''Aprapadina'' (, ) was a lower garment for women in
ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
. The garment was long, reaching all the way to the toes.
Etymology
As
Aṣṭādhyāyī
The (Devanagari अष्टाध्यायी) is a grammar that describes a form of an early Indo-Aryan language: Sanskrit.
Authored by Sanskrit philologist and scholar Pāṇini and dated to around 500 BCE, it describes the language as cu ...
elucidates, the garment was long and touched the forepart of the feet. Aprapadina is a Sanskrit word that means "reaching to the feet." Thus, it is called that.
Depictions
Aprapadina appears in depictions of Indian sculptures and paintings. For example, worshipping
Yakshini
''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...
(in
fragments of railing post, Mathura, 2nd century) is described as wearing an Aprapadina. The Yaksi's hands are folded in front of her (in anjali mudra), and she is draped in a long shawl over her shoulders, signifying that she is engaged in worship. A long, transparent skirt (Aprapadina) is held in place by a hip-girdle (mekhala) made of four beaded strings and a clasp in the front that keeps it in place.
In a similar manner, Aprapadina has been pictured in a
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary ...
painting.
See also
*
Antariya
An antariya () is a lower body garment from ancient India. It is a long white or coloured strip of cotton passed through the legs, tucked at the back and covering the legs loosely, then flowing into long pleats at front of the legs.
History
Antr ...
References
{{Reflist
Hindu religious clothing