Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c23.33

c23.33

The full complement of the Bhikkhu's dress comprised three parts and hence was called *Ticīvara*. The three parts were known as Antaravāsaka, Uttarāsaṅga, and Saṁghāṭī [see *Mahāv.*, i, 76; viii, 13, 15, 20, 23; *Chullav.*, x, 17]. The Saṁghāṭī was "the waist-cloth wrapped round the waist and back, and secured with a girdle". The Antaravāsaka was "the under-garment wrapped round the loins and fastened by an end of the cloth being tucked in there or by a girdle" called *Kāya-bandhana*. It reached below the knee. The Uttarāsaṅga was the upper robe which was wrapped round the legs from the loins to the ankles with its end drawn, at the back, from the right hip, over the left shoulder and allowed to fall down on the back. "In the Mahāvagga we have constant references to the practice of adjusting the robe over one shoulder as a mark of special respect. The earliest statues of the Buddha which represent the robe as falling over only one shoulder are probably later than the texts" [*SBE.*, xvii, p. 212 n.].