Tribes in Ancient India c61.s3.6

c61.s3.6

The young Licchavis were handsome in appearance and fond of brilliant colours in their dress and equipages.² We have already seen how their splendour impressed the Buddha when he first met them. We have a detailed account of the attire of the Licchavi nobles in the *Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta*, which describes how the Licchavi nobles went out for the last time to meet the Buddha. Apparently the Licchavis suited the colour of their clothes and ornaments to the tint of their complexions, and dressed themselves in dark blue (*nīla*), yellow (*pīta*), red (*lohita*), or white (*odāta*) accordingly.³ Exactly the same description of the colours favoured by the Licchavis is given in the *Aṅguttara Nikāya*,⁴ which shows that they wore these colours not only on festive occasions but in their ordinary daily life also. Once while the Buddha was staying at the Kūṭāgāraśālā in the Mahāvana, five hundred of the Licchavis were seated around him. Some of them were *nīla* or blue all over in clothes and ornaments, and similarly others were yellow, red or white. We may compare these descriptions with the more detailed account in the *Mahāvastu* of the colours favoured by the Licchavis: ‘There are Licchavis with blue horses, blue chariots, blue reins and whips, blue sticks, blue clothes, blue ornaments, blue turbans, blue umbrellas and with blue swords, blue jewels, blue footwears and blue everything befitting their youth.’⁵ In the same terms the *Mahāvastu* speaks of the Licchavis decked all in yellow (*pīta*) and in light red, the colour of the Bengal *mādār* (*mañjiṣṭha*), in red (*lohita*), in white (*śveta*), in green (*harita*), and some in variegated colours (*vyāyukta*).⁶