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The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c15.s2: Ornaments

The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c15.s2

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English

Ornaments

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The reader must have seen that on the whole the dress of Hindu women was simple. Simplicity, however, did not characterise their tastes in the realm of ornaments. Since very early times they have been fond of wearing very brilliant and artistic ornaments in quantities that cannot be described as meagre. Men, however, are to a large extent responsible for the development of this taste among women ; for a reader of the Vedic literature or a student of ancient sculptures and paintings will find it difficult to decide as to who was fonder of ornaments, men or women. Men used to vie with women in the number of ornaments to be worn on their person. They seem to have lagged behind them only in the case of the ornaments on the forehead, which were generally used by women alone. This fondness for ornaments was to some extent a natural consequence of the general prosperous condition of our motherland in these days.

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In the Vedic age bangles were worn both on hands and feet by men and women¹. Their number was probably a large one ; whether they reached right up to the elbow or the knee, as they did in the case of one figurine discovered at Mohenjo Daro² and in numerous images and sculptures of the ancient and medieval period, we do not know. Rings were used on fingers. Shoulders were not neglected; they had their own ornaments, which must obviously have been large in size¹. Necklaces of gold and precious stones were used on the neck; they used to reach down to the chest². Earrings (*karṇaśobhana*) are also referred to³. An ornament called *kumbha* was worn on the head; we do not know its precise size or nature⁴.

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¹ *R. V.*, V, 54, 11; I, 168, 3.

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² Kramrisch, *Indian Sculpture*, pl. I, 4.

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¹ अंसेष्वा वः पप्रथेषु खाद‌यः । *R. V.*, I, 166, 9.

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² *R. V.*, V, 54, 11; I, 122, 14.

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³ *Ibid.*

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⁴ कुरीर मस्य शीर्षणि कुम्भं चाधिनिबध्मसि । *A. V.*, VI, 138, 3.

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Gold, silver and precious stones were the chief material for these ornaments. Pearls are referred to in one passage in a very late Brāhamaṇa work⁵. The Aryans could have become familiar with them only when they reached the sea in course of time.

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⁵ *Shaḍviṁśa Brāhmaṇa*, V, 6.

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Sculptures, paintings and the *Nāṭyaśāstra* of Bharata throw a flood of light on the nature and number of different ornaments used by our women in the early centuries of the Christian era. It is not at all possible to describe them in detail in words. One can get an adequate idea of them only from their representations in sculptures and paintings. More than half a dozen different ornaments, partly made of gold and partly of pearls, and variously described as *śikhāpāśa*, *sikhājāla*, *muktājāla*, etc., were used to adorn the head and the forehead. One can get an adequate idea of their nature and gracefulness only by studying them in Ajanta paintings. The designs of earrings were very graceful. The variety in the nature of necklaces of gold and pearls is indeed striking. The *Nāṭyaśāstra* refers to four types of zones (XXIII, 27); but sculptures prove beyond any doubt that the old sage Bharata was not up-to-date in his knowledge on the point. A gauzy pearl ornament was used over the breasts. Bharata refers to an ornament to be worn over thighs called *pādapatra* (XXIII, 141); it seems to have been made of pearls, as may be gathered from a painting of Māyādevī in Cave No. 2 at Ajanta¹. This ornament seems to have now gone out of fashion. Shoulders were adorned with *keyūras*, of which there were several types. Nor was the portion just above the elbow neglected. The number of bangles worn on the hand was very large; in Bengal they were often joined together so as to form a composite ornament reaching almost to the elbow². The fashion at Ajanta, however, prescribed only a few bangles for the hand. They were often set with pearls or diamonds. The number of bangles worn on the feet was a large one; some of them used to produce a gingling sound, when their wearers were in motion.

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¹ Yazdani, *Ajanta*, part II, Pl. XX.

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² Bhattasali, *Iconography*, Plates XIX, XX.

