Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 1.djvu/80



Before we proceed further it would be advisable to take a hasty glance at the origin of the Tantric Cult, as Indian Alchemy very largely derives its colour and flavour from it. In almost every country the progress of chemistry can be traced to medicine and the belief in the artificial gold-making,—the search after elixir vitæ and the philosopher's stone. In India, however, these ends have played a secondary part in promoting a knowledge of the chemical processes. Here the origin of astronomy, geometry and anatomy is to be sought in the exigencies of religious rites.Cf. the opening remarks by Dr. Thibaut on the "Sulvasútras":— No less