The Song of the Anklet
Dr. Alka Pande
Consultant Art Advisor and Curator India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
India Keywords: Indian Erotic Literature, Anklet, Sculpture, Pleasure, Desire, Sensuality, Erotic, Spiritual, Devadasi, Bhakti Literature
The anklet or nupura significantly finds its presence in the Indian literary tradition. Its first reference is found in the Indian classical text titled Cilappatikaram meaning The Song of the Anklet by Tamil poet Ilango Adigal. Considered to be one of the first Indian feminist treatises, Cilappatikaram opens the woman’s world of marriage, courtesans, eros and eroticism. The anklet, an ornament fondly worn by woman, is insignia of the Indian goddess Pattini, which comes with interesting anecdotes in the Indian cultural history and literature. The anklet is also the solah shringara or sixteen love charms ­ a gift of the Indian Goddess Lakshmi to a woman to arouse her husband. It would not be an exaggeration to say that throughout the world history the woman interestingly saddles between the epithet of Goddess and Courtesan. The binaries for instance: pious/ erotic, sacred/profane have significantly worked to construct the identity of a woman. To trace the same within the milieu of Indian context would bring us to do close readings ­ across multi­disciplines­ of literature and sculpture. To start, the paper shall trace the field of eroticism with the text Kamasutra, pioneer in the field of eroticism. Replete with the taste of eroticism, the classical literary texts titled Amarushatkam, poetry by Kalidasa and Ksetrayya would be critically interrogated to highlight the nuances of eroticism. The notions of Indian beauty have been drawn from Saundarya Shastra1, a compendium of the ideas of philosophers, poets, aestheticians, dancers, musicians, and religious texts. At the base of the pyramid is Natya Shastra2, written by Bharata Muni between 200 BCE and 200 CE, in which is embodied the first written canvas of the performance and appreciation of beauty or the shringara rasa. Navarasas or nine rasa are generally listed in the many texts on the subject. Bharata Muni, however, in his Natya Shastra, speaks only of eight: shringara (erotic), hasya (comic), karuna (tragic), raudra (furious), vira (heroic), bhayanaka (terrible), bibhatsa (odious) and adbhuta 1
(marvelous). Later writers added the ninth rasa: shanta (quiescent or peaceful), which was not recognized as a rasa in earlier texts as it was considered to be devoid of emotion. The paper will focus primarily on shringara rasa, also known as rasaraja or the king of all rasas. Shringara rasa is about beauty, adornment, embellishment and love – sexual love or kama, maternal love or vatsalya, coming down to friendship or salshi bhava – a metaphor for love toward God, or the union of atma and paratma, represented in the Riti Poetry of the medieval period. The expression of shringara rasa in Indian art and literature also bear a strong link with nature, and women are often associated with natural elements. Women are classified into three types according to their physical characteristics, more precisely according to the depth of their yoni (vaginas) and given animal attributes: they are either mrigis (deers), vadavas (mares) or hastinis (female elephants) and this determines the attributes of their ideal partners. This classification is one of the earliest examples of the long­running parallel drawn between the feminine appearance and the natural elements in Indian literature and art. From the earliest times, Indian art, philosophy and literature have not only been preoccupied with, but in many ways obsessed with shringara rasa, or the erotic flavor. Bharata, for example, recognizes shringara as a primary emotion, one which gives rise to a myriad of other human emotions. The word erotica has its root in the Greek word “eros” which means passionate and sensual love, and is also the name for the Greek god of love. The Hindus in North India call him Kama, as in the ancient Indian treatise Kama Sutra3 written between 400 BCE and 200 CE. In his long poem Ritusamhara (“Medley of seasons”), written in 5th century BCE, the ancient poet Kalidas depicts the six seasons of the Hindu year as a metaphor to express the lover’s changing feelings toward each other. The erotic metaphors are taken to their heights and repeated parallels are drawn with the world of nature – the rising moon awakens love in the hearts of women seeking their lovers, the lovelorn heroine is sad when the mango flower blossoms and sheds tears in remembrance of her beloved.
“Stay for a while over the thickets haunted by the girl of the hill­folk,
Then press on with faster pace, having shed your load of water,
And you will see the Naramada river, scattered in torrents,
2
By the rugged rocks at the foot of the Vindhyas”4
The Yakshis, or female tree spirits, are classical figures in Indian art. The earliest known sculpted figure of a Yakshi is the Didarganj Yakhsi, also referred to as the Chauri (fly­whisk) bearer, one of the finest specimens of Mauryan art, from the 3rd century BCE. She has prominent breasts, broad hips and narrow waist, which are considered to be classical features of Indian beauty even today. We find other occurrences of Yakshis in the bracket figures of the gateways of the Great Stupa in Sanchi, commissioned by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC. The type of women trees spirits found there, known as Shalabhanjika Yakshi (literally, the yakshi who is breaking a branch of the Shala tree) serves as a fertility symbol associated with the spirit of the tree and earth to ensure the auspiciousness of the site where the stupa is built. They are typical and early examples of women as natural beauties.
