Dyes, Paintings, and Perfumes in Ancient India

Here we explore the knowledge and practices related to dyes, painting technology, and perfumes in ancient India, highlighting the significance of colors and scents in various aspects of life.

Dyes and Painting Technology

There is frequent mention of colors like Indigo (Nila), Turmeric (Haridra), Madder (Manjistha), and Resin (Ranjana) in ancient texts, indicating their importance in daily life. Indigo, in particular, was a popular export item to countries like Egypt.

Buddhist Vinaya texts describe six sources of dyes: roots, trunks, barks, leaves, flowers, and fruits of trees. Yashodhara’s commentary on Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra lists six components of painting, including color mixing (Varnika-bhanga).

The Vishnudharmottara Purana mentions five basic colors: White (Sveta), Yellow (Pita), Red (Vilohita), Black (Krishna), and Blue (Nila). It suggests that hundreds of other colors and shades could be created by combining these basic colors.

Ancient Indians used dyes for various purposes:

• Cosmetics: Sandalwood paste was colored with lac or other dyes and applied to the body in different patterns.

• Eye makeup: Dark powdered antimony was used as collyrium (Anjana).

• Tilaka: Vermilion (Sindura), Lac (Laksha), and a yellow pigment (Gorochana) were used for forehead markings.

• Body art: The Natyashastra describes methods of beautifying the body using dyes.

There also used to be the preparation of long-lasting paints and wall coatings. The Ajanta paintings, for example, have not faded for over 1500 years due to the use of plant and mineral extracts and a special pre-treatment coating on the cave walls.

The Vishnudharmottara Purana and Shivatattvaratnakara provide detailed instructions for preparing wall coatings using various ingredients like brick powder, clay, gum resin, beeswax, honey, molasses, and lime. These coatings ensured the longevity of the paintings.

Perfumes

The Vishnudharmottara Purana dedicates 46 verses to discussing perfumes, including incenses, perfumed bathwater, and scented oils. It outlines an eight-step process (Karmastakam) for perfume making, involving purification, scenting, cleansing, saturation, ripening, revival, fumigation, and further revival.

Varahamihira’s Brihatsamhita also addresses perfume preparation in 37 verses.

Conclusion

We can hence conclude that ancient Indians possessed extensive knowledge and skills in dyes, painting technology, and perfumes. These practices played a significant role in various aspects of life, from cosmetics and body art to wall paintings and perfumes. The long-lasting Ajanta paintings and the detailed descriptions of perfume-making processes in ancient texts serve as evidence of this advanced knowledge.