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The word saree is derived from Sanskrit , which means 'strip of cloth and which was corrupted to saree in Hindi. The word 'Sattika' is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in buddhist jain literature called Jatakas. This could be equivalent to modern day "Saree".
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In the history of Indian clothing the saree is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800–1800 BC around the western part of the Indian subcontinent. The earliest known depiction of the saree in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape..
Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or saree. The ancient stone inscription from Gangaikonda Cholapuram in old Tamil scripts has a reference to hand weaving.
In ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the saree.
Sculptures from the Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta schools (1st–6th century AD) show goddesses and dancers wearing what appears to be a dhoti wrap, in the "fishtail" version which covers the legs loosely and then flows into a long, decorative drape in front of the legs. No bodices are shown.
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The word saree is derived from Sanskrit , which means 'strip of cloth and which was corrupted to saree in Hindi. The word 'Sattika' is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in buddhist jain literature called Jatakas. This could be equivalent to modern day "Saree".
.
In the history of Indian clothing the saree is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800–1800 BC around the western part of the Indian subcontinent. The earliest known depiction of the saree in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape..
Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or saree. The ancient stone inscription from Gangaikonda Cholapuram in old Tamil scripts has a reference to hand weaving.
In ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the saree.
Sculptures from the Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta schools (1st–6th century AD) show goddesses and dancers wearing what appears to be a dhoti wrap, in the "fishtail" version which covers the legs loosely and then flows into a long, decorative drape in front of the legs. No bodices are shown.
NEXT / BACK