Why Indian women wear foot Anklets

Anklets in India, after marriage are mandatory for women to wear. This is the tradition of India, there are so many diversified perceptions over the fashion or tradition of anklet, even the old age people consider the Anklet noise as the positive vibes in homes.

Introduction

Anklets in India are one of the most commonly used ornaments that every woman wears after marriage. This is part of endless fashion that Indian people will never let go of or remove from their tradition. There are so many ornaments and traditional dresses in India, that were evolved for scientific and meaningful reasons. Tradition and culture are something, if we follow them, we will find that behind each and every ritual there are so many things that ancient peoples and our ancestors have gifted us.

In this article, we will convey to you the actual reason why Indian women wear foot ornaments, mainly payals or anklets. Why would ancient people have chosen Silver anklets as best ornament for legs? Why don’t Indians wear gold anklets? Why silver is so important? And what kind of anklets should people not wear?

Anklets and India

In India, there are around 122 major languages and so many unidentified languages and diversified cultures. Almost every tradition follows the culture of Anklets and wears them on daily basis. Even elderly people in India say anklets help maintain positive vibes in homes and are very helpful for toddlers while they learn to walk. Anklets do have different names in different regions and languages, like Payal (Hindi and Gujarati), Nupur (Bengali), Kaapu(Tamil), Padasaram (Kerala), Dholki (Odisha), Kanai (Marathi), Paizeb (Urdu language) etc.

Read Also: How Gandhari gave birth to 101 children? A Scientific Point of View.

Scientific Importance

From ancient time, Gold, silver, bronze and iron mainly used in anklets. let’s see why these metal used in anklets and which metal is most fine metal to wear as anklets and reason behind them.

Gold Anklets

Basically, if we talk about gold, then only thing that comes to mind as very costly and prosperous metal, which is symbol of wealth and high class people from ancient times. In ancient India, people from wealthy families used this metal in anklets and wore them. But there are also some quotes that, women should not wear gold in the lower part of body, means women can only wear gold in upper body like ears, neck, hands and lastly on waist but not lower than waist line. 

There is no specific reason, scientific reaction or something, suggesting not to wear gold anklets. Even according to the properties of Gold, it is beneficial for health, as it can be helpful in decreasing the problem of inflammation and also helpful in improving immune system. Now, question is, why Women should not wear Gold anklets?

There are some assumptions due to which Hinduism may not appreciate wearing gold in lower body part, that is,

Firstly, scientific reason would be, that gold is good conductor of heat. Gold has a higher thermal conductivity than other metals, according to which gold very efficiently transfers heat from one object to another. This may be a good reason that people may feel relatively hot while wearing gold anklets.

स्वर्णं तु नाभ्याधः क्षिप्तं देवान् प्रीणाति न कदाचित् ।।

Secondly, the above mentioned Sloka is from Varah Purana, which says that gold is very precious metal and symbol of wealth, according to Indian culture, wearing gold below the belt may be a sign of disrespect towards Goddess Lakshmi, which may bring bad luck. 

Silver Anklets

रजतं तु विशेषेण पादाभरणं भूषणम् ।

Sloka is from Garud Puran, which means silver is very good for Feet. In Ancient Indian culture, Silver Anklets are considered as one of most suitable and appropriate choice. Now let’s see what can be scientific reason behind?

There are scientific reasons to, firstly, silver is good conductor of electricity, which can help to stimulate blood circulation through electrical current present in body, by this way problem of hormonal imbalance, swelling and pain in lower part of can be improve, silver also help in reducing Inflammation, majorly who have problem of arthritis or gout.

Some experts also says that, nature of silver is cold and on the other hand Gold nature is hot, so wearing silver in feet will flow cooler energy towards brain and wearing gold on upper body will send hotter energy towards feet, this will help in maintaining body temperature. Even, silver controls body energies and do not allow positive energies out of body through feet, as body energy flows from top to Bottom.

Silver is also beneficial for avoiding skin infections and Silver kills bacteria as it has antimicrobial properties. Sliver is considered as symbol of prosperity and luck. this is why ancient people appreciate wearing Silver in feet.

Iron Anklets

Silver is also a precious and costly metal, so ancient people preferred to wear Iron anklets. Now question is, why Iron Anklets? Iron can be good replacement for Silver. Iron also has same characteristics as silver and is a component of hemoglobin, as it is good for blood circulation, maintaining body temperature, helps in reducing inflammation etc. Iron is cheaper than gold and silver and also has positive impacts on human body.

Now, question is, why do ancient people and modern people still prefer silver over Iron anklets, if the properties of metals are same? So the reason is that iron can cause skin Irritation in some people, rust takes over Iron when it comes in contact with water and oxygen, which is harmful for skin and it is also a heavy metal, which can lead to stress and pain in ankle.

Bronze Anklets

Bronze is also an ancient metal that people used to make anklets. Like gold, iron, and silver, bronze is also good conductor of heat, antimicrobial like silver, inexpensive like Iron which means it is a very affordable and also durable metal. Then, question is, why in ancient times bronze anklets were not as famous as silver or others? 
Bronze, as metal is heavy in nature, can cause skin irritation and allergies. Bronze is not capable of maintaining its color and tarnishing over time, reason being that bronze majorly reacts with sulfur compounds in the air, which may lead metal or ornaments towards dullness and unattractive.

Why Ghungroos are Important in Anklets?

As we Know Indian Anklets contains Ghungroo in it, But some of the people says that Ghungroos plays a very import part in anklets. Even, the Slok of the Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Kanda, Canto 115, Sloka 20, also defines the anklets of Sita was decorated with divine ghungroos which was gifted by Devi Ansuya and we have also discussed this topic in our previous article.

क्षीरपा-दुमलोद्भूते वस्त्रे तस्मै ददौ शुभे । अत्यद्भुत-गुणे युक्ते दिव्य-कान्ति-समन्विते ॥

Read Also: Why Devi Sita’s Clothes and Ornaments were Divine? Scientific Point of View.

For New Born and toddlers

According to Indian culture, anklets are very important for newborn babies and toddlers. Even elderly people say that anklets help newborn babies to develop fast and help toddlers walk fast in their developing days. Now question is, how can anklets help Babies?

There is no particular text or statement mentioning how anklets help Babies. But if we look from a scientific point of view, then sound waves or rhythms that ghungroos create can be source of entertainment to which babies react and try to catch them. This process can also help in developing focus and sleep, also this helps them in improving coordination and balance.

For Women

Sound waves of Ghungroo can help in stimulation of Endorphins, which help in releasing stress and mood-boosting, and can nourish brain tissues and nervous system, which may enhance good vibes and blood circulation in body. This can be very helpful for women in their day to day lives.

Isn’t it fascinating, idea of creating an ornament with some decorative peace that can heal human body internally and externally both. Now a days, every other woman faces the problem of hormonal imbalances and PCOS, these problems can create various issues like depression etc. Silver anklets can help in blood circulation, hormonal imbalances along with Ghungroo, whose sound waves can heal stress level and mind freshness.

Conclusion

Ancient people created everything with a propose, Indian anklets are one of them. Elder people’s suggestion of not wearing gold below the belt has not only cultural point of view but also has scientific reasons.

Energies in human body enter from feet and rotate from feet to brain and then brain to feet, and lastly transfer to earth from feet. Silver anklets help to send cooler energies to brain and wearing gold on upper body or head helps to send warm energies to feet by this way both silver and gold help human body to maintain its temperature.

Silver is good conductor of heat, efficient in maintaining cooler energies to brain, it also prevents infection, while other metals like gold, bronze and iron anklets have some kind of negative impact on the body, that’s why Silver anklets are the best choice for foot ornaments.

And for more knowledge Why Wear Silver Jewellery – Benefits & Science see below video