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 fo