The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.42

v1.c10.42

**Dyeing of cloth :** Early Indian literature is silent with respect to the different colours used in dyeing textile fabrics in ancient times. But the great abundance of vegetable dyes in India could not but have attracted the notice of such an intelligent race as the early Aryan settlers were, and looking to the frequent mention of dye stuffs by Manu and other lawgivers, it is to be presumed that they were extensively used by the people in colouring their clothing. The rude aborigines such as the Bheels and Gonds, likewise availed themselves of the supply, and probably coloured their scant clothing and ornamental feathers and fibres to as large an extent as in the present day. Mention is frequently made of Aryan women staining the soles of their feet, and the palms of their hands, with a bright crimson dye extracted from *sapan* wood, and the practice of using colours for beautifying the face was not uncommon. In astrological works black clothing is said to be appropriate to the planet Saturn, yellow to Venus, and red to Mars, and the sin-steeped awning of Parikṣita is described to have been of a black colour. Kṛṣṇa and other gods had, likewise, particular favorite colours for their dresses, and Indian poetry is eloquent on the charming effect of fair women dressed in blue cloth, which is often compared to a dark cloud relieved by the lightning flashes of beauty. No rules, however, appear to have been laid down for the use of distinctive colours by house-holders; and with the solitary exception of hermits, who were required to wear an ochre-coloured vestment, each individual was left perfectly free in the choice of colours for his dress. Indeed, in this respect the Indian Aryans differed entirely from the Egyptians, and also from the ancient Irish, who had particular colours fixed to distinguish the rank and caste of every order of society. In Ireland King Eochaidh, it is said, first laid down the law, in the year of the world 3664, regarding colours to mark the different ranks of the people, and thence obtained the surname of Eadghadhach. His law required “one colour in the clothes of slaves; two in the clothes of soldiers; three in the clothes of goodly heroes, or young lords of territories; six in the clothes of *ollavs* (professors); seven in the clothes of kings and queens”.²⁶ The Egyptian rule, if not so strict, was still well-defined, and among the Romans, the Tyrian purple, as is well known, was exclusively reserved for emperors. The Chinese are also particular in this respect. But in India no colour, or combination of colours, seems to have been forbidden to any one class or individual from the highest to the lowest. In the total absence of old paintings, it is, however, impossible to obtain any evidence on the subject from ancient remains.