Metals in Vedic Literature

Abstract

Wilhelm Rau (1974) comprehensively discussed metals in Vedic literature. (Rau, Metalle und Metallgeräte im vedischen Indien, 1974)

In this paper, focusing especially on the base metals “áyas-,” I investigate their usage in every stage of Vedic literature, referring widely to recent studies.

In the RV, áyas- is solely used as a general term for the base metals and there is no reference to its concrete name. In the stage of the Atharvaveda, áyas- is divided into two types, “black” (śyāmá-) and “red” (lóhita-), and other base metals like tin “trapú-” or lead “sī́sa-” become known. The situation in the YS^m is almost the same, however, the word lohá-, the substantive for copper, is first used in a passage of the VS and TS.

A pair of passages in the black YS^p (KS and MS) suggestively tells the property of pure copper; its high thermal conductivity. In the stage of ŚB, áyas- is no longer classified by color, and on the other hand, we can determine that it connotes specifically iron in some passages.