The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.256

Language: English

v1.c10.256.1

**Sofas, Chairs, Benches, &c. :** Of ottomans, five kinds are described in books; the first measuring three feet by one foot six inches, with a height of nine inches, called *Sukhāsana*; the second, six feet by three, with a height of one foot six inches, called *Jayāsana*; the third, nine feet by four feet six inches, with a height of two feet three inches, called *Śubhāsana*; the fourth, twelve feet by six, with a height of three feet, called *Siddhyāsana*; and fifth, fifteen feet by seven feet six inches, with a height of three feet nine inches, called *Sampatāsana*. Others, called *Janaka, Rājapīṭha, Kelipīṭha* and *Aṅgapīṭha*, are also occasionally mentioned. These were made, according to choice, of metal, stone or wood, and carved into various shapes. Of metals, gold, silver, copper, and brass, were most esteemed, and iron condemned, except for purposes of incantations. Of stones, the gritty sandstone alone was condemned, and the other kinds recommended with the proviso, that the colour of the stone should correspond with that of the planet which presided for the time being on the destiny of the person who was to use the seat; thus when a man happened to be under the influence of Saturn, he had to use a stone seat of a blue colour; but if Venus happened to be the presiding planet, a bright yellow stone was the most appropriate. Crystal formed an exception to this rule, and was reckoned fit for use at all times.

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As regards wood, the mango, the *jāman*, the *kadamba*, and all very light woods, were, as a matter of course, held unfit, as also all very heavy, knotty wood with irregular veins. The most appropriate woods were the sandal, *gambhāra, sāla, śiśu*, ebony, teak, *bakula*, etc. Seats of these various descriptions are frequently met with in sculpture. A very good specimen of the first kind of sofa occurs in the second compartment of the Amarāvatī stone now in the Museum of the Asiatic Society, where it is provided with corner posts and a tester frame, and is being carried about on the shoulders of men in a procession. Images of gods and Hindu bridegrooms are to this day carried about in sedans of this description, and they are known under the old name of *Sukhāsana*. Their short height makes them peculiarly fitted for this purpose. The other kinds were intended to be kept as fixtures, i.e., not much moved about. In sculpture the ends of their legs are frequently carved into the form of lion's paws, or eagle's claws, and the shafts of the legs are sometimes, but not often, shaped like the legs of those animals. Cane *moḍās* are also frequently met with, shaped very much in the same way as now (Illustration No. 164). A variety of it with a raised back is shown in Woodcut No. 31, taken, like the named Illustration, from one of Mr. Fergusson’s plates of Amarāvatī sculptures.

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Seats similar to it are common enough in the North Western Provinces, though the requirements of Europeans have caused a change in the form of the back-rest. That they were common in former days is evident from a verse in Kālidāsa’s *Kumāra Sambhava*, where the mountain-king Himālaya is described to have offered such seats to seven sages, who came with the proposal of marriage of his daughter Umā with Mahādeva.¹¹⁸ At a much earlier period, we find in the *Rāmāyaṇa* and the *Mahābhārata*, and even in the *Ṛgveda* seats or chairs of gold described as invariable accompaniments of royalty. Thus Apamanyot, “the grandson of the waters”, in the last named work, is portrayed as “of golden aspect, of golden hue, and shining, seated on a seat of gold”.¹¹⁹ The mention of carpenters in that work¹²⁰ implies the existence of wooden furniture, and chairs and stools would be the most probable articles of that description that would be turned out by such artizans; for had they been employed, as has been supposed by some, in the fabrication of only cars and waggons, they would have been named *Rathakāras*, and not *Sūtradharas* or *Takṣas*. In the time of Manu’s *Laws*, the demand for cabinet-ware was sufficiently brisk to render the establishment of a distinct class or caste of men necessary for exclusive devotion to carpentry.