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TBA
The essence of all religion is the awakening in the self that all human beings are spiritual beings. Given the intrinsic similarity of religious thought, rituals, traditions and religious dress have been established by each to strengthen their identity. Dress is one of the most visible means of doing so and ascetics have long used this to identify themselves from mainstream society and other religious groups.
This paper attempts to study the priestly dress and its symbolism in India. Some of the religious orders in the country are Muslim religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Besides these orders fakirs, ascetics and mendicants with personal beliefs abound. From the Digambara (literally 'sky clad') Jains who believe true asceticism lies in the total rejection of worldly goods and therefore do not wear any clothing to the saffron robed sadhu, India displays an amazing variety of dresses. It is displayed most beautifully in the ardhanarisvara where the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati are shown together, the right side of the body shows the ascetic Shiva unclad or wearing a tiger skin and the left side shows Parvati in the finest drapes and ornaments. Most clothing though unique has a regional similarity and presents the common cultural ethos that is India.
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