गौरीपाषाण
Arsenic trioxide, As2O3. A white, almost tasteless solid, historically the classic homicidal poison of Europe and Asia.
Parthiva · mineral origin · Sadharana Rasa
SHODHANA — NO MINERAL DRAVYA IS USED RAW
Swedana in kushmanda swarasa, in the juice of jayanti, or in godugdha by the dola yantra, repeatedly. Arsenic remains arsenic after shodhana, and the texts that prescribe it do not claim otherwise.
TRADITIONAL VIEW, WITH SAFETY LIMITS
Hindi name: Sankhiya
What the texts say Gauripashana does
What the evidence says. Traditional use is documented in the Rasashastra texts. Modern evidence about this dravya is largely toxicological rather than therapeutic.
Side effects and limits
This is arsenic trioxide - white arsenic, historically the commonest agent of deliberate poisoning in the world. It is soluble, nearly tasteless, and lethal in quantities a kitchen spoon would hold. It is a medicine only after shodhana, only within a yoga, only in the hands of a practitioner trained in Rasashastra, and the classical quantities are among the smallest in the whole literature for exactly that reason. Arsenic poisoning from Ayurvedic preparations is documented by the CDC. This entry records what the texts prescribe; it is not a recommendation. Anyone pregnant, on medication or managing a diagnosed condition should speak to a doctor or a qualified practitioner first.
Avoid or ask first: Absolutely not used in the raw, unprocessed state by any route.; Not used outside specialist Rasashastra practice.; Not used in children.; and more below.
A traditional classification, not a recommendation. The full safety record is below.
AS THE CLASSICAL TEXTS AND THE API PRESCRIBE
| Shuddha churna | 3–6 mg, within a yoga, specialist use only |
| Anupana | Madhu |
| Kala | As the yoga directs |
Among the smallest quantities in the classical literature, and prescribed only by a practitioner trained in Rasashastra. Never the raw mineral.
Reported from Sharangadhara Samhita and the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. Laisha states what the texts prescribe; it does not recommend. No quantity here is adjusted for a particular person — not for agni, koshtha, bala, age, pregnancy, kidney or liver function, or anything already being taken.
| Rasa | KatuKashaya |
| Guna | LaghuTikshnaVyavayi |
| Virya | Ushna |
| Vipaka | Katu |
| Prabhava | Named in the texts for kushtha, for jwara and as a rasayana in minute quantity. Modern medicine independently uses arsenic trioxide to treat acute promyelocytic leukaemia, which is a genuine convergence and not a justification for traditional dosing. |
| Doshakarma | Kaphavatahara. |
Katu and kashaya with ushna virya and katu vipaka.
These are the actions the classical texts record. They are statements about what the tradition holds, and this library does not restate them as findings about a human body.
| Upayukta anga | Shuddha gauripashana, and only within a yoga |
| Why it matters | The processed article, never the raw mineral. A lot received raw is a different material from the one the formula names. |
Malla is the name in commonest use in the market and the one most likely to appear on an invoice.
| English | White arsenic |
| Hindi | Sankhiya |
| Kannada | Gauripashana |
| Tamil | Sankhiya |
| Telugu | Sankhiya |
| Malayalam | Sankhiya |
| Marathi | Sankhiya |
| Gujarati | Sankhiya |
| Bengali | Sankhiya |
| Odia | Sankhiya |
| Urdu | Sankhiya |
| Sameerpannag Rasa | An ingredient. |
| Malla Sindura | Named for the dravya. |
Gauripashana, Haratala and Manahshila are all arsenic minerals and are confused with one another, but Gauripashana is the trioxide and is far more soluble and far more acutely toxic than the two sulphides. Substituting it for either is not a quality problem but a fatal one, and the reverse substitution makes a preparation inert. White arsenic is also almost tasteless, which is why it was the poison of choice for four centuries.
Arsenic trioxide, As2O3. A white, almost tasteless solid, historically the classic homicidal poison of Europe and Asia.
A WAY TO REMEMBER IT
Gauripashana is Gauri's stone - Gauri being the fair one, for the whiteness. Sankhya and Somal are the trade names. That a poison this lethal carries the name of a goddess is a reminder that the classical names describe appearance and not danger.
Gauripashana is listed among the sadharana rasa of the Rasa Ratna Samuccaya, with a shodhana and with quantities among the smallest given anywhere in the literature. That is what the tradition records.
Constituents. Arsenic trioxide, As2O3. A white, almost tasteless solid, historically the classic homicidal poison of Europe and Asia.
| Status | Traditional use is documented in the Rasashastra texts. Modern evidence about this dravya is largely toxicological rather than therapeutic. |
| Suggested | The dravya has a defined place and a defined shodhana in the classical Rasashastra literature, and the processed form has a pharmacopoeial standing in India. That is a standard for the material, not evidence of an effect in a body. |
| Not established | There is not enough good clinical evidence to establish an effect on any named health condition. Long traditional use is not a substitute for that evidence, and this library does not present it as one. |
| The honest gap | Published analyses of preparations containing this dravya rarely record whether shodhana was performed or how, so a result cannot be attributed to the processed article rather than the raw mineral. |
This is arsenic trioxide - white arsenic, historically the commonest agent of deliberate poisoning in the world. It is soluble, nearly tasteless, and lethal in quantities a kitchen spoon would hold. It is a medicine only after shodhana, only within a yoga, only in the hands of a practitioner trained in Rasashastra, and the classical quantities are among the smallest in the whole literature for exactly that reason. Arsenic poisoning from Ayurvedic preparations is documented by the CDC. This entry records what the texts prescribe; it is not a recommendation. Anyone pregnant, on medication or managing a diagnosed condition should speak to a doctor or a qualified practitioner first.
| Contraindications | Absolutely not used in the raw, unprocessed state by any route. Not used outside specialist Rasashastra practice. Not used in children. Not used where there is kidney or liver disease. |
| Interactions | No specific drug interaction is documented for this dravya. That is the honest state of the evidence, not a statement that none exists - the mineral dravya have almost never been studied for interaction with modern medicines. |
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding | Absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy and in breastfeeding. Arsenic crosses the placenta and is a developmental toxin and a carcinogen. |