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83-471: A ghoonghat ( ghunghat , ghunghta , ghomta , orhni , odani , laaj , chunari , jhund , kundh ) is a headcovering or headscarf , worn primarily in the Indian subcontinent , by some married Hindu , Jain , and Sikh women to cover their heads, and often their faces. Generally aanchal or pallu , the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head and face to act as a ghoonghat. A dupatta (long scarf)

166-473: A head covering . Among Anabaptist Christians , this often takes the form of a Kapp or hanging veil —being worn throughout the day. For Eastern Orthodox Christians , headscarves are traditionally worn by women while attending the church, and historically, in the public as well. However, in certain localities, this has waned. A form of headscarf, known as the hijab , is often seen in Muslim countries and

249-471: A religious significance or function, or be expected as a matter of social custom , the two very often being confused. Judaism , under Halakhah (Jewish Law), promotes modest dress among women and men. Many married Orthodox Jewish women wear a headscarf ( mitpahat or tichel) , snood, turban, shpitzel or a wig to cover their hair. The Tallit is commonly worn by Jewish men, especially for prayers, which they use to cover their heads in order to recite

332-469: A battlefield during a skirmish). These altogether make the ten Kumaras . The men are schooled in several disciplines such as law, grammar, astrology, music, medicine and warfare. The men are dispatched together by the King for a Digvijaya (world conquest). Prince Rajavahana comes across a Matanga Brahmana . The latter lures him into a scheme to conquer Patala (the netherworld), and the two disappear into

415-474: A coherent whole. However, as mentioned above, it comes from the hands of multiple authors writing in possibly different centuries. There are small discrepancies between the three parts; e.g., the patronage of Pramati as described in the prologue disagrees with the one in Dashakumaracharita proper. The ten Kumaras are named in the first chapter of the prologue as follows: The first two chapters of

498-833: A head covering over their hair in church until the 1980s; in Spain , these take the form of the mantilla . Women meeting the Pope in formal audiences are still expected to wear them. Martin Luther , the German Reformer , as well as John Calvin , a major figure in the Reformed Churches, also expected women to cover their heads in church, as did John Wesley , the founder of the Methodist Churches . In many rural areas, women, especially widows, continue to observe

581-411: A man praying with a head covering "dishonoureth his head", while Christian women should always wear a cloth head covering. Paul compared a woman not wearing a veil to her being shaven, which Chrysostom stated is "always dishonourable". The Church Fathers taught that because the hair of a woman has sexual potency, it should only be for her husband to see and covered the rest of the time. To some extent,

664-402: A seductive young girl (all of whose anatomical features are very frankly described) deftly prepares a fragrant meal of rice-gruel and vegetables for her prospective suitor in the sixth chapter of the Dashakumaracharita . The seventh chapter of the Dashakumaracharita contains a specimen of lipogrammatic writing (a species of constrained writing ). At the beginning of the chapter, Mantragupta

747-556: A soldier and is imprisoned. The jailor Kantaka uses his services to dig a tunnel out of the prison into the royal palace since Karnataka is enamoured of the princess and wishes to visit her in secret. However, Apaharavarman kills the jailor and escapes through the tunnel. Next, Upaharavarman relates his adventures. He had returned to his own country Videha in search of the Prince. He meets his old nurse who informs him that his father's kingdom has been usurped by King Vikatavarman. He entices

830-474: A stranger) and he throws Mitragupta into the sea. He is rescued by a passing vessel of Yavanas who want to hold him as a slave. However, at the same time, their ship is attacked by Bhimadhanva's party. Mitragupta helps the Yavanas in repelling the attack and wins their favour. The ship drifts off to an island and Mitragupta lands on the shore. There he meets a Rakshasa who threatens to eat him unless he answers

913-438: A temple of Durga . The boy is restored to his rightful throne, and Vishruta marries the princess. The text breaks off in the middle of Vishruta's story. Later Vishruta restores the kingdom of Vidarbha to King Bhaskarvarman by leading an expedition against the usurper Vasantabhanu. After the narratives have ended, a messenger arrives from the old King Rajahamsa (father of Prince Rajavahana). The King had been very mournful when

