The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c24.115

v1.c24.115

De Nobili followed the advice of the Pandara, and on this occasion he took to the dress of the *sannyasis* ². This dress is described in one of the letters of Fr. Laerzio as "a long robe of yellowish cloth, with a sort of rochet of the same colour thrown over the shoulders, a cap in the form of a turban on his head, and wooden slippers fixed on supports two inches high and fastened to each foot by a peg passing between the toes". "To this", Fr. Laerzio continues, "he adds a string, the distinctive sign of the Brahmans and of the Raju caste; but instead of the three threads of which it is generally made, he uses five, three gold and two silver ones, and a cross is suspended in the middle. The three gold threads, as he explains, represent the Holy Trinity, and the two silver ones the body and the soul of the adorable Humanity of Our Lord; while the cross in the middle represents the Passion and Death of the Saviour " 1. Figueroa, after having described de Nobili's costume in accordance with the preceding extract, adds the following consideration to the explanation of the string of five threads: " Thus with this string he publicly announces in that country the mysteries of the Most Holy Trinity of the Incarnation and of the Redemption " 2. Later on de Nobili ascertained that a solitary ascetic need not wear the thread, and thenceforth he discarded it 3.