1/n
Bhagwan Ram’s life is primarily known to us from references in texts such as the Ramayana & Vasistha’s Yoga. We know him as a king, hero & divine Avatar, but did you know that Shree Rama was a scientist & one of ancient India’s foremost experts on chemistry & metallurgy?
2/n
Bhudeb Mookerjee, principal of Bengal College of Ayurveda was an Ayurvedic doctor & Sanskrit scholar. In 1938, he published “Rasa Jala Nidhi, Vol. 5” on Hindu chemistry. In Part 8, he directly names Shree Ramachandra as one of the greatest experts of ancient Hindu chemistry.
3/n
He tells us that King Ramachandra of Ayodhya, learnt chemistry from two great Yogis & Siddhas (Chemists) named Kalanatha & Lakshmisvara in the Dandaka forest. Having gained expertise in the field of chemistry & metallurgy, he was named “Dandakanatha” by the sages.
4/n
There he authored a book on chemistry called “Ram Rajiya” Sadly, the original manuscript is not available, but reference to it are found in treatises Rasa-Ratna-Samuchchaya & Bhava-Prakasha. The book’s preface says the author is Dasharathputra, king Ramachandra of Ayodhya.
5/n
It also mentions that the author learnt Rasa-vidya (metallic chemistry) from the great Rishis Kalanatha, and Laksmisvara. It states that the author prepared an image of his wife in gold manufactured by himself. Rama-Rajiya tells us the process of how this gold was obtained.