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996-551: A thirteenth-century Telugu translation. These texts overlap significantly with the stories in the Dashakumaracharita . Precisely how the Dashakumaracharita and the Avantisundarī originally related is unclear. Although many have argued that the two must have been composed by different people, the Avantisundarī too is 'unmistakably ascribed to Daṇḍin by its colophons and by later sources'. Several eminent scholars now believe on stylistic and other grounds that, as suggested by

1079-404: A treacherous ally. Thus the queen is compelled to send away the boy to safety. Vishruta takes upon himself to help the boy. He sends back the servant and instructs him to spread a false report that the young prince is dead. He also sends a poisonous garland to the queen which she uses to kill Mitravarma. Then Vishruta arrives in the city with the young boy, restores the kingdom and meets the queen in

1162-469: A tree. During the night he was transported by a nymph to the palace of the princess Navamalika, with whom he fell in love. In order to gain the princess, he hatches a plan in consort with a Brahmana (whom he has met at a cock-fight). The Brahmana dresses Pramati in female garb, and leaves 'her' in the protection of the King (Navamalika's father) telling the King that 'she' is the Brahmana's daughter. While in

1245-409: A veil given by her parents. Later, during the ceremony the bride's mother-in-law covers her face with ghoonghat. The bride therefore simultaneously wears the veil given by her parents and that from her in-laws, symbolizing her passing from the protection of one household to another. Muh Dikhai ( Devanagari : मुँह दिखाई, first gaze) is a post-wedding ceremony, where the bride is formally introduced to

1328-571: A veil until after marriage. Later, the veil was referred to by the same term, avagunthana , in Śiśupālavadha and the Dashakumaracharita . According to commentator Sankara, the ladies of Sthanvisvara used to go about covering their faces with a veil. In the Mahayana Buddhist sutra called Lalitavistara Sūtra , a young bride Yasodharā objected to observing the veil (oguntheti/oguṇthikā) in front of respected elders. This

1411-486: A veil. In the Sanskrit play Mṛcchakatika , courtesan Vasantasena 's mother sends Vasantasena with her maid and asks her to go in the carriage bedecked with ornaments and an avagunthana veil after receiving ornaments for her daughter from a wealthy suitor to keep her as his mistress. This instruction is taken to signify that a courtesan who has accepted a suitor, had to use a veil in public similar to married women. At

1494-630: A woman will veil her face from all male relatives by marriage who are senior to her husband. The effect of ghungat is to limit a young woman's interaction with older men. In 2004, the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) found that 55% of women in India practice some form of ghoonghat, majority of them in Hindi-speaking states. The survey found that some women may cover their face fully but for others, partial covering of

1577-429: Is about to be trampled to death by an elephant, the chain tied to his feet falls off and is revealed to be a nymph who had previously been cursed into assuming that form. Meanwhile, Chandavarman is killed by a thief. Several military allies of Simhavarman arrive at the scene, amongst whom all of Rajavahana's remaining missing friends are found. Now Apaharavarman is asked to relate his adventures. Apaharavarman travelled to

1660-453: Is also commonly used as a ghoongat. Since the ancient period of India , certain veiling practices (what became known as ghoonghat) has been partially practiced among a section of women. However, it is notable that some section of society from the 1st century B.C. advocated the use of the veil for married women. There is no proof that a large section of society observed strict veiling until the medieval period. This process mostly established in

1743-438: Is avoided either by means of a suitable head covering like a cap, hairnet or kerchief; cutting the hair short; or by putting on a headscarf. Hygiene also requires wearing a head cover at some workplaces, for example in kitchens and hospitals. Such usage has gone on since about 1900, when women's use of mob caps and Dutch bonnets declined. Workers wore them at work to protect their hair from dirt. Farmers used them to see off

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1826-458: Is being led to his execution, Arthapala drops a poisonous snake on his body and makes him fall down senseless. The seemingly dead body is carried away and later restored to life by Arthapala (who knows anti-poison charms). Later Arthapala overthrows Simhaghosha and marries the princess Manikarnika. Pramati relates his adventures. While travelling through the Vindhya mountains, he fell asleep under

1909-458: Is born out of tradition . It is worn by some Muslim women who consider it to be a religious ordainment, and its style varies by culture. Not all Muslims believe that the hijab in the context of head covering is a religious ordainment in the Quran . For fashion and ceremonial usage, the gele is a traditional headscarf of Yoruba women for fashionable purposes. Headscarves may specifically have

