Gairika. Vern. Gerumάti.

Two sorts of gairikά or ochre are mentioned by Sanskrit writers, namely, red and yellow. The red variety, called also Raktapάshana is used in medicine. It is a silicate of alumina coloured with oxide of iron It is purified by being soaked in milk seven times, and is described as sweetish, astringent, cooling, and useful in ulcers, burns, boils etc. It is rarely used internally except as an ingredient of some of the complex prescriptions containing a large number of mineral drugs, such as the preparation called Jvarakunjara pάrindra rasa, which contains nearly all the mineral substances.

Besides gairika several other varieties of earth are described and occassionally used in medicine. A sweet scented earth brought from Surat and called Saurάstra mrittikά is regarded as astringent and useful in hemorrhages. It enters into the composition of several medicines for relieving bleeding from internal organs.

Sanskrit Materia Medica.