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The fashions of dressing the hair were as numerous as graceful. An examination of the paintings at Ajanta will be an eye-opener even to the most fashionable ladies of the present generation. These fashions can be better seen in the original than described in words. It is customary at present to talk of Orissa as a backward province. The fashions of hair-dressing current there twelve hundred years ago were, however, so varied and graceful, that even the most fashionable cinema stars of Bombay and Calcutta may immensely add to their popularity by imitating some of them.

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Six of these fashions have been illustrated on the accompanying plate (See Pl. VIII), which has been prepared with the help of some of the woodcuts published by the late Dr. Rajendralal Mittra in his Indo-Aryans, Vol. I. A glance at the plate will show that the beauties of Orissa were not content with the quantity of hair, which nature had given to them ; they used to add some padding or stuffing or false or borrowed hair to increase its mass, so as to render the different hair-arrangements possible. Some ladies used to arrange the hair in gradually receding tiers (See Pl. VIII, A), some used to turn them up in a fantastic cone, curling and twisting upwards behind the head and kept in its position, probably by means of a wire concealed within (See Pl. VIII, B). Some used to arrnage them in two artistic bundles hanging on either side of the head (See Pl. VIII, C), while others used to add a third one perched just at the top of their crown (See Pl. VIII, D). Pearl strings were liberally used to help the hair to retain its new shape and configuration (See Pl. VIII, A, B, C, D, E). But perhaps the most interesting fashion is the one illustrated by Pl. VIII, F. Here we find the hair arranged into six braids and then twisted up into six rays, kept into an erect position either by means of wax, or with the help of sticks or wires enclosed within. There were numerous other fashions in vogue ; they can be ascertained only from a careful study of ancient and medieval sculptures and paintings.

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Ointments were used not only for the eyes but also for the lips and teeth¹. Sandal paste and saffron powder were used for the face and the breasts. Different types of dyes and ointments were used for decorating hands, feet, fingers and toes. A streak of Sindhūra on the head or a circular mark of Kumkuma on the forehead was made by maidens and women in coverture. This was regarded as an indispensable sign of *saubhāgya* or married bliss. Inscriptions often describe how valorous kings used to kill their opponents and deprive their wives of the use of Sindhūra¹. Women were leading a simple ascetic life during their widowhood. The use of ornaments or embroidered clothes was therefore out of question for them. While describing the achievements of their heroes, the authors of inscriptions often state how the bracelets of the wives of their enemies dropped off along with their neckalces.

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¹ नेत्रयोरञ्जनं कार्यमधरस्य च रञ्जनम् । दन्तानां विविधा रागाश्च_र्णा शुक्लता तथा ॥ *Nāṭyaśāstra*, 23, 20.

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¹ यस्यानाने शरदखण्डशशप्रसन्ने कोपं व्यनक्ति हृदयस्थमरिप्रियाणां । सिन्दूरभूषणविवर्जितमास्यपङ्केरुहंसुकृशाश्रवलयं चपण्डलब्ध ॥ Khajuraho Incription, 953 A. D., *E. I.*, I, p. 129.

