gems, ancient gemology, early gemology, Indian gemology, Indian lapidary

Book on Indian gemology; Sanskrit original /Tamil translation. The introduction is in English and provides a nice summary of early Indian gemology as well as the works translated. The Sarasvati Mahal Library in Thanjavur houses eight different manuscripts titled Ratna Parīkṣā, of which four are complete. This publication presents the entire text of two of the complete manuscripts—one bearing Burnell No. 2032 / D. No. 1850, and the other Burnell No. 2039 / D. No. 18514. The first manuscript ends with a colophon stating, “Thus ends the chapter on Ratna Parīkṣā in Smṛtisroddhāra, composed by Śrīman-Nārāyaṇa,” indicating that the gemological treatise forms part of a larger compilation covering a wide range of topics from the smṛti tradition. The second manuscript bears the title Ratna Parīkṣā alone, and its contents likewise suggest that it is a compilation drawn from earlier sources. Though the compiler is not named on the title page, the colophon introduces him as the author of a broader work, of which Ratna Parīkṣā is only one section. Unfortunately, the manuscript provides no information about the author’s identity or date. A third complete manuscript, Burnell No. 2033 / D. No. 18508, forms part of the Hālāśya Māhātmya, and the colophon notes that it concludes the 23rd chapter, Navaratnavikraya, of that text within the Agastya Saṃhitā of the Skanda Purāṇa. In this Puranic context, Lord Śiva, manifest as Śrī Sundareśvara at Madurai, assumes the role of a gem trader and expounds the treatise on gems to his devotees. To avoid redundancy, only unique portions of this third manuscript are excerpted in the present volume. The fourth complete manuscript and four additional incomplete ones were not included, as they offer no new material beyond what is already presented in the selected texts.