Part 7 - Chemists of the Metallic School: Ravana, King of Lanka

The third chemist in the list “A” is Ravana, king of Lanka. Ravana was acquainted with the preparation of “Madanananda Modaka,” the famous aphrodisiac and tonic which contains, inter alia, mercury, sulphur, and mica. Invention of some other medicines named “Pratapa Lankesvara,” “Lankesvara Rasa”, “Lanka-dhipesvara Rasa”, etc. is attributed to Ravana. These medicines which contain incineratd mercury, mica, sulphur, orpiment etc., are excellent remedies for leprosy, etc. This shows that Ravana was acquainted with the process of incinerating mercury, (see Nityanath). The authorship of the booklet “Arka-prakasa” is attributed to him. The reference to the treatment of “Phiranga” disease or syphilis found in Arkaprakasha, does not prove that this book is of modern origin. Some are of opinion that the name “Phiranga” was given to the disease prevalent amongst the “Pheringees” (contraction of “French”) an epithet applied by the Indians to the earliest Europeans coming to India. This assumption is far from satisfactory—the French were not the first of the Europeans who came to India. The word “Phirangaroga” appears to me to be a corruption of “Priyanga roga” “Priyanga” means the limb which is dear. “Priyanga-roga” therefore, means the disease pertaining to the dear limb, i.e., syphilis. Another name for this disease was Upadangsha—a name used in Charaka and.the other ancient treatises.

The epithet Pheringee (or Priyangi) appears to have been coined under an impression that the “Priyanga” disease was more prevalent amongst the Europeans who settled in India than amongst the Indians who were, of course, not at all free from it. An elaborate treatment of this disease is to be found in most of the treatises composed long before the arrival of the Eueopeans. Those who have studied the Indian systems of medicine very carefully and have a practical experience of the treatment of syphilis will endorse my views that Upadansa and Phiranga or Syphilis is the same disease with minor differences in symptoms in different cases, due to the difference in the degree of, virulence of the poison causing the disease and to the difference in the constitutions of the patients.

It cannot therefore be stated that syphilis was imported into India by the Europeans. Even taking for granted that this has been so, what proof there is to show that the mention of the disease in Bhava-Prakasha and Arka-prakasha has not been interpolations made by modern scribes? It has ail along been the tendency of people all over the world to modernise ancient works by additions and alterations in language as well as in subject matters. There are lots of evidence to show that this tendency has been at work especially in the field of Indian literature. In view of all this, we cannot agree with those who maintain that it was an impostor who elected to remain anonymous and to thrust the authorship of his own work, named “Arka Prakasha” upon Ravana, the legendary king of Lanka.

Indian tradition and chronicles assign to Ravana an antiquity which is represented by an incredibly long figure. To make a most moderate estimate of this antiquity, we may place him on the other side of 6323 B.C.