2.5. Thin and Soft Clothes

Even though many varieties of garments were in fashion, people had a special fondness towards thin as well as soft texture. Reference to such varieties is evidence to the highly developed craftsmanship of the period. We have ample references to light and soft garments. The ladies of Rāvaṇa’s palace in Vālmīki-rāmāyaṇa^[1] are described as wearing thin clothes, which are as thin as to be blown away even by the breath of the ladies during sleep. In another context, Rāvaṇa’s dress is also referred to as a light and extremely white. Its colour is there compared to that of foam of churned nectar. Kālidāsa^[2] mentions such clothes very often. The expression Niśvāsahārya frequently occurs in his works.

Bāṇa^[3] has alluded to thin and soft silk clothes in many contexts. In one place, he has depicted Harṣa as wearing a good variety of silk, which is described as too thin as a snake’s slough. In another context, he has mentioned a cloth which is Sparśānumeya. From its literal meaning it is clear that its presence is inferable only through touch.