[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.s18.52 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s18.52 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s18.52 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.s18.52](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s18.52) Dant, Danta, ‘tooth,’ is frequently mentioned from the Rigveda onwards.¹ Cleansing (\*dhāv\*) the teeth was an ordinary act, especially in preparation for a sacrifice, and accompanied bathing, shaving of the hair and beard (\*keśa-śmaśru\*), and the cutting of the nails.² A hymn of the Atharvaveda³ celebrates the appearance of the first two teeth of a child, though its exact interpretation is doubtful.⁴ In the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa⁵ there is a reference to a child’s first teeth falling out. The word seems in the Rigveda⁶ once to denote an elephant’s tusk. Whether dentistry was practised is doubtful. The occurrence in the Aitareya Āraṇyaka⁷ of Hiraṇya-dant, ‘gold-toothed,’ as the name of a man, is perhaps significant, especially as it is certain that the stopping of teeth with gold was known at Rome as early as the legislation of the Twelve Tables.⁸ - [Previous: v1.c3.s18.51](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s18.51) - [Next: v1.c3.s18.53](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s18.53) - [Up: v1.c3.s18](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s18) ## Linked texts (3) - [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya) — Mahidāsa Aitareya, Sanskrit - [Aitareyāraṇyaka](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.aranyaka.aitareya) — Sanskrit - [Ṛgvedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.rg) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s18.52](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s18.52) · Pramāṇa