ANCIENT THAMIZHAKAM (MEGALITHIC ERA)

Hundreds of burial urns & human skeletons dating to 2500-2200 BCE were unearthed at Adhichanallur, 15kms away from ancient Pandyan capital Korkai in modern day Tamil Nadu. Excavations at Adichanallur also contain thousands of iron and bronze artefacts, including weapons and gold jewellery dating between 900-700BCE. Adichanallur burial urns also featured ancient Tamili (Tamil-Brahmi) writing script – oldest known Indian writing script after that of IVC. Other megalithic excavations from Tamil Nadu include terracotta figurines, remains of irrigation tools, water canals, pottery and terracotta.

SANGAM ERA (600BCE-300CE)

Keezhadi excavations (near Sivagangai-Madurai) have unearthed remains of an ancient urban civilization dating mid-early 1st millennium BCE that thrived on the banks of the river Vaigai.

Owing to the hot and humid climate, people of ancient South Indian kingdoms wore short and minimal clothing and left the body bare above their waists. Rules of modesty, nudity and clothing were mostly gender-neutral. Sirradai is a short lower garment made of handspun cotton and silk was worn by people of wealthy communities. People from lower-economic communities dressed in lower garments and accessories made of leaves, punnai flowers, coconut fibres, and animal hair. Sangam poetry Akam specify that people wore garment called Kalingam.

While ancient Thamizh clothing was primarily minimalist, Sangam works refer to a variety of ornaments made of gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones. The five great epics of Sangam literature are titled after jewellery – ornamenting Thamizh Mother (Thamizh Language)

1. Chivaka Chintamani – jewellery on forehead
2. Kundalakesi – stud on ear
3. Manimegalai – girdle on waist
4. Valayapathi – bangle on hand
5. Silappathikaaram – anklet on foot

Jewellery described in Sangam texts includes Pullakkam, Maharapakuvai, Valampuri, Punkulai, Thodaivamani Malai, Pulipal Thali, Thodi Valai, Kudaichchul, Silambu, Paivagan Padhagam, Sadangai, Arivegam and Kazhal. People paid much attention to their hairstyle. Ancient Dravidians wore flowers like Jasmine to decorate their plaits and tufts and used perfumes made of sandal and flowers. People also commonly wore ornaments made of beads and shells.

References from Silapathikaram, Kalithokai and other Sangam works confirm that even women (like Kannagi and Madhavi) wore only lower garments from the loins downwards to the ankles without any rigid norms demanding to cover the torso. Indo-Aryan influences on post-Sangam Dravidian clothing is visible in the two-piece clothing worn by royals: Keezhadai (Sanskrit: antariya) and Meladai (Sanskrit: uttariya).

MAURYAN EMPIRE – (300 BCE – 187 BCE)

Chandragupta Maurya (322-298 BCE) establishes the Mauryan Empire by overthrowing Nanda Empire.

Clothing in the Mauryan era was primarily unstitched and comprised of two pieces. There’s no evidence of single long garment draped on both upper and lower body like the modern sari. The loincloth worn in the Vedic period was continued to be worn in this period. The Greek influence during the Mauryan era also contributes a new breast-covering garment – Pratidhi.

Pushyamitra, a Brahmin Mauryan general assassinates the last Mauryan Emperor Brihadratha Maurya to establish Shunga empire whose inscriptions would reach as far as Ayodhya. Buddhist text Vibhasa (150CE) states that Pushyamitra also burned Buddhist scriptures, killed Buddhist monks, and destroyed 500 monasteries in and around Kashmir. Texts including Manusmriti, Ramayana, and Mahabharata were composed in this era.

CLOTHING OF CHANDALA IN MANUSMRITI

“The clothes of dead bodies shall be their dress; they shall eat in broken dishes; their ornaments shall be of iron, and they shall be constantly wandering.” – Manusmriti 10.52

KUSHANA EMPIRE (30 CE – 375CE)

The Kushanas bring in multicultural influences of Scythian, Hellenistic and Greek to the Indian subcontinent. A headless statue of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka found in Bactria near Afghanistan shows him dressed in trousers, boots, tunics and overcoat. One of the most important costume development in this period was a rectangular cloth garment draped over both lower body and upper body – the sari drape, likely Roman influenced. Trade with China was directly established through the silk route, providing access to exotic silks in colours of blues, gold, bronze, green, crimson, pink, red, yellow, yellow-green, and browns.

Kushan men wore stitched calf-length tunic. Owing to the Roman influence of Kushans Antariya in the era is worn sari-like, tied in front, while one end is passed between the legs, pleated and tucked in at the back, the other end is partly pleated and tucked in at the front, then wound around and worn over the left shoulder.

SATAVAHANA DYNASTY (221 BCE -218 CE)

Satavahana kings ruled the area of modern-day Maharashtra and expanded their territories further east to rule over Andhra tribes.

GUPTA EMPIRE (240 CE – 590 CE)