Once, the wise ones spoke of the nature and examination of precious gems, beginning with the diamond, most brilliant among stones. They observed that a diamond, even if at first perfect and endowed with every virtue, may later acquire a flaw once it is set into a piece of jewelry. For this reason, it was taught that a woman who desires to bear a noble son should refrain from wearing a diamond, regardless of its apparent quality. The skillful, they said, can create imitations of diamonds using iron, red spinel, or hessonite. To distinguish the true from the false, experts would test these stones against crystal, corundum, and whetstones. A genuine diamond will scratch all these materials, but none of them can mar its surface. In contrast, a false diamond will be scratched by these substances, as experts have explained. Indeed, only another diamond can scratch a diamond; nothing else can affect its hardness. When a diamond is set, its luster does not rise upward, and when scratched sideways, it is struck only upon its sides. Even if the diamond’s tip is broken, or if it bears a spot, a line, or some discoloration, a king who wears such a diamond—gleaming like a flash of lightning—still finds it pleasing. Thus concluded the sixty-eighth chapter, entitled “Description of the Examination of Diamonds and Other Gems,” from the Ācārakāṇḍa of the first section of the great Purāṇa, Śrī Garuḍa. Then, the discourse turned to pearls, which are said to arise from many wondrous sources: elephants, clouds, boars, conch shells, fish, serpents, oysters, and bamboo. Yet, among all these, the true origin of a gem is always established in only one place. Pearls are known to be produced from the skin, from salt, from serpents, from whales, and from conch shells and boars. Thus, eight types of pearls are declared by those skilled in the discernment of gems. A pearl from a conch shell takes on the color of its origin, is large, and possesses a pleasing, rounded shape. Those known as ‘kambavaḥ’ come from the lineage of the best conch—especially one touched at its mouth by a bowstring. Among these, a pearl may arise that is round, pale in color, and lacking in luster. Pearls are also born in the mouths of aquatic creatures, with such fish dwelling in the middle of the ocean. On rare occasions, a pearl appears on earth that is remarkable, resembling a boar. Pearls from bamboo are found only in places enjoyed by divine beings, not in ordinary locations. These possess a radiance like perfectly washed silver and a brilliance equal to the edge of a sword. Some pearls, endowed with luster, arise from the heads of serpents, produced by the virtuous. When a great protective ritual is performed, it is done atop a mansion, and the sky is adorned with treasures that hang down, weighed by the clouds. If the pearl born from the serpent’s head remains within its hood, it may be harmed by others. Its radiance, shining in all directions, is like the sun, and its disk appears as if manifest in the sky itself. Just as it blazes during the day, it dispels even the deepest darkness of night. Such a pearl’s value, it is said, cannot be determined—not even if the whole earth were filled with gold. Whoever possesses it enjoys dominion over the entire earth, free from rivals, for as long as that pearl remains with him. For a thousand yojanas in all directions, it wards off every misfortune. Among the many colors of pearls, the purest is like the color of milk from the best of cows. The seed of this pearl, which may have come from other origins, enters the oyster; when streams of milk-water rain down upon it, the seed, resting within the oyster, becomes a pearl. These are the pearls known from Simhalika, Paralaukika, Saurashtra, Tamraparna, and Parashava. Pearls born from oysters are not inferior in color, and are distinguished by their size, shape, quality, and luster. A wise person, when judging pearls produced from mines, should not be distracted by peculiarities, but should focus on their form and size. Of an oyster-born, lustrous pearl, and another that is slightly less in weight: if it is short by half a māṣa, its value is reduced by two-fifths. But if it exceeds by half a māṣa or by two māṣas, its value increases a thousand and three hundred times. Thus, the sages revealed the subtle secrets of diamonds and pearls, treasures of the earth and ocean, for the benefit of all who seek their wisdom.