cog la ma

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ཅོག་ལ་མ

[[cog la ma mtshal/ vermillion * cinnabar? [IW]

[[cog la ma mtsal/ vermillion [good for rtsa dkar gyi nad dang, rus pa chag pa, reg dug bse mog dug nad] cinnabar? [IW]

medical mineral substances [JV]

cinnabar? [RY]

(med) Processed Cinnabar
Synonyms : lcog la ma ('Phrin Las 1987) mtshal rgod, rgya mtshal ('Jam-dpal rDo-rje)

cog la ma yis rtsa dang lha ba 'dzin / zhes dang / 'di rgya gar nag gi mtshal cog la ma ste / rang byung gi mtshal rgya khab gshibs pa 'dra la kha dog smug shas can / bzo blugs byas pa'i nyams med pa la rang byung gi rtags su rngo rtsi gzhan 'byar ba de yin / 'di skabs kha cig gis cog la ma dang / da chu gnyis gcig tu bsdus pa dang / da chu rdo chu la bsgyur ba dang / gnyis ka mtshal du song ba zlos skyon du 'dug / rgyud kyi yi ge ma dag pa yin zhes bcos pas mi tsha nyab nyob mang du bris 'dug kyang thal skyon no / rgyud dpe spar bris mang po thams cad dag par zhal 'chams pa dang / sman ngo so sor ngos 'phrod pa la bcos don ma byung mod // (Shel gong shel phreng, pdf p 116.4)
cog la ma ni / mtshal rgod dang / rgya gar nag las byung ba'i phyir rgya mtshal yang zer / rang 'byung gi rdo dmar la smug shas che bas / rgya khab gshibs 'dra / bzhu bas dngul chu 'byung ba'o // bod pas smug por mchog tu bzhed kyang shin tu dmar po dangs can de shin tu dkon pa nus pa rab tu bzang ngo / la las da chu zer ba ni nor ba ste / de ni mtshal dkar yin cing / bai sngon shel 'phreng shel dkar me long thams cad du bzos par gsungs te / 'di ma yin no / des rtsa dang lha ba 'dzin // (mDzes mtshar mig rgyan, print p 059)

Illustrations : 'Phrin Las (25_098) lcog la ma ngo bo (25_099) mtshal dkar (25_100) bzos pa 'processed cinnabar'. dGa' ba'i rDo rje 2018 (n°090) cog la, Cinnabaris

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 for the red pigment. 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) 05:17, 25 February 2024 (EST)