Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Copper pyrite (svarna makshika) (Chalcopyrite), of the sulfide mineral family. Brass-yellow massive or crystalline ore, often tarnishing to an iridescent peacock film; native range: the commonest copper ore — massive and disseminated in hydrothermal veins and sulfide bodies, often with pyrite and quartz. Globally recognized as svarna makshika, tapya, makshika in Sanskrit, sona makkhi in Hindi, and copper pyrite, chalcopyrite in English. The part used is the purified mineral, incinerated to bhasma. Brass to golden yellow with a metallic lustre, brittle, giving a greenish-black streak; softer than the iron pyrite it is mistaken for, and yielding a sulfurous smell on the fire.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
COPPER PYRITE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- copper pyrite (svarna makshika)
- Scientific name
- Chalcopyrite (copper-iron sulfide, CuFeS₂)
- Family
- sulfide mineral
Form
- Part used
- the purified mineral, incinerated to bhasma
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet (madhura) · bitter (tikta)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- rasayana, chakshushya (benefits the eyes), vrishya (aphrodisiac), balya, tridoshahara, kushthaghna, pandughna (relieves anaemia)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- the unpurified ore is never taken internally; caution in pregnancy and in the very weak
- Toxicity
- a copper-iron sulfide — the raw or improperly incinerated ore carries free copper and sulfur and causes vomiting, burning and gastric injury; safety rests wholly on complete shodhana and marana
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