Vedic Period Costumes (1500 BC to 500 BC)

THE VEDIC PERIOD

• The Vedic age or the Vedic period was the time duration between 1500 to 500 BCE and is called
so because it was during this period that the Vedas were being written.

Early Vedic Period (1500–1000 BCE)

• Vedic Age began with the arrival of Aryans. Aryans first settled in the west-north side of India
( Afghanistan, Punjab,Uttar Pradesh). Mainly in the Sapt Sindhu (land of seven rivers).
• In India, the Vedic period was also known to be a flourishing time for the Sanskrit literature and
Indian culture.

• Four Vedas -rig, sama, yajur, atharva were written during this time. Rig Veda is the oldest
religious text. It contains the prayers of God and gayatri mantra. Sama Veda deals with the music.
Yajur Veda has the procedures for the performance of sacrifices.  Atharva Veda deals with
medicines.

• Women had a respectable place in the society. They had the right for education and to participate
in religious ceremonies.
• During this time four fold caste system ( brahmin, kshatriyas, vaishyas, shudras ) was existed.
Brahmins were prist, teachers. Kshatriyas were rulers,solders. Vaishyas were traders. Shudras
were workers.
• Throughout this era, people grew from domesticating cattle, to learning the art of farming,
building weaponry, preparing medicines and stitching clothes.

• The Vedic period is divided into early and later years, for the purpose of studies.

Later Vedic Period (1000BCE-500BCE):

 Two Great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata were also written during the late vedic period.   
 Aryans expanded their area and they entered in the gangatic plains also.
 During this time small kingdoms became large. Several wars were fought during this time.
 Women lost their social status and dignity in the society. They were not allowed to participate in
the public affairs.
 Kings became very powerful. The gap between Kshatriyas and vaishyas increased.
 Trading was increased. External trading was also started in this time.

TEXTILES

• The number and variety of clothing and textile related terms that occur in the Vedas implies that
the Aryans had relatively advanced knowledge of textile techniques.

• Evidence from all these literally sources suggests that a level of sophistication in Textile, clothing
and ornamental techniques had been attained by this time.
• As the Indian man was developing in this age, one of the most significant inventions was weaving
of cloth and making clothes.

• Vasas (the collective name for cloth and clothing worn in Vedic age) were made out of different
fabrics like Flax, jute , wool and other raw materials.

• The usage of vegetable dyes is also mentioned.

• Garments are described as being embellished with fringing and gold embroidery.

• There is even reference of perfumed garments.

• The understanding of the clothing culture of ancient India further enhanced by literature of the
post Vedic period – the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

• A wide variety of yarns and fabrics were are mentioned, including linen , hemp, cotton & silk.
Natural materials such as kush grass, tree bark, human hair , owls feathers and animal skin , are
referred to and were probably adapted for clothing in the colder Northern regions.

• Clothes used for preparing these clothes varied from wool worn in North India in winters, silks
and muslins which were transparent.

• Clothes were often dyed or otherwise patterned with stripes and checks.

COSTUMES DURINGVEDIC PERIOD

• The garments worn in Vedic period mainly included a single cloth wrapped around the whole
body and draped over the shoulder.

• People used to wear the lower garment called paridhana which was pleated in front and used to
tie with a belt called mekhala and an upper garment called uttariya (covered like a shawl) which
they used to remove during summers.

• "Orthodox males and females usually wore the uttariya by throwing it over the left shoulder only,
in the style called upavita".

• There was another garment called pravara that they used to wear in cold. This was the general
garb of both the sexes but the difference existed only in size of cloth and manner of wearing.

• Sometimes the poor people used to wear the lower garment as a loincloth only while rich used to
wear it up to their feet to brag their prestige off in society.

FEMALE COSTUMES

• Sari was the main costume for women in Vedic culture. It is a long stretch of cloth which is about
six to nine yards, and is to be draped on a woman's body in a specific manner. Even though the
initial styles of draping the Sari were very basic, they were later altered on a regional basis.

• However, the most common manner of draping the sari was, wrapping one end of the cloth
around the waist, and throwing the other end over the shoulder covering the bust area. Women
 used to wrap it around their waist, pleated in front over the belly and drape it over their shoulder
covering their bust area and fastened it with a pin at the shoulder.

• ‘Choli’ or blouse, as an upper garment was introduced in the later Vedic period with sleeves and
a neck.

• A new version of sari, little smaller than sari, called dupatta. It is only a few meters long and was
usually used in the later Vedic period as a part of sophisticated garments such as, 'Ghagra Choli',
where the Ghagra is a long skirt worn with a blouse and the Dupatta was also incorporated later
and it was used to wear along with ghaghara (frilled skirt up to feet).

The Didarganj Yakshi (Chauri Bearer)

The woman is bear-chested and wearing a thin silk dhoti. In her right arm she is holding a fly
whisk. These were usually made with animal hair and attached to a jeweled handle to show status.

MALE COSTUMES

• Generally, in those times, no upper garment was worn by men. Men too draped pieces of long
clothing around them during the Vedic period.

• The most initial attire of Vedic men wore 'Dhotis', which are similar to a Dupatta but slightly
longer. However, men draped the Dhoti around their waste and partitioned it with pleats.

• Another similar garment worn by men was the 'Lungi', which was simply draped around the
man's waist and pleated in the center, but is not partitioned.

• There were no upper garments required by men in this era; therefore, the Dhoti was the only piece
of clothing they wore.
 • However, when Vedic people learned to stitch, they made 'the Kurta' which is a loose shirt like
upper body garment and the 'Pajama' which resembled a loose trouser. Men also wore head gears
such as turbans, draped in various regional styles.

OTHER GARMENTS

• In the Rig Veda, mainly three terms were described like

- Adhivastra(the outer cover (veil)

- Kurlra(a head-ornament or head-dress (turban)) and

- Andpratidhi (part of woman's dress)

• In the Atharva Veda, garments began to be made of inner cover, an outer cover and a chest-cover.

• There are other parts like as Nivi, Vavri, Upavasana, Kumba, Usnlsa, and Tirlta also appeared in
Atharva Veda, which correspondingly denotes, upper garment, veil and the last three denoting
some kinds of head-dress (head-ornament).

• There were also mentioned kambala (blanket), Mani (jewel) is also mentioned for making
ornaments in this Vedic text.

TURBAN

• By this time the turban had developed into the most important element of male costume. A man’s
lineage, region of origin, religion and status in Aryan society were all reflected in the turban’s
color , pattern , fabric and tying style.

FOOTWEAR

• Updnaha (Foot wears) were generally worn to protect the feet from scorching heat of earth in
Indian summers.Shoes were made of white leather and these were elaborately trimmed, while the
soles were variegated and made of great thickness, to make the wearer seam much taller.

JEWELLERY

• Many evidences are found for ornaments like Niska, Rukma were used to wear in the ear and
neck; there was a great use of gold beads in necklaces which show that gold was mainly used in
jewelry.

• Rajata-Hiranya (white gold), also known as silver was not in that much of use as no evidence of
silver is figured out in the Rig Veda.

• The vedic period people also wear ear- rings of ivory, but only the very wealthy do so.

Niska, rukma were the names of certain ornaments that were hugely used to decorate the neck and the ear.