Radiance Through Rituals: What Ayurveda Has To Say About Achieving Bridal Glow

My journey with Ayurveda, which means “knowledge of life”, began many moons ago when as a young girl. I watched my mother embrace self-care as her form of love and devotion to her family. Our Friday evenings at home included seven children and a doting husband lining up for champi and antakshari. Sickness in the household was cured with song, massage, mantra, and holistic cabinet essentials.

And her beauty ritual, although simple — a mix of almond oil, a dash of red lipstick, bindi, silk sari, gold jewellery, and a simple cardigan — was how I always remember her. Illuminated, graceful, and abundant.

To then come full circle to owning an Ayurveda beauty brand that I started in 2015 (Mauli Rituals), felt like a homecoming. It also came with the understanding that there is a reason why this 5000-year-old ancient science rings true with every generation. My mother’s devotion to her family and husband, although inspiring, sometimes felt overly giving and just a little bit out of reach. The Bollywood films I watched growing up at that time too, were peddling a version of women as submissive and adorning themselves for the pleasure of men.

Meena Kumari in Pakeezah, Jaya Bachchan in Silsila, and Zeenat Aman in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. This notion deeply confused me, and I grew up rejecting femininity.

Ayurveda And The Bride

Never one to take things at face value, I grew up a seeker who found comfort in knowledge. As my own wedding approached, I felt compelled to learn about the symbolism and rich Indian heritage of our Indian traditions associated with a wedding. Particularly the links between Ayurveda’s self-care traditions and the ritual of solah shringar (or the 16 acts of a bride’s beautification), which, although seemingly at odds, were interconnected.

For instance, bathing in petal-scented water, detoxing delicate skin with purifying clays, nourishing the scalp with potent herbs, enveloping the body with seductive oils, and adorning with intricate henna, pigmented powders, and generational jewels, are all rituals part of the solah shringar — acts of self-love and care that go beyond bridal beautifying. 

These, in my opinion, are acts of devotion that signal respect for the body that houses the soul. Scanning through ancient Indian texts that documented these very same findings, I discovered the Vedic text, Ashtanga Hridaya, one of the first to cite Ayurveda. Indeed, it suggests that looking beautiful and graceful should not simply be reserved for occasion, but be a daily ritual. 

The following line appears in the tome:

“Neecha Roma Nakha Shamashru Nirmalangaghri Malayana Snana Sheet Susurabhi Suveshhoanubanoojjwala Snana Sheet Susurabhi  Dharayet Satatam Ratna Siddha Mantra Mahaushadi”.

Translated from Sanskrit, it means: “Beauty is not something to be given attention to occasionally, rather should form part of one’s dinacharya (daily rituals) and it is one’s duty to appear gracious.” 

Even as far back as the Natya Shastra, an ancient treatise on the performing arts, it was said expressions, mudras and the wearing of flowers and leaves as adornment held spiritual and cultural importance.

According to Ashtanga Hridaya, the elements of beauty are twacha (skin), kesha (hair), nakha

(nail), netra (eyes), vartani (eyelashes), karna (ears), mukha (dental hygiene/lip care), prasadhana (beauty objects/cosmetics), vesha (clothing), ratna (jewellery), maha aushadha (medicine), and mantra (yoga). It is uncanny how the solah shringar corresponds to each of these elements.

Just as is the case with ayurveda, in the solah shringar, what at first appear to be purely physical beautification rituals, have far greater meaning and spiritual significance.

The bindi, for instance, is connected to the third eye and enhances intuition. The tika is applied to the sixth chakra for greater wisdom. Sindoor and henna help relax and cool the mind and body. And toe and nose rings are connected to acupressure points of the uterus and reproductive organs, hence supporting fertility.

More Than Skin-deep

At the heart of Ayurveda is self-care; an all-encompassing, comprehensive, and personalised science of longevity, achieved through the pillars of diet, lifestyle, meditation, yoga, and massage. The inner manifestation of a truly healthy individual is a positive mindset and healthy digestion. The outer manifestation of beauty is a strong, agile body, lustrous hair, clear eyes and radiant skin.

In fact, Ayurvedic doctors today are trained to support not simply health, but ‘true health’, which

means not only a strong body, beautiful skin and hair, but an alert and clear mind. This notion

resonates deeply with a modern generation that is now embracing mantra, meditation, and stillness of the mind as a key aspect of being beautiful, inside and out. Or as is written in the ancient text of Charaka Samhita, “There is beauty in all and it is enhanced through transforming features of the mind and body to their highest state.”

Our Indian culture, history, and traditions are made to honour beauty in all things. In

surrendering to Ayurvedic rituals, not only do we experience self-nurturing, stillness, and letting

go, but a return to our authentic selves so that our true light can shine. If you are only just beginning to explore Ayurveda, how wonderful that you do so at such a pivotal time in your life. I wish that by honouring love for self and others, nature in and around us, and the traditions that anchor in and around us, and the traditions that anchor our lives, every bride can claim and celebrate her innate femininity. Because after all, within this awakening and sacred celebration of Self, we can each enter marriage feeling powerful, abundant, and radiant.

This has been adapted for the web from an article published in Manifest’s December 2024-January 2025 issue that is now on stands. For more stories like this, subscribe here!