Beauty Prescription in Indrani Sastra Manuscript

This research found that the teachings of Indrani Sastra as a knowledge system of beauty care including information about the health of vital organs of women that are mentioned in Kakawin Ramayana and Kakawin Smaradahana. Two literary works written in ancient Java around the 9th and 11th centuries show that the teachings of Indrani Sastra were ancient. The manuscripts explain that in-depth knowledge of Indrani Sastra not only causes a woman to have physical beauty that can rival Dewi Sri, but also to have good ethics, including expertise in dating romance. The system of knowledge about beauty prescription in Indrani Sastra includes (1) virginity prescription by means of cream; (2) virginity prescription by means of powder; (3) virginity prescription by means of oil; (4) health and beauty for the skin; (5) concoctions by means of powder; (6) concoctions by means of a mask and scrubs; (7) health and beauty ingredients for hair; and, (8) oral health concoctions. The whole beauty treatment prescriptions are based on herbal ingredients so it is believed that there are only a limited number of risks when they are applied.

The ecolexicon function of beauty contained in the Indrani Sastra manuscript can be divided into three, namely (1) informative function, (2) interactive function, and (3) imaginative function. The informative function relates to various information about beauty prescription plants, body parts that can be treated, and ways of treatment. Furthermore, the interactive function is found through the dialogue between Dewi Saci and Rukmini. Likewise, the imaginative function is found in the use of the panggal buaya and Arjuna's ecolexicon.