Dhatuvada

Hindu branch of the Indian tradition of
alchemy, which seeks to transform,
transmute, and perfect the body
through the use of various chemicals
with the ultimate goal of rendering the
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Dharna
body immortal. Just as both Hindus and
Buddhists appropriated the idea of yoga
(act of discipline), both traditions
also have alchemical schools. The
Dhatuvada school stressed seeking bodily perfection solely through consuming
drugs and potions, particularly ones
compounded from mercury and
cinnabar. This is theoretically different
from the Buddhist Rasayana school,
since the latter is said to use such material means only to prolong life until the
body can be transmuted through meditation, ritual, and yoga. The conceptual
foundation for Hindu alchemy is its
analysis of the world as a series of bipolar opposites, and the conviction that
unifying these opposing forces brings
spiritual progress and the end of reincarnation (samsara). The governing
metaphor for this combination of opposites is the union of sun and moon. In
keeping with this bipolar symbolism,
both the sun and the moon are connected to other opposing principles through
an elaborate series of associations. The
sun is identified with heat, drying
power, fire, the goddess Shakti, and
menstrual blood; the moon with coolness,
healing power, water, the god Shiva,
and semen. In alchemical practice, the
two essential chemical elements are mercury and sulfur—the former identified
with Shiva’s semen, and the latter with
Shakti’s uterine blood. Through properly
mixing and consuming these elements,
the impure body is purified and refined,
eventually rendering it immortal.
Modern descriptions of this practice
invariably warn that it should only be carried out under the direction of one’s guru
(spiritual teacher); otherwise these combinations will be harmful. This warning is
not surprising, since by itself mercury is a
deadly poison. For further information
see Shashibhushan B. Dasgupta,
Obscure Religious Cults, 1962; and David
Gordon White, “Alchemy: Indian
Alchemy,” in Mircea Eliade (ed.),
Encyclopedia of Religion, 1993.