Why Indian Married Women Wear Toe Rings?

Scientific reason behind why indian married women wear toe rings , health benefits

Wearing of TOE RINGS is highly practiced in India. It is worn as a symbol of married state by Hindu women and is called Bichiya (pronounced: bee-chee-ya) in Hindi, Mettelu in Telugu, Metti in Tamil, Kalungura in Kannada. Toe rings (also known as bichwa) are a must for married Hindu woman. Tradition of wearing toe rings carries tremendous social significance for married women in India. Both Hindu’s and Muslim Women wear these Toe rings, as a symbol of Married state. They are usually made of silver and worn in pairs on the second toe of both feet.

Why to use only Silver toe rings and Why Not gold:

‘Bichiyas’ may not be made of gold, as gold holds a ‘respected’ status and may not be worn below the waist. Indians especially Hindus believe that gold is the metal of the God Lakshmi Devi, The Goddess of Wealth, and therefore they consider it inappropriate to wear gold below the waist.

Scientific and Ayurvedic Reason behind wearing Toe Rings:

  • Some Men frequently wore a ring on the big toe for curative purposes or to augment their masculine vigor.
  • Wearing toe ring to the second toe has sexual/erotic effect.
  • The reflexology texts also mention about treating gynaecological problems by massaging the second toe.
  • There is also a belief that the wearing of toe rings press on certain nerves that pertain to the reproductive system, keeping it in balance and healthy.
  • Ancient Ayuvedic medicine has long been used along side acupressure.
  • Indians believe that your “prana” or “life force” must be in balance in order for you to stay healthy. All of the paths of your “prana” run down to your toes, so the idea that a marital symbol could double up as a reproductive enhancer is not a big stretch.
  • By wearing this in both feet, it is believed, that their menstrual cycle course is regularized with even intervals. This gives good scope for conceiving to married women.
  • Also it is said just because that particular nerve in the second finger from toe, also connects the uteruses and passes thru heart. Because of this, the constant friction caused while walking and doing all sorts of chores during a day, it revitalizes the productivity organs.
  • As Silver being a good conductor, it also absorbs the energy from the polar energies from the earth and passes it to the body, thus refreshing whole body system.

Thus we came to know another custom of the Indian culture and Traditions of how Wearing a toe ring deals with Acupressure and women issues.

Scientific reason behind why indian married women wear toe rings , health benefits

23 thoughts on “Why Indian Married Women Wear Toe Rings?”

  1. Interesting..but what is the proof? The "scientific facts" lose credibility when used with phrases like "It is said that" and "It is believed that". It is a well known myth now that the ring finger of the left hand has a vein connecting the finger with the heart ,that's why the wedding ring is put on that finger.
    Doing something out of tradition is great. But trying to give it a scientific backing (that too without proof) is unnecessary.
    Even if science says there are no benefits of wearing toe ring but your tradition requires you to wear it, it's your call whom to choose.

    1. Miss/Mrs. Grace,
      Your reasoning is very genuine and correct but you must observe that "Scientific proofs" are all based on assumptions and possibilities..
      Like you said "The "scientific facts" lose credibility when used with phrases like "It is said that" and "It is believed that"." Phrases like "said that/believed that" are also assumptions. So science cannot be considered as a tool to establish facts in all the cases.
      Here is the proof to my claims..

      http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/basic_assumptions

    2. Ratnakar Tiwari

      Still science did not explain many ancient facts, our science still have limitations, facts which we can not explain does not mean that they do not have scientific base especially in the case of Indian ancient traditions. Most of the ancient traditions have great science behind. Silver is great antimicrobial agent, wearing silver help you to fight with microbes.
      “vein connecting the finger with the heart ,that’s why the wedding ring is put on that finger” you can say it is a myth base on some short scientific experiment but have you thought about the method,a persons wear ring for life time. It is very low dose therapy. Currently present scientific experimental tool and techniques can not detect the effect.

    3. i use to have the same questions..this people found 9 planets befor any one ever come up with hubble telescope and many things still it’s way beyond to the top organisation ….in the nataraj statue if you look closely every ornaments makes sense otherwise CERN wouldn’t be keeping . if we try to understand this…its infinity..but we can by living real life ..feel …try not to be alien …you know it inside..that’s what I say to my self ….have a great day.

    4. mrs jyoti karnik

      what has been said above is true to my knowledge of it. u can always check with the online journals on traditions and its scientific reasons

    5. Hey… scientific Friend…
      Defending or Researching on what has been traditionally practiced has lead to science and scientific research. Else sciences is nothing but finding od human beings… i time

  2. Nice blog!! India is famous for its different culture and rituals.People live in India with different types of culture.These rituals are amazing.By these rituals people come close to each other ,they understand each other because they all sspend some time together.
    __________
    Solve my love problem

    1. They ll make u wear it atleast for the ceremony, and then give u permission to take it off thereafter, only to find its reappearance in a ll social events infront of elders.

      If you want to stand up for these practices to be abolished, let me know.

  3. I’m not sure where you are getting your info,
    but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.
    Thanks for fantastic info I was looking for this information for my mission.

  4. Where to wear toe rings exactly? At the base of the second toe? Or nearer to the tip? Or it doesn’t matter as long as it touches the second toe? Plus, what’s the effect of toe rings in other than the second toe?

  5. India is famous for its culture and rituals. The reason behind silver toe ring was never known to me, thanks for sharing wonderful insights.

  6. saralyn goober

    I never considered wEaring a toe ring until I married my indian husband and he asked if I would participate in this wedding tradition.i now proudly wear it and now I can explain to people the cultural reason behind it

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