Sambodhi 1979 Vol 08

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 24

Social Conditions in Subandhu's Time
23.
necklace, so and other ornaments of gold. They aänointed their bodies witby aloes7o and applied scents.21 Women adorned themselves with such ornaments, as necklace of pearls, 72 saphires73 and corals, girdles, 75 earrings,76 armlets,77 braceletsand anklets,*9. They wore tinkling jewelst and shining oma: ments.81 made of precious gems, gold and silver. Ladies decked their ears82 and hair83" with the clusters of blossoms. As to cosmetics, ladies afs dese cribed as applying to their bodies the powder of poárls84, the pollon of screw-pines85 and sandal paste.86 They sprinkled the sandal water87 over their bodies so as to protect themselves from heat. They scented their tresses with the aloes-wood smokes and other scents and embellished them with the wraths of blossoms like Nepal jasmine 88 and Malabar jasmines. The aged courtesans used the remedy for their gray hair." The ladies with their husbands alive adorned themselves with minium and tilaka.92 Maidens, too, used to put the tilaka on their forehead.90 The tilaka was made with saffron." Collyriums was also used. Ladies dyed their feet with the sap of lac.96 They polished their nails with the fragment of a stone. They decorated their cheeks with the scroll-work decoration of couro metics and applied the powder of saffron" and camphor 100 to their bros asts. Mirror101 was used. It would be wrong to suppose that all and sundry 3 used the costly ornaments and cosmetics. Only the rich might have naaides use of the ornaments of pearls and gold and costly cosmetics. The poor. could not have afforded them and would have used only cheaper things.
* The people of Subandhu's day were superstitious to an extent. He. depicts them as believing that the dreams seen at dawn were true 102 and that the places where the pairs of wagtails mated had the bidden treasures of wealth.103 . The principal means of amusements were music 104 and dance.105 People made peacocks dance with the deep sound of drums106. Dicing 107 is also ** mentioned.
As to food and drinks, Subandhu has mentioned among the cereals white wheat, rice, 109 perched grain;110 and among drinks water, milk111 and alcoholic beverages.119 The other edibles referred to are butter, 113, cream curdals and fruits'16. Salt was probably out of the sea water.117 He allades to the cleansing of rice with a pestle in the threshing mortar.118 Mention is also made of mustard 11. and pepper.120 Though moral objection to alcahol is very ancient in India and law-books strongly condemn it, drinking and drunkonnes are very frequently mentioned in literature, especially in the portrayals of love-scenes.
Subandhu mentions many things, which would have been used in his time. Of them, mention may be made of jar,121 ascetics’s water-jar, 122 sil