Vedic writing

Further east another natural resin, lac, had already been used for at least a thousand years before Pliny was bom. Lac is mentioned in early Vedic writings and also in the Kama Sutra of Vatsyayona. In 1596 John Huyglen von Linschoeten undertook a scientific mission to India at the instance of the King of Portugal. In his report he describes the process of covering objects with shellac, now known as Indian turnery and still practised ... 

The foundation of natural philosophy in India dates back to around the fifth century B.c.E., and the concept of the transmutation of matter can be found in parts of the ancient Vedic writings. The oldest description of elements was based on a five-element system that comprised earth, water, fire, wind (or air), and space. There is evidence of a kind of atomistic view of matter as indivisible particles and even an estimation of their size. According to the ancient text Tarkasamgrahadeepika, the smallest perceptible object was a dust mote seen in a beam of sunlight. The atom was then equal to one-sixth of the mote.2 This atomism was overlaid with a form of vitalism to account for the difference between animate and inanimate matter. Vitalism, which appeared in the alchemy of almost all regions, was the belief in a spirit or spark of life that occurred in some types of matter. If matter contained the vital spark, it was alive. Whether the vital spark could be created or made to appear in inanimate matter was one of the areas of research for alchemists. 

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