A famous example of shringara rasa in Indian literature is the Gita Govinda (“Song of Govinda”), a work composed by the 12th century poet Jayaveda, and which is sung in many temples dedicated to Krishna still until today. This poem delineates the relationship between Krishna and the gopis (female cow herders), and in particular the love of Krishna for Radha, his faithlessness and subsequent return to her, and is taken as symbolical of the human soul's straying from its true allegiance but returning at length to the God which created it. In the passage quoted above, Radha is expressing her changing feelings, in relation to the environment surrounding her. “Sweat of love wets his cheeks
His bewildered face is smiling
When Krishna sees me watching him
Playing in the forest
In a crowd of village beauties
I feel the joy of desire
Wind from a lakeside garden
Coaxing buds on new Asoka Branches
Into cluster soft scarlet flowers
Is only fanning the flames to burn me
This mountain
Of new mango blossoms
Humming with roving bumblebees
3
Is no comfort to me now, friend”5
The Riti Poetry, which developed in the 17th century, gave predominance to the erotic element. Most of the Riti works are also devoted to Krishna, but with a particular emphasis on the erotic aspects of his life. The great poet Keshavadas was a pioneer in the Riti literary style and in his famous treatise on erotic love, Rasikapriya (c.1590), the expression of shringara comes to the fore in the poet’s description of the Vasakasajja nayika or the heroine “dressed up for union”: “O Friend, the Nayika, resembling the flame of the lamp, ran to hide herself in the grove of sandal trees entwined by lovely clove creepers of undimmed leaves where she conceals the lustre of her limbs in her blue garment. Startled on hearing the sound of wind, water, birds and animals, she looks around with eagerness for union with her beloved. Waiting for Krishna in the bower she looks like a cage bird.6”
From the simplistic yearnings of a lover to the high­pitched longing of the bhakti, where both the object and subject are feminine in the form of nayika (heroine) and devi (divine), the exultation of love has been centered on the female form. Women are described as the ecstatic revelation of an external feature – haunting melodies and glorious sunsets, a lovely rustic belle flaunting her robust charms, wearing a necklace of strikingly colorful beads, her dark eyes smeared with kohl. Keshavadas in his Rasikapriya gives a wonderful description of such a woman: “Her eyebrows dance with pleasure filled,
Her lips, her waist at last has robbed;
Her voice now agitated is,
And with shyness her eyes do pause:
In movement now she knows no rest,
You may demure to meet her friend,
But youth has made her ripening breast,
And driven out her ignorance.”7
India is a land where beauty can be found in every shade of life. So innate is the concept of shringara and ornamentation in the life of people, that there is hardly any ornament, embellishment or form of decoration that does not have a deeper symbolism. Complementing this viewpoint is the conventional belief that the female form epitomizes the ideal beauty and mystery inherent in nature. The word alamkara, which refers to adorning and decorating, literally means “to make enough”; the simple 4
appearance without ornaments is therefore “not enough”, and women must be careful not to undermine any aspects of their appearance. The process of adornment of the female form was canonized by categorizing it into sixteen different ornaments that covered the body form from head to toe. This ornamentation was called solah shringara and in Hindu Philosophy, it corresponded with the sixteen phases of the life of the moon, which in turn was connected with a woman’s menstrual cycle8. This parallel is yet another indication of the deep connection that was believed to exist between the microcosm and the macrocosm, with the feminine physiognomy becoming a part of the larger and all­encompassing rhythm of nature. The sixteen ornaments were the following : the Bindi (ornamental dot placed at the centre of the forehead); the Sindoor (vermillion powder applied by married Hindu women in the parting of the hair), the Tika (a chain that is worn in parting the hair); the Anjana (the black eye make­up or kohl); the Nath (nose­ring); the Haar (necklace); the Karnaphool (ear­flower); The Mehndi (henna); The Baajuband (armband); the Arsi (Thumb ring with mirror); the Keshapasharachna (coiffure); the Kamarband (ornamental Girdle); the Payal (anklet) and Toe rings; the Itra (perfume); and finally the bridal dress9. We can find many representations of the body adorned from pre­modern India up to nowadays. Beautiful examples of the women adorned can be found in the famous sculpted figures of Khajuraho, sometimes referred to as “sura sundaris”, from the 12th century. These beautiful girls carved on the outside panels are found combing their hair, watching themselves in a mirror, putting kohl or painting the sole of their feet. They epitomize the adorned woman, paying much attention to their physical appearance and wearing many feminine attributes. The canonical figure of the sculpted woman, as embodied by the early “Chauri Bearer” from the Mauryan period, has a bare