Cosmetics, Costumes and Ornaments in Ancient India
by Remadevi. O. | 2009 | 54,177 words
This page relates ‘Dress of Students and Celibates� 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.
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2.23. Dress of Students and Celibates
We get information regarding a student’s attire from ṛt, ٳūٰ and ṛhⲹūٰ. But they are of different opinion about a student’s dress. Gobhila-ṛhⲹūٰ[1] insists on wearing a single garment by a ٲ첹, while ղṣṭ-ūٰ[2] recommends both upper garment and lower garment. ܻⲹԲ-ūٰ[3] adds a turban to the above mentioned attire. Gautama-ūٰ[4] insists that a student should wear skins of black bucks, spotted deer or he goats as upper garments, while as lower garment, it prescribes textures made of linen, hempen or inner bark of trees. He may use cotton also, but it should not be dyed. It is stated as other’s view in one place that a student may also wear dyed red cloth. But in such situations, the clothes should be dyed with different substances according to their hierarchy. Thus it is mentioned that a Brahmin should use garment dyed with a dye prepared from a sort of tree, while for ṣaٰⲹ and ղśⲹ, the dyeing agents should be madder and turmeric respectively. Gobhila-ṛhⲹūٰ[5] insists on wearing a garment of black deer by a student observing Mahānāmnivrata. In Ā貹ٲ-ṛhⲹūٰ[6] also we find such classification. ṛt[7] also recommend skin upper garments for students. But unlike Gautama-ūٰ, ṛt suggest different skins for students belonging to different category. Thus the skin of black antelope was reserved for a Brahmin student, while for ṣaٰⲹ and ղśⲹ it was of he goat and spotted deer respectively. Such a distinction is seen with lower garment also. A ṇa wore hemp, while a ṣaٰⲹ and ղśⲹ used flax and linen respectively. As per the rules of ṛt, a student is not permitted to wear worn out or dirty clothes. He should wear white clothes only and should be simple in dressing while meeting his teacher.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
3.5.25
[2]:
11.48,1.64
[3]:
1.3.2
[4]:
1.18.23
[5]:
3.2.10
[6]:
1.1.2, 40, 41