Diamond Medicine: Authority, expertise, and healing

In the Rasapaddhati the jewel expert is said to have eight types of knowledge of gemstones, likely from the ratnaparīkṣā corpus. These are: origin, quality, faults, class, mining, movement of the hand and fingers, price, and rounding (i.e. cutting) (RPD 94cd). He is also described as one who is skilled in business, has a firm grip on money, is adverse to spending, is well-versed in scriptures, has a discerning mind, knows the customs of foreign lands, and is able to use money. One who does not have these qualities and does not know the proper way to value a gemstone is said to be one who would do bad things with a gem, become a leper, and go to hell (RPD 112).

Across Sanskrit literature, from medical to religious works, diamonds have been taught as having health benefits. This paper will examine writing on diamonds across several subgenres of Sanskrit literature to explore the types of knowledge required of the alchemist. I will discuss the characteristics of diamonds found in alchemical works such as the Rasapaddhati, Ānandakanda, Rasendracūḍāmaṇi, and Rasendracintāmaṇi as well as the Garuda Purāṇa, and the gemological Agastimata, Ratnaparīkṣa, and Agastīya Ratnaparīksa to explore how the alchemist gains authoritative knowledge of gemstones before he can use them for medicinal purposes. 

Finally, I will briefly introduce some of the medicinal recipes using diamonds to cure such illnesses as consumption, cough, cataracts, and to destroy wrinkles, grey hair, and endow the user with longevity. Though these works are not yogic in nature, gemstones and gemstone healing is a part of the modern day yoga-industrial complex. By understanding the historical, authoritative knowledge of gemstones, we can better integrate the expertise of the past into present-day practice.