Swarajya

WEEKEND MAGAZINE SUBSCRIBE ACCHE DIN MONITOR

Login
CULTURE

Fashions Of The
Past: Haute Couture
And More From
Ancient India
Sumedha Verma Ojha - September 09, 2016, 6:18 pm
Shares 333

SNAPSHOT
An introduction to the complexities of clothing in ancient India
could nurture new perspectives of Indian history and society.

Some common features across space and time can be discerned. A

very intriguing feature is the gender neutrality of the basic dress.

Kalidasa wrote, many centuries ago, of the marriage of Lord

Shiva with the mountain princess, Parvati— an occasion to
remember for celestials and humans alike. The toilette and dress
of Parvati is described in loving detail, as is the dress and
ornamentation of Lord Shiva. The description is from
the Kumarsambhavam; the flapping of Lord Shiva’s dukula with
a border of flying swans and the clothes and ornaments of
princess Parvati, as she readies for the marriage ceremony, brings
the scene alive in front of our eyes.

To fully understand and appreciate an age gone by, we need to

know its sights, sounds and smells. What did people look like,
what did they eat, where did they live and, most importantly,
what did they wear? How can they be seen in the mind’s eye? In
this land of Jambudvipa-Bharat Khande, we have to always go
back a long way to understand the origins of our culture and
civilisation.

The Indus-Saraswati civilisation has yielded but a few examples

of preserved textiles and the numerous terracotta figurines, too,
are often unclothed. Small fragments of textiles preserved in
corroded metal, however, testify to the use of cotton, flax, silk,
leather etc. Dyeing facilities have been found and so have
fragments of madder-dyed red cloth. So, cloth was definitely dyed
in different colors including blue with indigo and yellow with
turmeric.
Men probably wore the “dhoti” or the antariya, and a chadar over
the left shoulder; turbans have also been found represented.
Women wore “skirts” orantariyas, short and long, as well as
decorated belts or what were calledkayabandhs or mekhalas in a
later age. There was much jewellery worn and elaborate hairstyles
and head dresses were sported too.

A short note on silk in the sub continent is in order here. Silk is

supposed to be the exclusive cultural heritage of China. However,
new remains found inside copper alloy ornaments from Harappa
and Chanhudaro have indicated that silk derived from the wild
silk moth was used in the Indus-Saraswati civilisation around
2450-2000 BCE; this corresponds to the earliest appearance for
silk remains in China. Similar remains have been found at Nevasa
in Maharashtra dating back to 1500 BCE. The idea of exclusive
Chinese origin of silk may, therefore, need revision.

The next period for which we have reams of literary evidence is,
of course, the Vedic age. As we draw nearer to the present, there
are a variety of sources of hard evidence to supplement the
literary ones. The Mahajanapada period— that of the Mauryans
and Sungas, Satvahanas , Kushans and the Guptas— can be
understood from representations in sculpture and paintings. These
are the two most important sources we have for the fashions and
textiles of the past.

First, a word on the variety of textiles used for clothing across this
time.

The basics remained the same: cotton for the commoners, as from
the preceding millennia, and other finer and more expensive types
of cloth for the rich. Very fine cotton such as the “tulapansi” of
central India was also used by the prosperous. Cloth from hemp
or “sana” was of three kinds: sana hemp, jute for sacks and true
hemp (called “bhanga” in Sanskrit and today’s “bhangela” of
central India). Buddhist, Jain monks and farmers wore sana hemp
or saniya as a cheap and easily available option. The sana valkala
was worn by brahmins in the Ramayana, and Ram and Lakshman
had changed into valkal from silk before leaving for
theirvanvaas (forced exile).

There were other varieties of bark which were finer and more
expensive such as the “dukula”, made by beating the bark of the
dukula tree, and the even finer “Kshaum”—made from the bark
of the linseed plant.

The silks were kauseya of the eastern provinces, which was the
pre-Chinese indigenous silk from wild silk worms, and not the
bombyx mori.

There was also mulberry silk or patrona silk, the process of

making which could have been learnt from China. It was made
artificially and then transformed into “patta”; “pat” (Assam and
Bengal) and “pattu” (Tamil Nadu) are the modern names of this
textile.

And, of course, there was Chinese silk or “chinamsuka” which

was imported from China. Then there were netra, lalitanuja and
vada or tussar silk. The krimiraga or suvarna was the golden
moonga silk from Assam. A special variety was jatipattika, long
pieces of moonga silk with embroidered jati flowers which were
royal gifts and used on ritual occasions. Amsuka was a general
name for extremely fine cloth.

Textiles were dyed and printed. Resist dyeing and hand printing
has been mentioned by Megasthenes as a common sight during
the Mauryan period as has glazed cotton. Interweaving of silk and
gold and silver wires in beautiful patterns was common long
before the Mauryans, and used for covering both the lower body
and the upper body. Felting of fibers instead of weaving was also
a generally used technique.

