Mythological Origin
 It is interesting to trace this fascination
for gold. The Satapatha Brahmana, an ancient
Hindu text describes gold as the seed of
Agni, the God of Fire.
Gold came to be called Hiranya, derived
from the root Hri meaning imperishable.
The Dharmasastra, another ancient Indian
text says, "this universe was enveloped
in darkness. He (the Lord) desiring to produce
various creatures from his own body first
created the waters and in them deposited
a seed. This seed became a golden egg, resplendent
as the sun, in which He Himself was born
as Brahma." Brahma is therefore called
Hiranyagarbha or born of gold. Gold is seen to be the reference point
in mythology whenever the highest form of
prayer, perfection or beauty is to be described.
The goddess Lakshmi, symbolizing fertility,
productiveness and prosperity, is said to
have been bathed by elephants who carried
pure water in golden vessels. Urvashi, believed
to be one of the most beautiful women in
Hindu mythology, is supposed to have complexion
of golden hue. The golden coloured deer
plays an important role in the famous Indian
epic the Ramayana.
It is said that Lord Shiva (one of the
trinity in the Hindu pantheon) taunted his
wife Parvati saying her skin was dark. So
offended was Parvati that she performed
penance to gain access to Lord Brahma, the
creator in the Hindu pantheon. Lord Brahma
granted her the boon she was seeking. Parvati
was reborn as Gauri, or the woman with golden
colored skin.
It is not only the Hindu tradition that
extols gold. In the Bible, in Genesis 2:10.11,
there is a mention of a river flowing out
of the Garden of Eden. "And a river
went out of Eden, parted and became into
four heads. The name of the first is Pison,
that is which compasses the whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold." The
Islamic religion describes the fifth heaven
to be made of gold. The Buddha is often
portrayed in gold and Buddhist ceremonial
objects are made of gold. Astrologically
gold is represented by Jupiter.
Historical References
The value of gold has been appreciated
in daily life too. The Rig Veda, India's
most ancient text, (dated approximately
to 1500 B.C.) says the giver of gold receives
a life of light and glory. And to receive
or buy gold is to welcome Lakshmi. That
is why during Diwali time, gold is almost
invariably bought. On this festival, it
is Goddess Lakshmi who is worshipped.
Arthasastra, a third century A.D. text,
lays down the various rules to be followed
by goldsmiths and the different kinds of
alloys that can be made with it. By the
fifth century, ornaments were exquisitely
fashioned and Kalidasa, a famous Sanskrit
poet, describes when and how each ornament
should be worn. The evidences and designs
of ancient Indian jewelery are also found
in sculptures
Medicinal Properties
Within the human body too the colour of
gold is celebrated. The human body, according
to Ayurveda, is believed to have many charkas
or nodal points of operation. The heart
chakra is said to be golden yellow and so
the colour itself is regarded as inspiring
divine thoughts.
Gold's immunity to rust made physicians
feel it had properties to cure diseases.
Caraka's medical treatise mentions the use
of gold in medicine. The jawahar mohra of
Unani medicine uses gold as one of the components
of special medicines as do the many other
Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicines. The thanga
baspam is one such medicine that is supposed
to lengthen the life span and act as an
aphrodisiac. Gold has been used to fill
the cavities in teeth since ancient times.
In India, thanga rekha or a fine golden
thread is often served with betel leaf after
a sumptuous dinner or heavy lunch.
Use of gold in medicine naturally led to
the association of certain magical properties
with the metal. Gold earrings are said to
improve eyesight while those suffering from
mumps believe that if they wear a gold chain,
their problem will vanish. In fact the ailment
itself is called ponnuku vingi or swelling
caused by lack of gold.
Gold in Weaving
Gold came to be used in weaving and the
making of brocades. Kancheepuram in the
south and Varanasi in the north were centres
where gold weaving was done. If weaving
was one way of wearing gold, another ingenuous
method was the art of zardozi in which gold
thread is used in embroidery. It came to
India with the Mughals. Even today, the
intricate detailing that the fine art involves
is to be seen to be believed.
A Large Variety of Styles
Jewelry is area specific. All over India,
women wear a lot of jewelry and even men
used to wear some of it. India of old times
had several small kingdoms and so styles
in each kingdom flourished under the patronage
of the local kings. As such the designs
existed in infinite variety. The one common
feature was the number of items worn by
women. All of them wore jewelry on their
nose, on their forehead, on their ankles
and even their toes.
One would find that in areas like those
under the Mughals, the jewelry of the hands
and feet were extremely ornate. The reason
being the women wore veils and the only
exposed parts of their body were the hands
and feet!
The Mughals were showmen who reveled in
the fantasy of ornaments. They encouraged
international participation by borrowing
designs and getting their jewelry fashioned
abroad. In fact, documentation of Indian
jewelry exists only from this period onwards.
Enameling, embedding stones in gold and
filigree work were some of the different
ways in which gold was embellished further.
Indians who prefer 24 carat gold have a
variety of designs to chose from, whether
they are buying necklaces, nose rings, earrings
(four to seven pieces of jewelry can be
worn on the ear alone!), hair clips, waistbands
or toe rings.
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