Essay name: Brahma Purana (critical study)
Author:
Surabhi H. Trivedi
Affiliation: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda / Department of Sanskrit Pali and Prakrit
This is an English study of the Brahmapurana—one of the eighteen major Puranas which occupies an important place in the Pauranic literature. This study researches the rich an encyclopaedic material for social, religious, philosophical, mythological, political, geographical and literary study found in the Brahma-Purana.
Social and Economic Life
22 (of 75)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
416
been a product of the soil eminently suited to the climate,
and the art and style of dressing appears to have received
thoughtful, scientific and aesthetic consideration.17
Nudity
Lord Siva is described as surrounded by Ganas who
are nude (nagna) and without clothes (avasas) (38.36,37).
As the information regarding nudity is purely mythological
it is useless for the present inquiry.
Bark and Skin Garments
The dress of the Indians must have gone through
certain stages of evolution before reaching its final shape.
The vedic evidence shows that the dress consisted of leaves
and grass.
18 In the next stage valkala or bark was used for
clothing. It used to be utilized as a material for clothing
because it was cheaper than wool and easily available.
19 The
epic hero Rama with his consort Sita and brother Laksmana
put on bark garments during his long exile. The other
instances are of Gauri in the Kumarasambhava and Sakuntala in
the Sakuntala.
The Br. P. also refers to valkalas (221.117),
17 Majumdar G.P.; Op.Cit., P.207.
18 Cambridge History of India, I.101, Das A.C.: Rgvedic
Culture, PP. 210-5.
19 Majumdar G.P.: Op.Cit., P. 194.
