Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.t20: Flowers, Perfumes and Cosmetics

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.t20

Language
English

Flowers, Perfumes and Cosmetics

c9.t20.1

Flowers were grown in large quantities as we have seen. The garland-makers made beautiful garlands and bouquets,220 which are described as filling the ten quarters with their delightful fragrance and charmingly interwoven with fragrant flowers of all seasons and of various colours, attracting swarms of bees221 producing sweet sounds. We hear of Ajjunaya, a garland-maker who had a flower-garden (pupp'ārāma) in Rāyagiha where flowers of fine colours were grown Ajjunaya used to go to the garden every day with his flower-basket (patthiya : piḍaga) to gather flowers and sell them on the high-road of the town.²²² Pupphachajjiya, pupphapaḍalaga, pupphacangerī are mentioned as flower baskets.²²³

c9.t20.2

²²² Anta, 3. p 31 f.

c9.t20.3

²²³ Rāya sū 23, also cf. Āva. cū. II, p. 62.

c9.t20.4

Various kinds of garlands (malla : dāma) are mentioned which were made from grass, muñja, reeds (vetta), madana flowers, peacock feathers (piñcha), cotton stalk, horns, conch-shells, bones, bhiṇḍa (Abelmoschus Esculentus), wood, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and green grass. The five-coloured garlands of virana grass were made in Mathurā and were worn at the time of cohabitation.²²⁴ Flower-crests (mauḍa) were also known.²²⁵ The doors were decorated with garlands and wreaths at the time of the wedding-ceremony and on other special occasions.

c9.t20.5

²²⁴ Nisī cū 7, p. 464.

c9.t20.6

²²⁵ Das cū. 2, p. 76.

c9.t20.7

Mention is made of bathing-towels (ullaṇiyā), tooth-sticks (dantavana), oily substances (abbhaṅgaṇa), fragrant unguents (uvvaṭṭana), baths (majjana), clothes (vattha), ointments (vilevana) flowers, ornaments, incense and mouth-perfume (muhavāsa).²²⁶

c9.t20.8

²²⁶ Uvā. 1

c9.t20.9

Perfumes and essential oils were prepared. The oils were prepared from atasi, kusumba and sarisava.²²⁷ Oil was also obtained from the mountain Maru. Sayapāga and sahassapāga were medicinal oils prepared by boiling them a hundred times or a thousand times with the concoction of some medicinal herbs. Other nourishing and exhilarating fragrant oils were known which gave relief to the body. The application of sandalwood paste was very common; various kinds of scented water were known.²²⁸ Perfumes of sweet scents from Dardara and Malaya are mentioned.²²⁹

c9.t20.10

²²⁷ Āva cū. II, p 319

c9.t20.11

²²⁸ Ovā Sū 31, p 121 f The Divyāvadāna (XXVII, p 403) refers to milk, saffron, camphor and various aromatic herbs to perfume the water.

c9.t20.12

²²⁹ Nāyā Sū 1, p 30 Also see Rāmāyaṇa, II. 91 24.

c9.t20.13

Then there is mention of kottha,²³⁰ tagara (Tabernaemontana Coronarea), elā (the bark of cinnamon), coya (cardamom), campā, damaṇa, kuṃkuma, (saffron), candana (sandal-wood), usīra (the fragrant root of the plant Andropogon Muricatus), maruā, jālī, jūhyā, malliyā, nhānamalliyā, ketagī, pādalī, nemāliyā, aguru (aloe), lavanga (clove), vāsa (Gendarussa Vulgaris) and kappūra (camphor) as fragrant substance.²³¹

c9.t20.14

²³⁰ Kotta (kustha) or ‘costus’ has been mentioned in the Atharvaveda. It is said to have grown in the snowy mountains of the north and thence been taken to the people in the eastern art It still grows in the same region, i e, Kashmīr as mentioned in the Atharvaveda (Dr. Motichand, J of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, VIII, 1940, p. 71)

c9.t20.15

²³¹ Rāya Sū 39, p 91.

c9.t20.16

Incense was burnt in the shrines, sleeping chambers and in the cities. Dhūvakaducchuya and dhūvaghaḍī are mentioned as incense pots.²³²

c9.t20.17

²³² Nāyā 8, 96; Rāya. Su 100, also see Girija Prasanna Majumdar's article on Toilet in the Indian Culture, I, 1-4, p. 658 f.

c9.t20.18

Perfumes and various other articles were sold in the markets ; perfumers' shops (gandhiyasālā)²³³ were also common in those times..

c9.t20.19

²³³ Vya. Bhā. 9 23, cf ten kinds of gandhas mūla, sāra, pheggu, taca, papatikā, rasa, puppha phala, patta and gandha (Paramatthadīpanī, the com. on the Udāna. p 300)

c9.t20.20

The feet were rubbed, kneaded (samvāha), stroked (palimaddana), painted (raya), smeared (makkha) and anointed (abblunga) with oil, ghee, or marrow ; they were rubbed (ullodha) and shampooed (uvvala) with lodhra, ground drugs (kakka), powder (cunna) or dye (vanna), washed with hot or cold water, anointed with ointment and perfumed with incense.²³⁴

c9.t20.21

²³⁴ Ācā, II, 13 395, also Brh. Bhā 5 6035.

c9.t20.22

Then among the articles of toilets and cosmetics of women mention may be made of collyrium box (añjanī),²³⁵ lodhra-powder, lodhra-flowers, pills (guliyā), kustha, tagara, agaru²³⁶ pounded with usīra, oil for anointing the face and lip-salve (nandicunna). Myrobalans (āmalaga), stick to paint the mark upon the forehead (tilakaraṇi), pin to apply collyrium²³⁷ to the eyes (añjanalāgā), pincers (sandāsaga), comb (phantha), ribbon to bind up the hair (sīhalipāsaga), looking glass (ādamsaga), areca nut (pāyaphala) and betel (tambolaya)²³⁸

c9.t20.23

²³⁵ also see Rāmāyaṇa II. 91. 76

c9.t20.24

²³⁶ It was well stocked in the Mauryan treasury for the purpose of making perfume, incense, etc. Aloe-wood is a large ever green tree of Sylhet and Tenassarim, Dr Motichand, op cit, p 85, also see Arthaśāstra, p 80

c9.t20.25

²³⁷ In the Mahāvagga (VI. 11 1) five kinds of eye-ointment or collyrium are mentioned ; black collyrium, 'rasa' ointments, 'sota' ointment obtained from the streams and rivers, 'geruka' and 'kahalla' or soot obtained from the flame of a lamp

c9.t20.26

²³⁸ Sāya 4 2 7 ff, for tambul see Girya Prasanna Majumdar's article on Food in the Indian Culture I, 1-4, p 419.

Linked texts (3)