Now for the clothes themselves.

Both men and women wore the lower body cloth or “antariya”
and the the upper body cloth called the “uttariya.” The antariya
was secured at the waist with a sash or kayabandh. These were
the three basic items of clothing but jewellery was used in
abundance. Since the clothing can be described by using a few
basic categories, figures from the Maurya/Sunga period can be
used to generally understand dress in Ancient India.

Male Dress
Look at Figure One above.

The sketch is of a Mauryan Sunga figure from Bharhut and fairly

illustrates the basics of male dressing in Jambudvipa for many
centuries. This figure shows the clothing of the rich courtier or
royal personage or prosperous setthi. There were variations of this
for other sections of society.

Uttariya: The upper part of the body was draped with a long
unstitched cloth, either around the shoulders, over one shoulder or
as the wearer’s fancy took him.

Ushnisha: This was the turban, the “mauli” or the later “pagdi”
which could be tied up with the long hair of the wearer or be used
just as a piece of cloth, wound in many different ways around the
head.

Antariya: This was the unstitched piece of cloth worn around the
waist, again, in many styles. The dhoti or “kaccha” stye, where
the cloth was wrapped around the waist and then one end brought
up between the legs and tucked in for greater convenience, is
shown here. It is pleated in the “macchavalaka” or fishtail style.

Kayabandh: A cloth wrapped around the waist. Here is the

“kalabaku” or a sash with many strings.

Jewellery: Men wore jewellery around their necks, arms and

across the chest, apart from kundalas in the ears and waistbelts of
gold or silver around the waist. This figure wears the “baju” or
armlet, kangans on each wrist as well as karnikas in the ears and a
“lambanam” or long necklace around the neck. He also wears a
short “kanthahaar.”
Stitched cloth or a choga-like costume also existed due to the
interaction with the Persians, Greeks and Kushans. The kanchuka
was the stitched dress worn by men and women alike, differing in
lengths and designs.
Figure Two is from the Kushan period and shows an antariya
which is strikingly like the dhoti of modern India. It evolved more
than 2,200 years BP, in the Kushan period.
Female Dress
Look at Figure Three.

This is also a Mauryan Sunga figure from Bharhut.

Uttariya: As in male dressing, the uttariya was worn across the
upper part of the body. It could even be wrapped around the head
with another one across the shoulders or arms . Here, the figure
wears a printed cotton uttariya crosswise on the head. The same
style is seen in Figure Four which has, however, another uttariya
disposed around the arms.

Choli or Cholaka: This was an optional blouse worn on the

upper part of the body, with or without a little apron in front in
later years. This can be seen in Figure Seven below. During Vedic
times, a “pratidhi” or breast band was worn straight or crosswise
across the breasts.

Antariya: There were many styles of wearing this. Here, in

Figure Three, is the “kaccha style” with the ends taken up
between the legs, of fine cotton with fluted ends in front. The fish
tail or “macchavalaka” style ( can be seen in Figure One), the fan-
shaped “talavantaka”, the four-pointed “chaturnakha”,and the
multiple folded “sattavallika” were some of the other styles of
wearing the antariya. The “bhairnivasini” was one of the earliest
styles, a tubular cloth held up in gathers around the waist by a
girdle. The lehenga style, shown in Figure Seven— in which the
antariya is wrapped like a skirt around the hips— is popular even
today. Figure Four shows a simple short antariya.

The “nivibandha” was the original knot tied to hold the antariya
together. There could also be a “kati sutra” around the waist for
the antariya.

The textiles varied with the person and the occasion.

Figures Five and Six, below, show the early evolution of the saree
from the Kushan period. It is, quite astonishingly, like the saree of
today.
Kayabandh and Mekhala: These were worn around the waist,
the former of cloth and the latter a piece of beautiful jewellery. In
Figures Three and Four, the kayabandh is an embroidered flat
cloth band, “patina style”, worn in a looped knot. Other styles of
the kayabandh included the simple sash or “vethaka”, the
“muraja” with drum-headed rolls at the end or the many stringed
one called the “kalabaku” (can be seen in Figure One), As was
seen in Figure Three, the “mekhala” is a six-stringed hip belt of
gold or silver beads.
Jewellery: The Indian love for jewellery and gold is attested to
by Megasthenes in the fourth century BCE and Yijing , Xuan
Zang and Al Biruni in later centuries. The head and hair, neck,
chest, arms, wrist, fingers, waist , legs and feet all had distinctive
and exquisite pieces of jewellery to decorate them. There were
many varieties of these and were made using silver, gold, copper,
beads, precious and semi precious stones with specific
significance. Jewellery played an important role even in the
earliest stories. Ram send his ring to Seeta, through Hanuman,
during her captivity as a message of hope and she sends her
“chudamani” back to him, calling him to deliver her from Raavan
in the Ramayan. Shakunatala, who lost her husband’s ring, had to
pay dearly for it in the Abhigyaan Shaakuntalam.

