Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s2.t15.3

v1.c5.s2.t15.3

Since India was the land of origin of Asian cotton, it is natural that it has been the original producer of cotton cloth. Buddhist Sutras contain quite a few descriptions about Indian cloth. The fine cloth of ancient India was actually quite a rare commodity. Tantric believers often used white cloth or fine cloth to paint images of Avalokitesvara for Tantric rituals. In Fa Yun’s *Collection of Terms in Translation* (Juan 7) it is written that “dukūla is fine cloth.” In the same *Juan*, it is further mentioned that “屈眴 'quxuan/qushun' (*Kārpāsa*) can be referred to as the larger woven variety of fine cloth. It is woven with cotton flowers in a blue black colour. It is also that variety of fine cloth which is used to *kāsāya* (weave), one that has been handed down by the Dharma (Buddhism).”