1992-415: Is called upon to relate his adventures. However, during the previous night of vigorous lovemaking, his lips have been nibbled several times by his beloved; as a result, they are now swollen, making it painful for him to close them. Thus, throughout his narrative, he is compelled to refrain from using any labial consonants (प,फ,ब,भ,म). Most extant texts of Dashakumaracharita are composed of Some text at

2075-508: Is derived from Avagunthana ( Sanskrit : अवगुण्ठन) meaning veil , hiding and cloak and Oguntheti ( Prakrit : ओगुन्थेति) to cover , veil over and hide . The ghoongat , ghunghat or ghunghta veil evolved from ancient Avagunthana in ( Sanskrit : अवगुण्ठन) veil , hiding and cloak . Early Sanskrit literature has a wide vocabulary of terms for the veils used by women, such as avagunthana meaning cloak-veil, uttariya meaning shoulder-veil, and sirovas-tra meaning head-veil. In

2158-467: Is known as Laaj ( Sanskrit : लज्जा, Lajja - modesty , honor , shame ). In veiling practice, it literally means " To keep (one's) modesty, shame and honor ". The earliest attested word Laaj in context of veiling is found in Valmiki 's Ramayana as lajjaavaguNThanaan describing Mandodari. However, it is unclear whether or not it refers to facial veiling. During a marriage ceremony, the bride wears

2241-475: Is no mention of Sita veiling herself again after this incident. At the end of the epic, hearing the news of Ravana's death, his queens giving up to lamentations rush outside without their Avagunthana , in which chief queen Mandodari surrounding his corpse says " Why do you not get angry, beholding me, having put off my veil, walk out on foot by the city gate? Do you behold your wives who have thrown off their veils. Why are you not angry seeing them all come out of

2324-442: Is of no use whatsoever. Women of good character are guarded only by their own virtue and nothing else. " Rational opposition against veiling and seclusion from strong-willed women resulted in the system declining in popularity for several centuries. However, some sections of society from the 1st century B.C. advocated the use of the veil for married women. There is no proof that a large section of society observed strict veiling until

2407-416: Is seen forcibly carrying the princess Kandukavati through the air. She is rescued and then married to Mitragupta. Mantragupta relates his adventures, in a speech which is entire niroshthya (निरोष्ठ्य, i.e., without labial consonants). One night he sees that a Siddha (sorcerer) is about to sacrifice the princess Kanakalekha of Kalinga in order to obtain miraculous powers. He kills the sorcerer and rescues

2490-514: Is the "khimar" mentioned in the Quran . Many of these garments cover the hair, ears and throat, but do not cover the face. Not all Muslims believe that the hijab in the context of head-covering is a religious ordainment in the Quran. The keffiyeh is commonly used by Muslims in Middle Eastern countries. Headscarves and veils are used by some Muslim women and girls, so that no one has

2573-504: Is wedded to Navamalika. Mitragupta relates his adventures. He had travelled to the Suhma country, where, by the grace of the goddess Durga , the king had obtained two children, a son (Bhimadhanva) and a daughter (Kandukavati). The goddess had stipulated that the son should be subordinate to the daughter's husband. The princess chooses Mitragupta as her husband in a public festival. This infuriates Bhimadhanva (who resents being subordinated to

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2656-579: The Dashakumaracharita . The author is traditionally regarded as the poet and grammarian Daṇḍin who composed the Kavyadarsha , a manual on poetry and rhetoric , and according to Yigal Bronner, 'there is now a wide consensus that a single Daṇḍin in authored all these works at the Pallava court in Kāñcī around the end of the seventh century'. In the early twentieth century, Agashe doubted this attribution on

2739-458: The Kumaras had scattered away, but was comforted by a seer who assured him that they would return after sixteen years. This interval has now come to pass. The Kumaras return with an army to Ujjain, and succeed in defeating King Manasara. Various kingdoms are distributed to the Kumaras , which they govern with justice and happiness to all. There has been extensive debate about the authorship of

2822-435: The Kumaras , all of whom are either princes or sons of royal ministers, as narrated by the men themselves (however, there are irregularities in the text). These narratives are replete with accounts of demigods, ghosts, prostitutes, gamblers, intrigues with voluptuous women, astonishing coincidences, cockfights, anthropophagy, sorcery, robberies, murders and wars. The reader is treated to some very striking passages; for instance,

