Aesthetic Significance of Solah Shringar (Sixteen Ornaments) in Unani Medicine

Abstract

Ancient people were as passionate about the aesthetics of appearance as are individuals of today. Physical appearance has consistently been an inseparable part of daily human growth, and most individuals prefer to be labelled as beautiful and handsome. The practice of ‘Solah Shringar’ comprises sixteen ways of adorning a woman's body in the Hindu as well as Muslim ceremonies in India. The description of Solah Shringar is commonly found in the writings of Hindi poets. Different poets and scholars have enlisted various cosmetics in their writings from time to time. In medieval India, the Solah Shringar was referred to the seven plus nine items in which seven were connoted as Haft Qalam Ārāyish along with other nine ornaments. These sixteen aesthetics have greater relevance with Unani therapeutics. This article is a sincere attempt to critically analyse the therapeutic and cosmetic importance of sixteen ornaments of medieval India in the light of Unani medicine.