ON PRESSING, OR MARKING, OR SCRATCHING WITH THE NAILS.
When love becomes intense, pressing with the nails or scratching the
body with them is practised, and it is done on the following occasions:
On the first visit; at the time of setting out on a journey; on the
return from a journey; at the time when an angry lover is reconciled;
and lastly when the woman is intoxicated.
But pressing with the nails is not an usual thing except with those who
are intensely passionate, _i.e._, full of passion. It is employed together
with biting, by those to whom the practice is agreeable.
Pressing with the nails is of the eight following kinds, according to
the forms of the marks which are produced, viz.:
1. Sounding.
2. Half moon.
3. A circle.
4. A line.
5. A tiger's nail or claw.
6. A peacock's foot.
7. The jump of a hare.
8. The leaf of a blue lotus.
The places that are to be pressed with the nails are as follows: the arm
pit, the throat, the breasts, the lips, the jaghana, or middle parts of
the body, and the thighs. But Suvarnanabha is of opinion that when the
impetuosity of passion is excessive, then the places need not be
considered.
The qualities of good nails are that they should be bright, well set,
clean, entire, convex, soft, and glossy in appearance. Nails are of
three kinds according to their size, viz.:
Small.
Middling.
Large.
Large nails, which give grace to the hands, and attract the hearts of
women from their appearance, are possessed by the Bengalees.
Small nails, which can be used in various ways, and are to be applied
only with the object of giving pleasure, are possessed by the people of
the southern districts.
Middling nails, which contain the properties of both the above kinds,
belong to the people of the Maharashtra.
(1). When a person presses the chin, the breasts, the lower lip, or the
jaghana of another so softly that no scratch or mark is left, but only
the hair on the body becomes erect from the touch of the nails, and the
nails themselves make a sound, it is called a "sounding or pressing with
the nails."
This pressing is used in the case of a young girl when her lover
shampoos her, scratches her head, and wants to trouble or frighten her.
(2). The curved mark with the nails, which is impressed on the neck and
the breasts, is called the "half moon."
(3). When the half moons are impressed opposite to each other, it is
called a "circle." This mark with the nails is generally made on the
navel, the small cavities about the buttocks, and on the joints of the
thigh.
(4). A mark in the form of a small line, and which can be made on any
part of the body, is called a "line."
(5). This same line, when it is curved, and made on the breast, is
called a "tiger's nail."
(6). When a curved mark is made on the breast by means of the five
nails, it is called a "peacock's foot." This mark is made with the
object of being praised, for it requires a great deal of skill to make
it properly.
(7). When five marks with the nails are made close to one another near
the nipple of the breast, it is called "the jump of a hare."
(8). A mark made on the breast or on the hips in the form of a leaf of
the blue lotus, is called the "leaf of a blue lotus."
When a person is going on a journey, and makes a mark on the thighs, or
on the breast, it is called a "token of remembrance." On such an
occasion three or four lines are impressed close to one another with the
nails.
Here ends the marking with the nails. Marks of other kinds than the
above may also be made with the nails, for the ancient authors say,
that as there are innumerable degrees of skill among men (the practice
of this art being known to all), so there are innumerable ways of making
these marks. And as pressing or marking with the nails is independent of
love, no one can say with certainty how many different kinds of marks
with the nails do actually exist. The reason of this is, Vatsyayana
says, that as variety is necessary in love, so love is to be produced by
means of variety. It is on this account that courtezans, who are well
acquainted with various ways and means, become so desirable, for if
variety is sought in all the arts and amusements, such as archery and
others, how much more should it be sought after in the present case.
The marks of the nails should not be made on married women, but
particular kinds of marks may be made on their private parts for the
remembrance and increase of love.
There are also some verses on the subject, as follows:
"The love of a woman who sees the marks of nails on the private parts of
her body, even though they are old and almost worn out, becomes again
fresh and new. If there be no marks of nails to remind a person of the
passages of love, then love is lessened in the same way as when no union
takes place for a long time."
Even when a stranger sees at a distance a young woman with the marks of
nails on her breast,[37] he is filled with love and respect for her.
A man, also, who carries the marks of nails and teeth on some parts of
his body, influences the mind of a woman, even though it be ever so
firm. In short, nothing tends to increase love so much as the effects of
marking with the nails, and biting.
FOOTNOTE:
[Footnote 37: From this it would appear that in ancient times the
breasts of women were not covered, and this is seen in the painting of
the Ajunta and other caves, where we find that the breasts of even royal
ladies and others are exposed.]