Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.s20: The Jain Monks and Their Dress

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.s20

Language: English

The Jain Monks and Their Dress

c9.s20.1

As we have seen Pārśvanātha allowed an under and upper garment (santaruttara) for the ascetics.¹¹¹ A monk was allowed to wear three robes,¹¹² two linen (kṣaumika) under garments (omiacela) and one woolen (aurṇika) upper garment.¹¹³ The monks who could not go about naked were permitted to wear kaṭibandha (also called aggoyara) in order to cover their privities. This piece of cloth was four fingers broad and one hand long.¹¹⁴ Later on it was replaced by colapaṭṭaka. Like the Buddhists dyed garments were prohibited to the Jain monks as we have seen before. The Jain monks also were prohibited from wearing the garments with fringes (dasā). It is ordained that they should put on undivided garment in the country of Thūṇā, but its fringes must be removed.¹¹⁵

c9.s20.2

¹¹¹ Uttarā 23. 29, also mentioned in the Vinayavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda, p. 94.

c9.s20.3

¹¹² Buddha also allowed three robes, a double waist cloth (saṃghāṭa), single upper robe (uttarāsaṅga) and a single upper garment (antaravāsaka), Mahāvagga, VIII, 13 4, 5.

c9.s20.4

¹¹³ Ācā 7, 4 208

c9.s20.5

¹¹⁴ Ibid 7 6. 220.

c9.s20.6

¹¹⁵ Brh. Bhā. 3 3905 f, channadasa and dīrghadasa are also mentioned in the Vinayavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda, p 95.

c9.s20.7

The *Nigganthinis* were allowed to use the following clothes: *uggahanantaga*, which was used to cover their privities, it was like a boat in shape, broad in the middle and thin at the sides, and was made of soft cloth. *Patta* was tied by fasteners and was sufficient to cover the waist; it was four fingers in width. It covered both ends of the *uggahanantaga* and was like a wrestler’s tight short (*jānghyā* in Hindi) The third was *addhoruga*, which was worn over the *uggahanantaga* and *patta* covering the waist; its shape was after the style of the wrestlers and it was firmly tied on both sides over the breasts. The fourth was *calanīkā* which covered the knees and was unsewn; it was worn after the manner of the bamboo top dancers. The fifth was *abbhantaranyamsinī*; beginning from the waist it reached half length of the thighs Generally it was worn by the nuns to avoid being seen naked at the time of changing garments and becoming the laughing stock of the people. The sixth was *bahinyamsinī*, which, beginning from the waist and reaching down the ankles was tied with string to the waist.

c9.s20.8

Then the following garments were worn in the upper part of the body by the nuns: *kañcuka*, which measured two and half hands (the standard being one’s own fore-arm) in length and one in width, and was firmly tied on both sides on the waist and covered the breasts. Another was *ukkacchī* (*aupakakṣikī*); it was a garment like *kañcuka*, square in shape on the right side; it measured one and a half hands, and covering the breasts and the back was knotted on the left shoulders The third was *vegacchyā* (*vaikakṣikī*); it was knotted on the right shoulders, otherwise it was like *aupakakṣikī*. The fourth was *sanghāta*; they were four in number; one measured two hands, two three hands, and one four hands. The first was to be worn in the cloister (*pratisraya*), the second and the third out of door, and the last for assemblies (*samavasarana*).¹¹⁶ The fifth was *khandhakaranī* which was like a wrapper fourteen hands in length, square in shape and was worn to save oneself from the strong wind. It covered the shoulder and the body. This was used to dwarf the stature of the beautiful nuns by placing it at the back and tying it with *aupakakṣikī* and *vaikakṣikī*.¹¹⁷

c9.s20.9

¹¹⁶ The *Ācā* (II. 5 1.364) mentions only four *sanghātas*, which shows that at the time of the author of the *Brh. Bhāsya*, there was an increment in the number of wearing articles.

c9.s20.10

¹¹⁷ *Brh. Bhā* 3 4082-91, and com.; also *Ācā*. II, 5.1.364.

c9.s20.11

Then the shoes of different shapes formed important articles of costume. The *Brhatkalpa Bhāsya* prescribes the use of shoes for the Jain monks, specially when they were on tours, in case of illness, whose feet were tender by nature, in fear of wild animals, those suffering from leprosy, piles or who were short sighted.¹¹⁸ *Taliya* shoes were fastened to the feet in order to protect one’s feet from thorns while travelling in night; with this kind of shoe a monk could travel fast. Usually the monks were allowed to wear single-soled (*egapuda*) shoes, but they could also use four-soled ones. The *puḍaga* or *khallaka*¹¹⁹ shoes were used in winter to cover the foot-sore (*vivacci*). They were of two kinds: *addhakhalla* and *khalla*. The former covered half the feet, while the latter covered the whole. The *vāgurā* covered the toes and also the feet. The *kosa*gas covered the toes to save the nails against stone, etc. *Khapusā*¹²⁰ covered the ankles and was used as a precaution against cold, snake, snow and thorns. There are mentioned the *ardhajaṅghikā* and *jaṅghikā* shoes which covered half and full thighs respectively.¹²¹

Linked texts (5)

Mahāvagga — Pāli
Āyāraṃga — Sudharman, Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit
Vinayavastu — Sanskrit
Uttarajjhayaṇa — Ardhamāgadhī Prakrit
Bṛhatkalpalaghubhāṣya — Saṅghadāsagaṇi Kṣamāśramaṇa, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit