6. The Nose-ring as an Indian Ornament, 
By N. B. Divatia, B.A., CS. 
We find at present the nose-ring worn by Hindu ladies 
almost all over India in a variety ‘of sha apes. In Gujarat, 
Maharashtra, Sindh. the Punjab and in parts of Upper and 
Central India, the Hindu lady decks herself with a nose-ring. 
Tt is at present considered a sign of married bliss,—a w idow 
may not wear a nose-ring. How old is this institution of the 
nose-ring in India ? We find no mention of the nose-ring in 
Sanskrit literature, lexicons included. It can be safely 
asserted that this ornament is unknown to Sanskrit literature 
or ancient Indian civilization 
The words for the nose-ring are: atest (vali), ve (natha), 
and #4at (vesara) (old literature) in Gujarati, 4@ (natha), watt 
(wathant), Fac (besara) in Hindi, ww (natha) in Sindhi. ae 
(natha) in Marathi. iat (vali) is so called because of the gold 
wire 41 (v@lo) which is passed through the hole bored in the 
nose and forms part of the nose- ee ay (natha) is derived 
from wat (naitha), a Desya word me g’’ such 
as is passed through the nose of anal (bullocks, — and 
the like) ; see Hemachandra’s Desinamamala, WV, 17. ara 
(nasa-rajjit) is the only sense there given, the hieeer® also 
speaks of a AACA SAI —a bull without the nose-string. 
The meaning of a woman’ s nose-ornament is evidently a latter 
day development way (naltha), gives ara (ndthya), nose- 
string and a4 (natha),—a woman’s nose-ring. aad (nathavi) 
isa verb made out of the noun ara (nathya) ; aad (nalhavi) 
meaning to pass a string through the hole bored in the nose. 
FBT (vesara), (or H. Fac (besara), is a word not traceable to 
Sanskrit and must have evidently come from some unknown 
foreign word; aaq@axc naka-vesara (aa naka=nose + Fat 
vesara) is often found in literature. 
The nose-ring in India is of varying shapes and worn in 
varying ways The Gujarati lady has the wall of her left 
nostril boned the Madrasi aes the right one so treated. The 
ornament varies from a me old (or with pcor people a 
brass) wire with a screw- suleped coil anda loop at one end and 
& hooked arrangement at the other, to an expensive setting of 
pearls and diamonds, rubies and emeralds, which sometimes 
