https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=AshtadhatuAshtadhatu - Revision history2026-07-31T02:03:43ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Ashtadhatu&diff=487967&oldid=prevRucsy at 23:59, 13 July 20252025-07-13T23:59:26Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:DSC09822 Shri Shakti Devi temple Chamba.jpg|thumb| An ashtadhatu image of [[Parvati]] of the 8th century, [[Chamba, Himachal Pradesh|Himachal Pradesh]]]]{{Short description|Alloy of eight metals in Hindu and Jain iconography}}<br />
'''Ashtadhatu''' ({{Langx|sa|अष्टधातु|lit=eight metals|translit=Aṣṭadhātu}}), also called '''octo-alloy''', is an alloy comprising the eight metals of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin, iron, and mercury,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tG0fnF0VRk0C&dq=Ashtadhatu&pg=PA163 Social, Cultural, and Economic History of Himachal Pradesh]. Manjit Singh Ahluwalia. Indus Publishing. 1998 p. 163.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stutley |first=Margaret |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQWQDwAAQBAJ&dq=a%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%ADadh%C4%81tu&pg=PT69 |title=The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography |date=2019-04-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-62425-4 |pages=69 |language=en}}</ref> often used for casting metallic [[Murti|idols]] for [[Jain]] and [[Hindu]] temples in India.<br />
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The composition is laid down in the ''[[Shilpa shastras|Shilpa Shastras]]'', a collection of ancient texts that describe arts, crafts, and their design rules, principles and standards. Ashtadhatu is used because it is considered [[Sattva|sattivik]] (virtuous or pure) in [[Hinduism]], and does not decay, and it is also restricted to the production of images for the deities [[Kubera]], [[Vishnu]], [[Krishna]], [[Rama]], [[Kartikeya]], and the goddesses [[Durga]] and [[Lakshmi]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} <br />
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Its traditional composition, all eight metals are in equal proportion (12.5% each).{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}[[File:Ashtadhatu Shivlingam.jpg|alt=Ashtadhatu Shivling|thumb|An ashtadhatu [[Lingam|Shivalinga]] made by the Dhumra Gems company. It consists of all eight metals in equal proportion: gold, silver, copper, mercury, iron, lead, zinc, and tin.]]<br />
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==See also==<br />
* {{annotated link|Panchaloha}}<br />
* {{annotated link|High-entropy alloys}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
[[Category:Hindu iconography]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu symbols]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu worship]]<br />
[[Category:Precious metal alloys]]<br />
[[Category:Lead alloys]]<br />
[[Category:Tin alloys]]<br />
[[Category:Zinc alloys]]<br />
[[Category:Copper alloys]]<br />
[[Category:Ferrous alloys]]</div>Rucsy