2905-401: The dastar . Older Sikhs may wear them as an under-turban. Practical reasons for headscarf use at work include protection from bad weather and protection against industrial contamination, for example in dusty and oily environments. A headscarf can ensure that the hair does not interfere with the work and get caught-up in machinery since long hair can get into rotating parts of machines, so this

2988-643: The medieval period. Under the Islamic Mughal Empire , various aspects of veiling and seclusion for women was adopted, such as the concept of Purdah and Zenana , partly as an additional protection for women. Purdah became common in the 15th and 16th century, as both Vidyāpati and Chaitanya mention it. Sikhism was highly critical of purdah ; Guru Amar Das condemned it and rejected seclusion and veiling of women, which saw decline of purdah among most classes during this period. In ghoonghat practice, facial veiling observed by married women

3071-414: The 3rd century CE and Buddhists' attempt to counter this growing practice, as there is no mention of this entire incident in early Buddhist Theravada literature. In Valmiki 's Ramayana dated between the 5th century BCE to the 3rd century CE, Prince Rama asks his wife Sita to unveil herself so that the gathered citizens of Ayodhya can take a look at them before they go in exile to the forest; there

3154-445: The 5th century, he is led to 6th-8th century as the most probable time of composition. (This remains in some tension with the fact that Dashakumaracharita is not referred to by any other text until the 10th century. There is also a conflicting tradition, generally considered unreliable, which makes Dandin a contemporary of Kalidasa .) Another work attributed to Daṇḍin is the Avantisundarī or Avantisundarīkathā (The Story of

3237-592: The Beautiful Lady from Avanti). Like the Dashakumaracharita this is in prose, but is even more fragmentarily preserved: the two surviving manuscripts break off early in the text. A later Sanskrit poem, the Avantisundarīkathāsāra (Gist of the Story of the Beautiful Lady from Avanti) seems to have summarised the full story, and its surviving portion covers more of the story, and more again is preserved in

3320-540: The Lord. Head-coverings also symbolizes that a woman is married and that her husband is the head of the family. Little girls also have their heads covered when they go to Mass at church, not because they are married, but in order to honor the Lord. Today, young Russian Orthodox women and little girls still cover their heads when going to church, although it differs in style from those worn by women of older age (grandmothers). The Roman Catholic Church required all women to wear

3403-575: The UK soap opera Coronation Street portrayed by Jean Alexander , became famous throughout the nation for combining a headscarf with hair curlers . So famous was she that, in 1982, she came fourth behind the Queen Mother , Queen Elizabeth II , and Diana, Princess of Wales in a poll of the most recognisable women in Britain. Dashakumaracharita It describes the adventures of ten young men,

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3486-532: The beautiful damsel Balachandrika, who is facing unwelcome advances from a certain Daruvarma. Pushpodbhava spreads a report that Balachandrika is possessed by a Yaksha . He accompanies Balachandrika to Daruvarma's apartment disguised as her female attendant, kills him when he tries to sport with her, and blames the death on the Yaksha. He then marries Balachandrika. Rajavahana relates his adventures. He had gone to

3569-452: The beginning and the end of Dashakumaracharita proper has been lost; thus it contains only eight of the ten narratives, and furthermore, the stories of Rajavahan and Vishruta are incomplete. The 1st and the 3rd parts seem to have been added later by various authors (some of whom have tried to mimic the style of the original); indeed, there are several disparate versions for these parts in existence. The plot, as described below, almost makes

3652-452: The blessings, although not all men do this. It also may not apply to the entire prayer service, sometimes only specific sections such as the Amidah. The Kohanim (priests) also cover their heads and shoulders with the tallit during the priestly blessing, so as to conform to Halakah which states that the hands of the priests should not be seen during this time as their mystical significance to

3735-413: The city of Champa , where he became a gamester and a burglar and helped the maiden Kulapalika to gain her lover by enriching her with burgled wealth. A devious prostitute named Kamanamanjari had defrauded several people in that city. Apaharavarman falls in love with her sister Ragamanjari, tricks Kamanamanjari into giving back her money to her former paramours, and marries the sister. Later he rashly attacks