Figure Seven is from Ajanta, Cave One, showing a Gupta period

princess. Here, it will be used to attempt an illustration of some of
the wide and glorious profusion of jewellery worn in Ancient
India.

Head: The “Sitara” was an ornament, worn on the forehead,

made of gold or precious stones. The “kirita” is similar to a crown
or a tiara. The princess wears a lotus-shaped hair ornament of
gold with the petals studded with pearls and precious stones, the
“chudamani.” Something like this must have been the
“chudamani” sent by Seeta to Ram from her captivity in Raavan’s
Ashok Vatika.

Ears: Here, the figure wears a ring type ear-ring with probably
pearls strung on. There were other styles of ear ornamentation
such as the “jimiki”, the “kanaka kamala”, “kanchala”, “karnika”,
(see Figure Four) “kundala”, “pravatra” and “talapatra” among
others.

The fingers have one simple “angulia” or ring but there were
other rings such as the “arsi” or the “ratnangulia” studded with
precious stones.

Neck: This figure wears a “muktavali” made of pearls and a

“lambanam”— a long necklace hanging down to the stomach.
The short necklace was a “kanthahaar” (see Figure One). The
“phalak hara” was a special style of necklace with slab-like gems
at intervals. (see Figure Three, the “phalakhara lambanam”).
There were the stringed necklaces with names according to the
number of strings— “ekavalli”, “chaulari”, “satlari” etc. There
was also the “tarahara” and the “hemasutra” (a golden chain with
precious stones in the middle), the “vibhushan” and the “nishka”,
or coin necklace, still popular in the South.

Arms: The princess wears “keyura” or “parihasta” i.e. armlets on

each arm. Two “kanganaa” or “valayas”; one simple, one
ornamented, are worn at each wrist.

Figure Three illustrates the “mekhala” worn at the waist.

Decorating one delicate foot of the princess, in this figure, is the

“nupur” or the anklet which could be hollow or filled with gold
pieces, pearls or precious stones. Who can forget the “nupur” of
Kannagi which played such a tragic role in her story in Madurai?
Figure Three shows the “kara” worn at the ankle.

Dress differed for soldiers, ascetics, tribals and forest dwellers

and between the city and the village— although the basic antariya
and uttariya could always be discerned. An interesting class was
the female soldier, especially of Mauryan times. Phrygian
influence resulted in a long sleeved tunic with fitted trousers and
a Phrygian conical cap with ear flaps. There was also the crossed-
at-chest belt, the “vaikaksha”, worn with metal buckles, a shield
and a sword. This was probably how the personal guard of
Chandragupta Maurya was dressed.

The poor wore less jewellery, cheaper cloth and could dispense
with extras like the “kayabandh” altogether. Clothes and
 jewellery were markers of societal position, which has remained a
feature of society till today. It has not even been completely
obliterated today, in spite of the denim “jeans” revolution.

In Ancient India, people wore clothes according to their position

and role in society. Soldiers were different from ascetics who
were different from prosperous setthis and royalty or common
farmers and artisans. Clothes also had ritualistic and a social
significance.

This short exposition is but an introduction to the complexities of

clothing in Ancient India. Some common features across space
and time can be discerned. A very intriguing feature is the gender
neutrality of the basic dress. The variations and twists given to
dress by women or men cannot hide the fact that the three items
of dress— the uttariya, antariya and kayabandh— were common
to both the sexes. The same unstitched piece of cloth could be
worn equally by a man or a woman. Contrast this with Victorian
England, for instance , where the cumbersome skirts and
whalebone stays of women were impediments to free movement
in strong contrast to the trousers and breeches worn with waist
coats and vests by men. An indication as to how differently the
roles of both the genders were visualised in these two societies?

Contemporary efforts for a new understanding of Ancient India

could truly profit from this perspective.

The illustrations have been sketched by artist, Shruti Kumar.

Her work can be viewed at Creations@Claykriti

 ancient India

 Jambudwipa
 Mauryan Empire

 Ancient Indian Fashion

 Fashion in History

 Ajanta
Shares 333

Sumedha Verma Ojha

After two decades in the Indian Revenue Service Sumedha Verma

Ojha now follows her passion, Ancient India; writing and speaking
across the world on ancient Indian history, society, women, religion
and the epics. Her Mauryan series is ‘Urnabhih’; a Valmiki
Ramayan in English and a book on the ‘modern’ women of ancient
India will be out soon.