Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c12.s2.4

c12.s2.4

One of the oldest Indian industries is that of textile manufacture. The technical terms for warp (*tantu*) and woof (*otu*) are found in the *Ṛgveda* and *Atharva-veda*, while the shuttle (*tasara*) and the loom (*veman*) are mentioned in the *Yajus- saṃhitā* and other texts³. Among the textile industries, that of cotton manufacture held the first place. It found an excellent market at home in the habits of the people whose immemorial dress consisting of a pair of cotton garments is referred to alike in the early Buddhist texts and in the writings of the Greek observers⁴. No wonder then that among the presents offered by the Mālavas and their allies to the victorious Alexander was included a large quantity of cotton cloth. While the cotton industry evidently was spread over the whole land, certain centres had early become famous for the excellence of their fabrics. The early Buddhist texts speak with high praise of Benares cloth (*Kāsikuttama* or *Kāsika-vattha*) as well as the cloth of the Sivi country (*Siveyyaka* or *Siveyyaka*)⁵. We have a fuller list in Kauṭilya’s *Arthaśāstra* (ii. 11) where Madhurā (capital of the Pāṇḍya country), Aparānta (Konkan on the western coast), Kāśi, Vaṅga, Vatsa (Kauśāmbi region), and Mahiṣa are said to produce the best cotton fabrics (kārpāsika). In the same context, the Arthaśāstra specifically mentions three varieties of dukūla (an unidentified species of fibrous fabric) distinguished by their place of origin and their colour. These were the products of Vaṅga (East Bengal), Puṇḍra (North Bengal) and Suvarṇakuḍya (in Kāmarūpa). They were respectively white, dark and coloured like the rising sun. In the same connection, the Arthaśāstra mentions linen fabrics (kshauma) of Kāśi as well as Puṇḍra. Kauṭilya also refers to the fabrics produced in Magadha, Puṇḍra and Suvarṇakuḍya. Linen fabrics (khoma) are also referred to in the early Buddhist literature¹.