Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c5.193

c5.193

India has always been noted for its silks. In the *Jātaka* times, Benares had already acquired great fame for the special excellence of its wares—"Fine *Kāsi* cloth, worth ten thousand pieces" had already become a proverbial phrase.¹ Besides this finer stuff, Gandhāra and Koḍumbara were known to be producing woollen cloths of great value.¹ The silk cloth (Koseyya) was most probably embroidered with gold²; kings wore turbans of gold.³ The state-elephants also had golden cloths.⁴ Thus, while silk was a portion of royalty and wealth, the garments of the large majority of the people were made of cotton.⁵ Hemp might have been in use, but to a very limited extent. Thus, besides the ordinary dress of the people, costly and dainty fabrics of silk cloth and fur were worked out into rugs, blankets, cushion cloths, coverlets and carpets,⁶ sufficiently enough to have a foreign market. Ascetics are said to have worn ‘robes of bark’ probably made from aloe-fibre.⁷