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A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
commentary on the Acaranga also explains it as a fine leather of an animal of Sindhu. 1
Besides, another cloth casually mentioned in the text is rallaga which was used as a wrapper (pāurana). It has been explained as kambala in the Amar akośa." Yuan Chwang also refers to a cloth po-lo-li which has been rendered as rāla, an equivalent of Sanskrit rallaka. It was made from the wool of a wild animal. This wool being fine and soft could be easily spun and woven. It was a prized material for clothing. * Another cloth mentioned in the text is vadaya which was also called țasara in the regional language. It was same as kosejja or the silk-cloth. I-Tsing informs us that kaušeya is the name of silk-worms, and the silk which is reared from them is also called by the same name. It was a very valuable thing.
Cost of Clothes--The clothes were divided into three categories on the basis of their prices. The clothes costing upto eighteen rūvagas were of the cheapest variety (jahaņņa), while those costing above a million rūvagas were the costliest (ukkosa).? The clothes costing between these two grades belonged to the medium category (majjhima). In the context of the various punishments that were imposed upon the monks for wearing costly clothes, the clothes costing about 18, 20, 50, 100, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 rúvagas have been mentioned. 9
1. Ācārāiga, II. 5. 1. 3-8. In the Vedic texts peśā is mentioned as a gold
embroidered cl th with artistic and intricate designs (Vedic Index,
II, p. 22). 2. TETUT TESTT-NC. 3, p. 102. 3. Amarukoša, 2. 6. 116. 4. Watters, op. cit., 1, p. 148. 5. hat a53it iuf-(24T HTTF)—NC. 2, p. 68. 6. Takakusu, op. cit., p. 60. 7. NC. 2, p. 95. 8. Ibid. 9. NC. 2, p. 96.
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