torso with a necklace falling between her breasts, diaphanous lower garments falling across her broad hips and wears heavy anklets and bracelets. These attributes will last and be reinterpreted all throughout Indian art history. The beauty in the art of dancing is centred in the body, but its perception transcends the body, achieving a spiritual statement of this beauty, submerging the material view in the abstract saundarya. From the earliest times man’s deepest creative impulses, religious urges, emotions and sensibilities have found expression in the rhythms and movements of his body. In the Indian tradition, dance is a means of attaining liberation through sadhana or the discipline required to perfect it. And it is in this constant attempt to express the core of all human emotions, from joy and passion to anger and fury, through the gestures and movements of the human body that offers the path to creative and spiritual fulfilment. 5
The concept of sixteen adornments perhaps crystallised between 11th to 15th centuries, though before that a few of the adornments for a woman were prevalent.10 Valabhdev in Subhashitawali (15th century) in the following order:
1. manjan (toothpaste)
2. cheer vastra (attire)
3. har (garland)
4. tilak (mark on the forehead)
5. netranjan (black ointment in the eyes)
6. kundal (earring)
7. nasamauktik (ornament in the nose)
8. keshpash rachna (hairdo)
9. kanchuk (adornment of bosom)
10. nupur (anklet)
11. sugandha angrag (fragrant pastes)
12. kanchan (ornament for hand)
13. charan rag mahavar (vermilion)
14. jhanakti mekhla, kardhani (girdle)
15. tambul (betel leaf)
16. kardarpan (a small mirror in the hand)
However, the established embellishments of shringara, which are usually associated with Indian weddings, are the following sixteen.
1. bindi (dot on the forehead): Bindi derived from Sanskrit word bindu is an ornamental 2.
3.
4.
5.
dot placed at the centre of the forehead, slightly above the point between the eyes. This is believed to be the spot of the mystical third eye, supposed to endow a person with wisdom, institution, and an insight into divine knowledge. sindoor or vermillion powder is traditionally applied by Hindu women in the parting of the hair. The bright red colour is symbolic of a woman’s procreative powers. maangtika worn in the parting of hair is made up of a chain with a hook at one end, it bears a pendant that rests in the centre of the forehead. The particular spot known as ajna chakra becomes site of preservation­ preserver of human race.
anjana (kohl) is used to accentuate the beauty of eyes­ an important facial feature that combines the power of the erotic and the emotional.
nath (nose ring): The organ of smell, the nose is also symbol associated with emotional responses related to sexual reflexes. Traditionally the nath was given by the husband’s parents to the wife, and signified her virginity. 6
6. haar (necklace): According to the occult, the neck is an important centre and necklaces are known to have occupied an important position amongst ornaments since the time immemorial. To begin with, its proximity to the heart lent credence to the power of pendant that worked to protect, inspire emotion, bring luck and avert the evil eye.
7. karnaphool: Long earlobes have traditionally been regarded as a sign of spiritual and intellectual advancement­ as seen in Homer, Aristotle and the Buddha. On a more decorative level, all over the world earlobes are pierced for people to wear earrings: serves as a talismanic deterrent.
8. mehendi: mehendi ritual has various levels of significance­ talisman, keeping away all evil spirits from the wearer. In traditional societies, marriages are scheduled to coincide with ovulation and the dark red of henna becomes symbolic of blood and breaking of the hymen. 9. kangana (wrist ornament): bangles can be found adorning the hands of women in every region of India. Symbols of femininity and beauty, they symbolize the potent energy of the sun. 10. Baajuband (armlet): tied to the upper arm and is often meant to work as an amulet and keep away the evil eye.
11. arsi (thumb ring with mirror): the special ring is made for the thumb and has a mirror set in its centre. This small mirror provides women, especially brides, an opportunity to check their appearance.
12. keshapasharachna (coiffure): the ideal coiffure is hair modeled to heighten the forehead with kumkum in the parting and flower around the joora or bun. Plaiting has special relevance among the Hindus since the three strands of hair are believed to represent the coming together of the three most venerated rivers: Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. 13. kamarband (girdle): decorative element to the waist while simultaneously fulfilling the utility if holding the lower garment.
14. payal (anklet): apart from embellishments, in certain tribes women wear anklets to frighten away snakes and insects when they walk outdoors, and also in a less flattering sense, to enable their husbands to keep an eye on their whereabouts.
15. itra: almost four centuries ago, Noor Jehan accidentally discovered the most expensive and erotic itra, the Rooh­e­Gulab when she spilled some oil into her rose­scented bath water. Perfumes were also believed to work as aphrodisiacs.
