Hips wide as the road, a belly with folds and eyebrows to the ears: what women loved in ancient India

The canon of female beauty described in ancient Indian treatises has nothing to do with ideas about androgynous appearance. The peoples of India were quite demanding: beauty was evaluated by three dozen parameters before being declared ideal. And at the same time, the combination of physical and spiritual attractiveness remained an important point: to really drive an ancient Hindu crazy, a woman had to be an intelligent, honest, caring and educated woman. Otherwise, no seduction counts!

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But back to appearance. In the Mahabharata, the ancient Indian epic, and other literary monuments that have come down to us, the following requirements are laid down for beauties. Check if you are suitable for the role of object of worship.

The face of a real Indian beauty should be small, but full and bright like the moon. The lips are red, the eyebrows are thin, curved and very long, the eyelashes resemble those of a cow, the tongue is small and graceful, the teeth are equal and without space between them. The eyes should be strongly aligned to accentuate their lotus petal shape.

No vegetation is allowed on the arms and legs, and the veins must be visible through the thin skin. Beautifully shaped elongated nails are needed, and the toes should be long and flexible. Thin wrists and ankles are valued.

The ideal Indian woman cannot be thin – this is emphasized particularly and repeatedly. Its size should not be high.

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In order to meet the old Indian standard, a beauty needs lush breasts close to each other, stiff hips “as wide as a country road”, a pronounced waist and, of course, a soft belly visible with three folds, “three waves of loving”.

Ancient Indian treatises prescribe for beauty a deep, but at the same time melodic voice, reminiscent of birdsong. She must walk slowly and smoothly, like a swan, and “always be cheerful, skillful in household chores, have well-cleaned kitchen utensils”.

In India, it is believed that a man has no place as a person until he finds his bride and enters into a happy marriage. At the same time, the tradition assigns a passive role to the woman herself – she just needs to look beautiful and wait for matchmaking. “From false love comes true love,” says an Indian proverb. Here we can not agree, but, we must admit, it is always interesting to know how it is customary to live in other countries!