mtshal

Italic text

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མཚལ
1) vermillion [rgya mtshal] med. mineral; 2) blood [h]; 3) red ink) [IW]

1) vermillion Rgya mtshal med. mineral [ro bska, zhu rjes bsil, nus pas rma 'brub, rus chag sbyor, rtza nad sel, glo ba dang, mchan pa'i tsha ba, mig nad bar 'grib bcas la phan]; 2) blood [h] [IW]

vermillion pigment, vermillion, chinese vermilion, SA sku mtshal, khrag, place in tibet [JV]

blood; vermilion [RY]

(med) Cinnabar (Yeshi 2018)
Synonyms : tam ka na, ksha ra na (Shel gong) cog la/lcog la, cog la ma, mtshal dkar, rdo mtshal, rgya mtshal, da chu, ka shar na, tam ka na (Yeshi 2018)
Sanskrit : hiṅgula (Dash 1989)

mtshal gyis rma 'drub glo mchin rtsa tshad sel / zhes pa la / ming / tam ka na dang / ksha ra na zer / byung yul las drangs pa'i rigs la / shag mtshal / sog mtshal / mtshal po che / zheng mtshal / khams mtshal zhes mang yang / bsdu na dkar nag gnyis las med / 'di dang dngul chu gnyis kyi khungs 'og nas 'chad rgyu'i cong zhi dang brag zhun lta bu'i khams las byung tshul yod pa'i lung 'phros su / dkar po'i dangs ma 'thor ba las / dmar po rjes 'brang phyi nas gab / gnyis ka'i bcud 'dus rin chen mtshal / khub bton las dngul chu zer / zhes 'byung / rgya gar rgya ser [118] stod hor gtsang dbus khams sogs nas 'byung / kha dog smug la dngul rdo'i dbyibs 'od khrob be ba 'dul na smug shas che ba mtshal nag gam / pho mtshal zer / kha dog dmar la dkar zhing dangs shas che ba 'jam la 'od chung ba / 'dul na dmar shas che ba mtshal dkar ram mo mtshal yin / 'di la hingu ma yang zer / 'di gnyis 'bud sa yang shas che gcig la nus mtshungs yang / gtong yul pho mo dang gtang bya mtshal go ldog pa bzang gsungs / rtsa bshal dang glo mchin gyi tshad pa la 'di kho na dgos / gzhan gnyis gtong mi nyan pa dang / dug rigs la cog la ma / chu ser dang gnyan rigs la da chu dgos par rin rgyan las bshad pa 'di gnad shin tu che bar 'dug // (Shel gong shel phreng, pdf p 117.4)
mtshal ni / nyi ma / lha min bu / tam ka na zer / rdo dmar po'i phye ma shin tu dmar po'i smug shas che ba bzang / dmar po ngan / bsregs na dngul chu chu 'bab pa yin / der shel 'phreng las / nag dkar du bshad pa ni / kha dog gi dbang gi ming btags pa yin / bu gzhung las / mtshal nag sogs chur bskol nas bkru zhing 'dul bar gsungs pas / rma 'drub glo mchin rtsa nad sel zhing / des dngul chu bzos pa'i bton shul mtshal thal ni / shel sgong las / mtshal gyi thal bas rma 'bras sha rog gcod // ces gsungs so // (mDzes mtshar mig rgyan, print p 059)

Illustrations : Phrin Las (25_118) bod mtshal. dGa' ba'i rDo rje 2018 (n°092) mtshal, Cinnabar

cog la ma, da chu and mtshal are distinct, but subsequent entries in the Shel gong and refer to forms of Cinnabar (mtshal). Cinnabar (Mercury sulfide HgS) is the principal ore of mercury, dngul chu. In a strict sense, Cinnabar is the natural mineral Mercury sulfide (HgS). The name Vermilion is used for artificial Mercury sulfide, produced as red pigment since the 3rd or 4th cent. BC in Greece as well as in China. It is frequently confused with the red lead oxide pigments Litharge and Minium (see further under li khri).
The terms are applied differently according to authors and context. Gerke (2021) distinguishes these terms as follows :
mtshal is the basic tibetan word for Cinnabar. Due to the long history of mercury trade with China, there are synonyms of chinese origin, like cu'u gshag (chin. zhusha, 'red sand'), which is synonymous also for rgya mtshal, Vermilion.
da chu is another word of chinese origin, also called mtshal dkar (which describes a colour made from Cinnabar (mtshal) and White chalk (dkar or ka rag). But da chu is also synonymous with dngul chu (mercury) and cog la ma (artificial cinnabar). Some consider da chu as medicinal earth, others as medicinal meltable minerals. Sometimes it seems to refer to Calomel. The Dharamsala Men-Tsee-Khang uses da chu for artificial cinnabar.
cog la ma is differently applied to natural and artificial cinnabar rock, as well as for triturated and roasted cinnabar powder (Gerke 2021)
In the context of Tibetan pigments, the native mineral Cinnabar is known as cog la or mtshal rgod. It is found in South-East Tibet. Synthetic Mercury sulfide is called mtshal or rgya mtshal. Both, India and China, had the technology for synthetizing it since ancient times. (Jackson)
The photographs in dGa' ba'i rDo rje show broken minerals for cog la, Cinnabaris (n°090), an amorphous mass (like processed and molten) for da chu, Hydragyrum sulphidum (n°091), a fine grained red sand for mtshal, Cinnabar (n°092) and light yellow, flat, broken pieces for mtshal dkar, Lithargyrum (n°093).
Calomel, (mercurous chloride, Hg₂Cl₂) or corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride, HgCl₂), is another mercury ore. Almost colourless, it darkens upon expose to light. Both minerals can appear together in the same rocks (mindat.org).
The indian name Hiṅgula denotes Cinnabar, which is of two types : Śukatuṇḍa (also known as Carmāra) and Haṃsapāda (also known as Pāka). Of the synonyms mentioned in the Shel gong, taṅkaṇa refers rather to borax, and kṣara is a general word for alkali and is rendered by thal sman, medicinal ashes or calcinated matter (wisdomlib.org)
Johannes Schmidt (talk) 05:36, 25 February 2024 (EST)