The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.271.4

v1.c10.271.4

It is called *Prasāda*. The *Pratāpa* is made of a blue stem and cloth, with a golden top and hinge; it is the most appropriate for princes. If the stem and slide be made of sandal wood, and the threads and cloth be of a pure white colour, and the top be surmounted with a golden *kalasa* or knob, the umbrella would be most auspicious for kings. It is called *Kanakadaṇḍa*. The most important, however, was the one which was named *Navadaṇḍa*, and recommended to be used on great state occasions, such as coronations, royal marriages, &c. Its stem, sliding frame, ribs and lock pin, were made of pure gold; its cloth and strings of choice colour, and it was decorated with golden knobs, figures of ducks and cars, and fringes of thirty-two strings of pearls, each formed of thirty-two beads. Its top used to be surmounted with a pure white brilliant, and the lower end of the stem with a ruby and a carnelian, and its most appropriate appendage was a tassel of yak tail, one cubit long. The *Agni Purāṇa* (C. 224) does not enter into any great detail, but recommends other materials besides cloth for the construction of royal umbrellas. According to it, "it is conducive to the good of princes to have their umbrellas made of the feathers of geese, or of peacocks, or of parrots, or of herons (*vaka*) : but they should not be made of feathers of various kinds mixed together.