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It is interesting to point out here that among the numerous ornaments described by poets and illustrated by sculptors and painters, the nose-ring and toe-ring are conspicuous by their absence. This is rather surprising, because both of them are at present regarded as indispensable for a woman with her husband living. The omission of the toe-ring may have been accidental, as it is otherwise not a very prominent or valuable ornament. But the case of the nose-ring is quite different. It is a very important ornament. It is in use in all provinces at present. It is regarded as a sign of *saubhāgya* or married bliss. Till recently every bride used to get it at the time of her marriage. Women of the old fashion would never go out without wearing it. And yet we find that Bharata does not mention it in his exhaustive list of the ornaments of women given by him in the 23rd chapter of his *Nāṭyaśāstra*. Ornaments for almost every limb are to be found in this list, but there is no mention of the nose-ring for the nose. Sanskrit poets and dramatists also show no acquaintance with the ornament. In fact there is no word in Sanskrit language to denote it. Words for the ornament in modern vernaculars cannot be derived from any Sanskrit original. The word *vesara* used for the ornament by a section of Hindi-speaking population is of unknown origin. The word *vāḷi* used by the Gujaratis is of a secondary origin ; it originally denotes a *valaya* or circular ornament, and is secondarily used to denote the nose-ring because of its circular shape. The words *natha*, *nathia*, *nathni*, *naththā*, *nathnag*, etc., which are used to denote the ornament in different vernaculars of India, are all derived from the Prakrit word *natthā*, which denotes the string passed through the nose of an animal in order to control it with ease. It does not denote any nose ornament at all in any Prakrit or Apabhraṁśa language. It has no prototype of its own in Sanskrit.

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At Udayagiri and Bhuvanesvara in Orissa, at Bodhagaya and Patna in Bihar, at Bharhut and Sanchi in Central India, at Mathura in U. P., at Taxila in the Punjab, at Ajanta, Elora and Badami in the Deccan, at Amaravati in Madras presidency, we have found several sculptures and paintings of women who are overloaded with a rich variety of ornaments all over their body. The nose-ring is, however, nowhere to be seen (See Pls. III, and IV). These sculptures and paintings are spread over almost all the centuries of the first millennium of the Christian era. It is therefore clear that the nose-ring was unknown throughout the whole of India during the entire Hindu period. Hindu sculptures of Puri and Rajputana of the post-Muslim period begin to show the nose-ring for the first time. Both the positive and the negative evidence thus shows that the the nose-ring is not a Hindu ornament. It seems to have been clearly borrowed from the Mahomedans. It is indeed a mystery how this ornament of foreign origin should have come to be regarded as the most important insignia of *saubhāgya*.

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We have now finished our general survey of the dress and ornaments of Hindu women. To some extent it will be also helpful in understanding the general position of women in society. Nature has endowed women with a more artistic and aesthetic temparament than men. All over the world they therefore generally take immense interest in personal decoration by wearing attractive dress and fine ornaments. Hindu society had recognised this fact and given full lattitude to women in this respect. Hindu women had never any ground to complain that their natural tastes and inclinations in the sphere of dress and ornaments were thwarted by an insufficient provision in the family budget. The atmosphere in society was such that the Hindu wife could generally carry out most of her plans about the purchase of ornaments and jewelry, even if her husband were somewhat lukewarm in the matter. The theory of her perpetual tutelage, which we shall discuss in detail in the next chapter, did not stand in her way in this matter.

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The modern economist may perhaps regret that so much money should have been locked up in the unremunerative investment in ornaments. It is, however, to be noted that there were not many safe and productive sources of investment in the past. It may be further pointed out that from the purely woman’s point of view, the habit of investing a large part of family saving in ornaments was a desirable development. For a long time women were denied the right to have a share in the immoveable property ot the family, as shown already in Chapter VIII (*ante*, pp. 267-8). As far as the moveables like ornaments and jewelry were concerned, they were allowed to have a complete sway over them. Ornaments worn by a woman during coverture, and intended really for her alone, constituted her Strīdhana, and could not be taken away from her by coparceners¹. The more the amount invested in the ornaments, the stronger therefore became the economic position of the wife. The hardships of a scheme of inheritance under which the widow was for a long time not recognised as an heir to her husband’s immoveable property, were considerably neutralised by this habit of investing a large part of the family savings in ornaments. Ornaments in fact were in the past what an insurance policy is in modern days. The large amounts invested in them have enabled thousands of Hindu women to tide over difficult times.

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¹ पत्यौ जीवति यः स्त्रीभिरलङ्कारो धृतो भवेत् ।

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न तं भजेरन्दायादा भजमानाः पतन्ति ते ॥ *Manu*, IX, 200.

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