Cosmetics, Costumes and Ornaments in Ancient India
by Remadevi. O. | 2009 | 54,177 words
This page relates ‘Pharmaceutical use of Nail Polish’ of the study on cosmetics, costumes and ornaments of ancient India based on Sanskrit sources. Chapter one deals with cosmetics and methods of enhancing beauty; Chapter two deals with costumes, garments and dresses; Chapter three deals with ornaments for humans and animals. Each chapter deals with their respective materials, types, preparation and trade, as prevalent in ancient Indian society.
2.5. Pharmaceutical use of Nail Polish
Nail caring was treated as an art. Like today, fashionable men grew their nail and shaped it into the teeth of a saw. They kept their nails clean and painted. In Kuṭṭanīmata[1] we have reference to men dyeing their nails with Vṛścika, which is supposed to be Kurabaka or Raktapunarnava, a flower that produces a red juice. In Kāmasūtra[2], we meet with the daily life of a Nāgaraka, who was very careful about his nails.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Caraka-saṃhitā, v.67