16. the bridal dress: bride’s shringara includes cleansing of the body in medicated waters, perfuming it with scented oils, applying cosmetics, plaiting the hair and weaving into the patterns, decorating it with ornaments of gold and flowers, beautifying the parting with sindoor, adorning her hands and feet with henna, lining her eyes with kohl, and 7
placing moles on the chin to keep away the evil eye. Women were draped in flowing garments that fell from the hip to the anklets as evidenced in the sculptures of Sanchi, Amravati and Khajuraho. The Indian classical writings depicts the creation of woman in terms of celestial and natural beauty, using the analogies of “the rotundity of the moon, the curves of creeper, and the clinging of tendrils, the trembling of grass, and the slenderness of the reed, and the bloom of flowers, the lightness of leaves, and the tapering of the elephant trunk, the glances of deer, the joyous gaiety of sunbeams, the timidity of the hare, the vanity of peacock. The paper would make an attempt to trace the trajectory of Indian eroticism across the above mentioned genres: literature and sculpture. Giving an inter­
disciplinary understanding to the subject would help to construct the argument of the paper which moves beyond the conventional boundaries. 8
1
E
Endnotes
Shastra means “rule” in Sanskrit and is used as a suffix to refer to a specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice. Saundarya­Shastra is thus the treatise dealing with beauty.
2
In Sanskrit, the term Natya refers to a troika of drama, dance and music. The Natya­Shastra is the treatise on Performing arts.
3
Kama which is one of the four goals of Hindu life, means sensual or sexual pleasure, and sutra literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual
4
http://www.chlive.org/pbeck/eastlibrary/POEMSOFKALIDASA.htm, accessed on 11th September 2014, 5:37
5
Barbara Stoler Miller, Gitagovinda of Jayadeva: Love Song of the Dark Lord, Motilal Banarasidass Publications, 2003, p.81
6
Jiwan Sodhi, A Study of Bundi School of Painting Abhinav Publications, 1999, p.109
7
K.P Bahadur, Rasikapriya of Keshavadasa, Motilal Banarsidas, New Delhi, 1972, p 27
8
Oppi Untracht, Traditional Jewelry of India, Harry N. Abrahams, Inc., 1997
9
In Almond Eyes, Lotus Feet (Indian traditions in beauty and health), Sharada Dwivedi and Shalini Devi Holkais elaborate on solah shringara as they tell the fictional memoir of a wise Indian princess, who recalls the ways the women of the Indian court found friendship, faith, and love through their beauty traditions.
10
Ved Bhatnagar, Shringar the Rasaraj: A Classical Indian View, Abhinav Publications, 2004
Bibliography 1.
2.
3.
4.
Atikal, Ilanko. 1993. The Cilappatikaram: The Tale of an Anklet, New Delhi: Penguin Classics. Bahadur , K.P., 1990. Rasikapriya of Keshavadas, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass Publications. Bhatnagar,Ved. 2004. Shringar the Rasaraj: A Classical Indian View, New Delhi: Abhinav Publications.
Daniélou, Alain. 1993. The Complete Kama Sutra: The First Unabridged Modern Translation of the Classic Indian Text. Inner Traditions
5. Desai, Devangana. 2005. Khajuraho, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 6. Dehejia, Harsha V. 2004. A Celebration of Love, New Delhi: Roli Books. 7. Kalidas, Ritusamhara, New Delhi: National Information & Publications, 1947
Hampiholi Vishwanath K. Kamashastra in Classical Sanskrit Literature, New Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1988.
8. Pande, Alka.2012. Shringara: The Many Faces of Indian Beauty, New Delhi: Rupa and co. 9. Pande, Alka. 2009. Leela – An Erotic Play of Verse and Art. New Delhi: Harper Collins. 10. Pande, Alka. 2008. Kama Sutra ­ The Quest for Love. New Delhi: Brijbasi Art Press. 11. Pande,Alka. 2008. The new age Kama Sutra for Women. New Delhi: Lance Dane. 12. Pande,Alka. 2005. Ardhanarishvara the androgyny. New Delhi: Published by Rupa & Co. 13. Pande, Alka. 2004. Masterpiece Of Indian Art. New Delhi: Lustre Press, Roli Books. 14. Pande, Alka. 2002. Chinese Erotica. New Delhi: Roli Books, 2002
15. Pande, Alka 2002. Indian Erotic Art. New Delhi: Roli Books, 2002
16. Pande, Alka 2002. Indian Erotica. New Delhi: Roli Books. 17. Pande, Alka. 1999.Kama Sutra. New Delhi: Roli Books. 18. Sodhi, Jiwan. 1999. A Study of Bundi School of Painting. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications.
19. Untracht, Oppi. 1997. Traditional Jewelry of India, Harry N. Abrahams, Inc.
20. Stoler, Miller Barbara. 2003. Gitagovinda of Jayadeva: Love Song of the Dark Lord, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass Publications.