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A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
Costume of the Common People—A few points can also be inferred regarding the costume of the ordinary men and women in society. The common man in society wore two pieces of cloth, the artarijja and the uttarijja as the lower and upper garment. They were also called as sadaga and paurana.2 Both these clothes have been invariably mentioned in the contemporary literature. Bāņa describes Harsa as "clad in two seemly robes (dukūla) of bark-silk marked with a pair of flamingoes & and at another place as wearingthe lowergarment (dvitiyaṁbara) shot with silk threads."King Sūdraka and Candrapida are also mentioned to have worn two clothes--the uttariya and the ad hovastra.• Bāna's friend Sudrsţi may also be seen wearing a pair of pale Paunqra clothes. Yuan Chwang refers to the lower garment as nivasana.' I-Tsing, describing the costume of the Buddhist monks of the time, refers to uttarasanga or the upper cloth and the nivasana or the lower garment.
Besides, certain garments were particularly worn by some occupational classes to suit the nature of their work. Among these, the shorts and drawers worn by the wrestlers ( mallakaccha, mallacalana ), and the dress of the bamboo-top dancers (lamkhiya-parihana ) may be mentioned.
The female dress of this time must have consisted of the three garments, i.e. the upper garment, the bodice ( kañcuka ) and the lower garment. In the contemporary literature and paintings the women can be seen wearing many clothes worn
1. startesi A forihvi, nisi 97590—NC. 3, p. 569. 2. “fortigui" AT THIETNI, HISTTEUTT 45cvi fq-—NG. 3, p. 368. 3. Harsacarita, p. 197, text p. 202. 4. Ibid., p. 59, text p. 73. 5. Agrawala, Kādambari-Eka Sanskrtika Adhyayana, pp. 23, 31, 288;
see also-Mochakalika, V. 11 (89); Paumacariya, 25. 18. 6. Harsacarita, p. 12, text p. 85. 7. Watters, op. cit. 1, p. 150. 8. Takakusu, op. cit., p. 55. 9. NO. 2, p. 190.
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