3818-440: The city? " Thus, it is notable that royal women avoided the public gaze and that veiling was only expected for married women. In Abhijñānaśākuntalam by Kālidāsa , written between the 3rd and 4th century CE, when the heroine arrives at King Duhsanta 's palace, seeking to take up her wifely status, the king first remarks " Kā svid avagunthanavati " meaning " who is this veiled one? " and immediately forbears to look at her, with

3901-586: The covering of the head depended on where the woman was, but it was usually outside and on formal occasions, especially when praying at home and worshipping in church. Certain styles of Christian head coverings were an indication of married status; the "matron's cap" is a general term for these. Many Anabaptist Christian women ( Amish / Para-Amish , Schwarzenau Brethren , Bruderhof , Hutterites , River Brethren , Apostolic Christians , Charity Christians and Mennonites ) wear their headscarf at all times, except when sleeping; these head coverings are usually in

3984-563: The current form after the arrival of Islam in the subcontinent. Today, facial veiling by Hindu women as part of everyday attire is now mostly limited to the Hindi Belt region of India, particularly Haryana , Uttarakhand , Uttar Pradesh , Rajasthan , Himachal Pradesh , Delhi, Madhya Pradesh , Gujarat, Bihar and some parts of Sindh and Punjab . It has been both romanticized and criticized in religious and folk literature. The word ghoongat , ghunghat or ghunghta ( Hindi : घूँघट)

4067-429: The early 1900s, women of royal and aristocratic class were the first to abandon strict veiling in public. However, the head was loosely veiled due to sensitivity towards the custom during changing times. The other classes soon followed. Still, the veil lingered on in some parts of India until well after the 1940s. Facial veiling has gradually declined, and is mostly limited to parts of Hindi-speaking areas today. In ghungat,

4150-462: The earth through a chasm. After the scheme is accomplished (and the Brahmana marries the daughter of the King of Asuras ), Rajavahana returns to earth, only to find that his friends have all scattered away. Eventually, the young men will meet again and relate their adventures, which will form the body of the present work. Rajavahana travels to Ujjain , where he meets Somadatta. The latter begins his narrative. Somadatta had gone to Ujjain in search of

4233-431: The edition by Kale includes the original in Sanskrit, a literal English translation, as well as an extensive commentary on the stylistic and historical aspects of the text. In her translation of the lipogrammatic chapter, Onians omits the labial roman letters 'b', 'm' and 'p'. (E.g., she uses the circumlocution 'honey-creator' instead of 'bumblebee'). There is also a translation into German by Mayer. Critical commentaries on

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4316-459: The end of the play when Vasanthasena is legally wedded, she receives the title " Vadhūśabda " meaning " title of a bride " simultaneously with the veil " vasantasenām avagunthya " meaning " a token of honorable marriage ". In the same literature, the courtesans' maid servant Madanika marries her lover Sarvilaka, a thief who changes his ways. Her new husband told her that she has achieved what is difficult to acquire: " Vadhūśabda avagunthanam " meaning "

4399-573: The end of this narrative, Rajavahana and Somadatta accidentally meet Pushpodbhava and ask him to relate his adventures. The latter begins his narrative. Pushpodbhava saves a man falling from a cliff, who turns out to be his father, who had tried to commit suicide after becoming despondent for having lost his family. Shortly afterwards, he saves a woman from throwing herself in fire due to grief; this turns out to be his mother. Later Pushpodbhava acquires vast wealth by applying magical collyrium to his eyes to detect subterranean riches. He becomes enamoured of

4482-466: The face is more a nod to propriety than a large impediment. Dupatta is a part of the Punjabi suit which is traditionally worn by Sikh women. While old Sikh women always cover their heads with it, the younger women prefer to put it around their shoulders. Women are supposed to cover their heads with dupatta or chunni in gurdwaras . Headscarf A headscarf is a scarf covering most or all of

4565-418: The following four questions: 1. What is cruel by nature? 2. What ensures the happiness of a householder? 3. What is love? and 4. What is the best means of achieving difficult things? He answers 1. The heart of a woman, 2. The virtues of a wife, 3. Imagination and 4. Ability. He illustrates his answers by four stories (told in full in the text). The Rakshasa is appeased by these answers. Just then, another Rakshasa

