John Mandeville begins his account of India by detailing the ‘natural’ tendencies of those living in the region. To frame his description, Mandeville mentions the Indus River that travels through the area, giving the country of India its name. Mandeville then notes the presence of thirty-foot eels in the Indus River, before describing the people of India as ugly with a yellow-green complexion. By listing the eels ahead of the civilians, Mandeville frames Indian people and their customs as inherently animalistic. He talks about conventions of nudity in India, explaining how the heat influences men to walk around nude, thus weakening their bodies. Mandeville asserts that the need to cool oneself from the heat dictates daily life. He draws a parallel to what he claims to have observed in Ethiopia, telling his reader that men and women often lie naked in the river, and that women are unashamed to do this around men. Once again, Mandeville marks this practice as ugly because he himself is made uncomfortable by it.

Mandeville tethers their daily practices to India’s climate, remarking they live beneath Saturn, which is inherently slow-moving. Mandeville believes that because of this, people are not inclined to leave India. He compares their leisure, or laziness, to the unquenchable desire for people from his country to travel. Mandeville attributes this to England being ruled by the moon, which moves quickly, thus breeding people to live productive, worldly lives. This construction of us vs. them, between himself and the people of India, indicates Mandeville’s racism. Since Mandeville’s account is fictional, his descriptions are rooted in his own bias about a place he has never been and people he has never met.

Mandeville spends a great deal of time talking about the distinction between simulacrums and idols, labelling one as natural and the other as unnatural. To Mandeville, worshipping simulacrums is equivalent to worshipping a hero. He references Hercules and Achilles as apt examples, noting they are beloved by God on account of their marvelous deeds. On the other hand, worshipping idols includes praying to animals that signal a good omen, such as an ox or a snake. Mandeville notes that people build small idols to worship in their homes as an extension of this practice.

As Mandeville, theoretically, journeys throughout the isles surrounding India, he refers to the cities of Baroch, Bandinanah, and Cranganur as fine and good cities on account of their strong Christian populations. He argues the land’s fertility is directly connected to the presence of Christians, mirroring prior accounts of his travels, where a strong government was tied to a Christian leader. Mandeville lists the various fruits, spices, and peppers native to this region, providing flowery descriptions of each category. This embellishment is an attempt to establish his own legitimacy before referencing his greatest marvel yet: the fountain of youth. Mandeville claims that he himself drank from the fountain three times on an empty stomach and was made forever healthy. Mandeville’s mention of the fountain of youth in India aligns with Medieval conventions that the East is closer to Paradise. Mandeville’s description of India signals that the region’s breadth of natural resources is on account of its proximity to Paradise, incentivizing his reader to travel east.