Cosmetics, Costumes and Ornaments in Ancient India
by Remadevi. O. | 2009 | 54,177 words
This page relates ‘Materials for Garments (d): Grass clothes� of the study on cosmetics, costumes and ornaments of ancient India based on Sanskrit sources. Chapter one deals with cosmetics and methods of enhancing beauty; Chapter two deals with costumes, garments and dresses; Chapter three deals with ornaments for humans and animals. Each chapter deals with their respective materials, types, preparation and trade, as prevalent in ancient Indian society.
Go directly to: Footnotes.
1. Materials for Garments (d): Grass clothes
Grass garments were usually worn by hermits, ascetics, and those performing religious practices. Grass was also worn by those who had to fulfill a vow. Usually Darbha or ś grass was employed for making such garments. We have reference to ścīra in ʲñٰ[1] of . Similarly in ʰپñⲹܲԻⲹṇa[2], mentions a Darbhakṛtottarīya. A ś skirt was recommended for a sacrificer’s wife during the ceremony[3]. In ī쾱-峾ⲹṇa[4], 峾, ṣmṇa and ī are depicted as clad in ś grass during their exile.
In addition to the above mentioned, we come across some other materials in Vedas and ṇa. Some of them are ⲹ, Barāsi, and Dūrśa. Of these ⲹ is a kind of silk and was usually used for religious purposes. Thus ⲹ was one among the dress of a sacrificer. According to one belief recorded in Atharvaveda[5], one should enter Yama’s abode being properly dressed. Hence to symbolise this, in those days a dead body was made clothed in ⲹ. In the view of Swaswatidas[6] and S.C Sarkar[7], ⲹ is prepared from the fibres of Baras tree. Tasara is another kind of material, which is referred to by Ჹś[8]. Dresses were even made of lotus filaments. In Ჹṣaٲ[9], we meet with 屹ٰī wearing such a breast cloth. It was tied in knots in Svastika form in between her breasts.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
I.16
[2]:
IV.2
[4]:
From the Vedas to the Manusaṃhitā, 104
[5]:
XVIII.4.31
[7]:
Ibid
[8]:
NTAIS, p.78
[9]:
Ibid