4648-624: The form of a hanging veil or kapp . In countries with large Eastern Orthodox Christian population such as Romania or Russia headscarves and veils are used by Christian women in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East, and Roman Catholic Church. A few years back, all women in Russia who attended Divine Liturgy wore head-coverings. A woman having her head covered means that she honors

4731-428: The groom's relatives and extended family. The ceremony takes place once the bride arrives in her new home. Each family member lifts her veil, looks at the bride and gives her a welcoming gift. She receives Shagun from her mother-in-law, which is typically jewelry, clothing and silverware. After this ceremony, the bride observes full veiling for the next few months or until her parents-in-law advise her to unveil. During

4814-434: The grounds that the two works differ very widely in style and tone. Since a poet Dandin (presumably distinct from a prose writer) is also mentioned in sundry ancient Indian texts, he is led to conjecture the existence of at least three distinct Dandin s. Since Dandin (literally, a staff-bearer) is also a common adjective for ascetics or religious mendicants, Wilson doubted whether it was the author's proper name at all. On

4897-667: The hand position. The Bible , in 1 Corinthians 11:4–13 , instructs women to wear a head covering , while men are to pray and worship with their heads uncovered. In the early Church, Christian head-covering with an opaque cloth veil was universally taught by the Church Fathers and practiced by Christian women. The practice continues in many parts of the world, such as Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, and South Korea. The Early Church Father John Chrysostom ( c.  347  – 407) delineated Saint Paul's teaching, explaining that Paul said

4980-408: The king into a trap to perform a magical rite in order to exchange his (the King's) old and shrivelled body for a new one and succeeds in killing him. The kingdom is restored to his father. Arthapala narrates his adventures. He had gone to Kashi where he heard the plight of Kampala (his father, and a former royal minister). The latter was sentenced to death by the evil King Simhaghosha. While Kampala

5063-666: The latter 20th century, headscarves were commonly worn by women in many parts of Europe , Southwestern Asia , North Africa , and the Americas , as well as some other parts of the world. In recent decades, headscarves, like hats, have fallen out of favor in Western culture. They are still, though, common in many rural areas of Eastern Europe as well as many areas of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent . The Christian Bible , in 1 Corinthians 11:4–13 , enjoins women to wear

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5146-458: The latter enters. He issues forth as the King (who has acquired a new lustrous body), frees the old king and marries the princess. Vishruta begins to relate his adventures. While wandering through the Vindhya forest, he comes across a young boy accompanied by an old servant. The boy is the prince of Vidarbha whose kingdom has been usurped. This had forced the queen Vasundhara to take refuge (with her son and daughter) with Mitravarma, who proved to be

5229-446: The lost Prince, where King Mattakala has usurped King Viraketu. Somadatta finds a jewel near a river, and then gives it to a destitute Brahmana in charity. The latter has him imprisoned as a jewel thief. Somadatta discovers that his fellow prisoners are loyal to the minister of King Viraketu. They break free from the prison, raise an army and overthrow the usurper. The old king is restored to the throne and Somadatta marries his daughter. At

5312-583: The other hand, in the mid twentieth century Kale accepted that Kavyadarsha and Dashakumaracharita had been written by the same person. On the basis of textual evidence from the Dashakumaracharita , he opines that the author must have lived earlier than the Muslim invasion of India , i.e., before the 11th century. Moreover, since the Kavyadarsha refers to the Prakrit poem Setubandha (सेतुबंध) composed in

5395-407: The palace, Pramati wins the princess's affection, but then absconds and joins the Brahmana. The two approach the King, and the Brahmana presents Pramati as his prospective son-in-law who has come to claim his future wife. The King is, of course, unable to produce her, and is forced to give up his own daughter in order to propitiate the Brahmana (who otherwise threatens to immolate himself). Thus Pramati

5478-537: The period. The Dashakumaracharita has been compared to the Spanish genre of picaresque , linking the settings and drawing parallels 6th-century disorder of India to the disorder of Spain in the late mediaeval period. It has also been noted that the Dashakumaracharita , while fantastic, has realism that is not present in contemporary prestigious works, and involves thieves, prostitutes and other less exalted members of society. Dandin may have borrowed major themes from

