''Kausheya'' (''kauseya'', ''Kiau-she-ye'', ''Kaushika'') was a wild variety of ancient

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Domesticated and undomesticated silk (also known as wild silk) were produced in both India and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Silk weaving is mentioned in Indian texts from the

3rd century BC The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC. It is considered part of the Classical antiquity, Classical Era, Epoch (reference date), epoch, or historical period. In the Mediterranean Basin, the first fe ...

. In the

4th century BC The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical antiquity, Classical era, Epoch (reference date), epoch, or historical period. This century marked the height of Classi ...

Kātyāyana Kātyāyana (कात्यायन) also spelled as Katyayana ( century BCE) was a Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India. Origins According to some legends, he was born in the Katya lineage origina ...

, an ancient grammarian, defined ''kausheva'' specifically as ''vikar'', a product of ''kos'' (''vikara koshdvam''), — in other words, silk fabric. ''

Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana (, , abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Yajurveda, Śukla Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. Described as the most complete, systematic, and important of the Brahmanas (commentaries on the ...

'' refers to ''kusa'', a variety of silk obtained from a silkworm called ''kuswari'' or ''kuswara''. These silkworms are raised on

jujube Jujube (UK ; US or ), sometimes jujuba, scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'', and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused wit ...

trees. ''Kitsutram'', ''kriminag'', ''pattasutra'', or ''pattron'' were names possibly referring to varieties of wild silk produced by various undomesticated silkworms reared on different trees, hence producing different qualities and colours of silk.

Etymology

''Kaushika'' or ''kausheya'' is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word that literally translates as silk. It is derived from "''kosh''", which means "cocoon of a silkworm". The derivation of the word is given by the ancient Sanskrit grammarian

Pāṇini (; , ) was a Sanskrit grammarian, logician, philologist, and revered scholar in ancient India during the mid-1st millennium BCE, dated variously by most scholars between the 6th–5th and 4th century BCE. The historical facts of his life ar ...

Mention

''Kausheya'' is described in a number of

literary works Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, th ...

, including the Indian

epics ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'', ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'', and ''

Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛti'' (), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or the Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitutions among the many ' of Hinduism. Over fifty manuscripts of the ''Manusmriti'' are now known, but the earli ...

''. The Hindu goddess

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

is referred to as "''Kausheya vasini''," which translates as "one who wears silk garments".

Sabha Parva The Sabha Parva ("Book of the Assembly Hall") is the second of the eighteen ''parvas'' (books) of the Indian epic '' Mahabharata''.van Buitenen, J. A. B. (1978) ''The Mahabharata: Book 2: The Book of the Assembly Hall; Book 3: The Book of the For ...

(51.26) refers to ''kausheya'' in the ''Mahabharata'', relating to an incident with

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

. The Sanskrit anthology of Buddhist avadana tales, ''

Divyavadana The ''Divyāvadāna'' or Divine narratives is a Sanskrit anthology of Buddhist avadana tales, many originating in Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya texts. It may be dated to 2nd century CE. The stories themselves are therefore quite ancient and may be a ...

'' (the fourth-century collection of Buddhist tales), also proves the existence of ''kausheya''; it contains words such as ''kausheya'', ''dhautapatta'', ''kashikanshuka'', ''kashi'', ''pattanshuka'', and ''chinashuka''. ''Kosh'' and ''kausheva'' are mentioned in several Sanskrit texts, including the ''

'', ''Shushruta Samhitas'', Kautilya's ''Arthash'', ''

Vashistha Dharmasutra __NOTOC__ The ''Vashistha Dharmasutra'' is one of the few surviving ancient Sanskrit Dharmasutras of Hinduism. It is reverentially named after a Rigvedic sage Vashistha who lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, but the text was probably composed by u ...

'' (11,66), ''Vishnu Dharmasutra'' (44,26), Pāṇini's ''Sutrapat'' and ''Gunapat'', ''Vaikhanas Dharmasutra'' (3,4,2 Pravar Khand).

Amarakosha The Amarakosha (Devanagari: अमरकोशः, IAST: ''Amarakośaḥ'', ISO 15919, ISO: ''Amarakōśaḥ'') is the popular name for ''Namalinganushasanam'' (Devanagari: नामलिङ्गानुशासनम्, IAST: ''Nāmaliṅg ...

also infers about a variety of ''kausheya'' that was . It is defined as "a bleached or white ''Kausheya''."

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

who was also known as Hiuen-Tsang, a Chinese traveler from the 7th century, referred to Indian silk as "wild silk," implying that it was inferior to Chinese silk. He described ''kausheya'' while discussing contemporary people's clothing styles and materials. Hiuen-Tsang explained an unstitched garb for both men and women.

Significance and use

''Kshauma'' and ''kausheya'' were considered pure in Hinduism and were also permitted on

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

clothing. An ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and surgery, the ''Sushruta Samhita'', categorises ''kausheya'' under the "articles of bandaging."

References

{{Reflist Silk Silk in India

Etymology

Mention

Significance and use

See also

References