The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c15.s1.57

c15.s1.57

Let us now ascertain the role which stitched clothes played in the dress of women. There is one view which holds that the art of sewing was unknown to the Hindus before the advent of the Muslims. It is, however, altogether untenable. The needle and the process of sewing are both referred to as early as in the Ṛigveda³; there is a passage in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* which clearly refers to two pieces of cloths being joined together by the needle¹. The Buddha had forbidden monks to do sewing work for nuns². The *Amarakosha* expressly mentions the tailor³, and the Chinese pilgrim I-tsing informs us that shirts and trousers were quite common in Kashmir and the Punjab during the 7th century A. D.,' though they were not in vogue in the plains⁴. The fact is that in the hot plains of Northern India stitched clothes are very inconvenient, except in the winter, and so for the greater part of the year both men and women can do without them. That seems to be the reason why they are so rarely referred to in literature.