies of Swarna bhasma (gold bhasma), an Ayurvedic drug.