SolahShringar – Gracing Your Beauty From Head To Toe

“Jewellery has the power to be this one little thing that can make you feel unique and special.”

This statement rightly justifies a woman’s fascination with her jewellery and possibly helps us overcome our guilt for wanting more.

While, modern life style may associate jewellery as a means to flaunt wealth and uphold the status in society, jewellery for a woman has significance above and beyond all this. It is not just a way of adornment, but serves a greater purpose than that. Don’t believe me! Read on to find out.

You would have often heard of the term Solah Shringar, literally translated it means sixteen ways of beautification for a woman; there being a scientific relevance to the number sixteen. Hindu mythology establishes a coherent relation between lunar and menstrual cycle and believes that sixteen phases of the moon have a negative effect on the woman’s menstrual cycle. Therefore, as per the tradition, 16 adornments are considered to correspond to the 16 phases of the moon and are donned to nullify its negative effects.

The word Shringar incorporates Shri in it, which is another name of Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, luck and beauty. Hence, a woman is considered to be the Laxmi of the house, the harbinger of good fortune. It is also believed that a woman should don gold ornaments only above the navel as gold is very dear to Lord Vishnu, the benefactor of the Universe.

There is yet another reason for wearing gold on the upper half of the body as per the science of acupuncture. The science believes that the body is divided into two opposing forces Yin and Yang. Yin denotes feminine energy concentrated in the lower half of the body, while Yang denotes masculine energy concentrated in the upper half of the body. Therefore, gold being a more yang metal is worn on the upper body and silver being more a yin metal is worn on the lower part of the body.

In our series SolahShingar,I shall discuss each of these 16 essential items of adornment and their aesthetic, physiological and traditional significance.

Let’s begin with MaangTika;

Traditionally, a MaangTika is the first ornament that needs to be worn as it provides protection to the sindoor that is first applied to the bride by her husband during the wedding ceremony.

Physiologically, a maangTika is so designed that it hangs over the ajna chakra, the home of the body’s mind and intellect. It directly relates to one’s ability to control emotions and the power of concentration.

Aesthetically, a maangTika is a prime accessory for a bride as it lends to her an ornate and a glamorous look that sets her apart from the rest.  It can, however, be worn by women of all ages for any elaborate occasion that requires splendour and a touch of regal exquisiteness. A maangTika on a woman’s forehead gives her an alluring look and ensures she is the cynosure of all eyes. The archaic and vintage appeal of this accessory has made it extremely popular, not only in India but even across the Indian borders.

Choosing a maangTika

Having understood the relevance of wearing a maangTika, let me tell you how you can pick up the right one for you!

To ensure that you look resplendent in your jewellery, it is essential to wear ornaments as per you’re the shape of your face. Given below is the description of the maangTika designs to choose as per the face shape.

1. Oval Face: An oval face is symmetrical and is considered to be the perfect shape. It is the most versatile and proportionate of all shapes. Any style of maangTika will look ravishing on this beautiful face shape.

                                                                                                            

    

 3. Round Face: A round face lacks length, hence requires a maangTika that enhances the length of the face. It needs to be thin and less detailed.       

                                                      

                                                        

4. Square Face: A square face has a strong brow bone, cheekbones and jaw bone structure. Pakeezah style maangTika worn by parting the hair on the side creates an asymmetrical look and softens the jaw line.

5. Rectangle Face: A rectangular face tends to have higher cheekbones and a higher forehead. The face appears to be longer than it is wide. The ideal maangTika for this type of face should cover the forehead a bit, as to make the face look more oval. 

                                                  

                                                              

6. Inverted Triangle Face: An inverted triangle face has a wider forehead and a tapering chin. The maangTika has to be slightly broader to cover a part of the broad forehead.

7. Diamond Face: A diamond face is wider at the cheekbones and narrower at the forehead and chin. A wide and detailed maangTika can take the attention away from cheek bones and create the illusion of a wider forehead.