5561-427: The post- Gupta period , Śūdraka , the author of Mṛcchakatika mentions that some females wore a veil (avagunthana). However, Sudraka notes it was not used by women every day and at every time. It was worn on special occasions like marriage or while going out. Śūdraka notes that a married woman was expected to put on a veil while moving in public. This may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on

5644-418: The princess who falls in love with him. The sorcerer's slave (a ghost) is overjoyed to be freed from his master and clandestinely carries Mantragupta into the palace, where he lives with the princess in the ladies chambers. One day, as the king of Kalinga (and the princess), is away on a hunting expedition, their entire retinue is surprised and made captive by the rival king Jayasimha. The latter wishes to possess

5727-478: The princess, who resists his advances. In order to rescue her, Mantragupta dresses in the rags and severed hair of the sorcerer and presents himself as an ascetic possessing magical powers. He convinces Jayasimha to bathe in a presumably enchanted lake which would frighten away the Yaksha who has presumably possessed the princess. Mantragupta hides himself in a cavity along the bank of the lake and drowns Jayasimha when

5810-489: The prologue form the frame story . King Rajahamsa of Magadha is defeated in a war by the rival King Manasara of Malwa , and thence retires into the Vindhya forest together with his ministers. During his sojourn, he and his ministers respectively sire sons. Several other young men are brought to his dwelling due to various incidents (e.g., one is rescued from a river, another from a tiger, and still another wanders off from

5893-403: The right to expose her beauty but except her Mahrams . For women, the Muslim religious dress varies, and various cultures include hijab , burqa , chador , niqab , dupatta , or other types of hijab , while others reject all of these dress codes. The religion prescribes modest behaviour or dress in general. Young Sikhs often wear a cloth wrapping to cover their hair, before moving on to

5976-451: The text begins in the middle of Rajavahana's story. The lovers are discovered by royal attendants and reported to Chandavarman, who becomes furious, arrests Rajavahana and imprisons him in a wooden cage. Then Chandavarman launches a military campaign against his rival King Simhavarman (carrying along the wooden cage onto the battlefield) and vanquishes him. Meanwhile, a message arrives from Manasara commanding that Rajavahana be executed. As he

6059-564: The text have been written by, inter alia , Ghanashyama , Gupta and Pankaj. A more extensive bibliography may be found in Onians. The Dashakumaracharita has been used to examine the creation of the Ajanta Caves , interpreting it as an extended metaphoric telling of the 5th-century fall of the Vākāṭaka dynasty , and a comparison to the 7th-century Pallava dynasty , which is the period that

6142-601: The title and veil of a bride ". In the Pratimānātaka , a play by Bhāsa (3 - 4 CE) describes in context of the Avagunthana cloak-veil that "ladies may be seen without any blame [for the parties concerned] in a religious session, in marriage festivities, during a calamity and in a forest". The same sentiment is more generically expressed in Nāgānanda and Priyadarśikā by Harsha , where maidens were not expected to wear

6225-589: The top of a person's, usually women's, hair and head, leaving the face uncovered. A headscarf is formed of a triangular cloth or a square cloth folded into a triangle, with which the head is covered. Headscarves may be worn for a variety of purposes, such as protection of the head or hair from rain, wind, dirt, cold, warmth, for sanitation, for fashion , recognition or social distinction; with religious significance, to hide baldness , out of modesty, or other forms of social convention. Headscarves are now mainly worn for practical, cultural or religious reasons. Until

6308-444: The town of Avanti where he became enamoured of Princess Avantisundari (the daughter of Manasara, his father's enemy). Meanwhile, Manasara has temporarily abdicated his kingdom to practice penance and left Chandavarman in charge. Rajavahana and Avantisundari are married by a friendly conjurer who makes Chandavarman believe that the wedding ceremony is a delusion. The couple retires into a private chamber for amorous sport. In Chapter I,

6391-680: The traditional Christian custom of head-covering, especially in the Mediterranean, as well as in eastern and southern Europe ; in South Asia , it is common for Christian women to wear a head covering called a dupatta . At times the styles of covering using simple cloth became very elaborate, with complicated layers and folding, held in place with hair pins . Among the many terms for head-coverings made of flexible cloth are wimple , hennin , kerchief , gable hood , as well as light hats, mob caps and bonnets . Some English speakers use

6474-664: The verse summary and its Telugu translation, both the Avantisundarī and the Daśakumāracarita originally formed a single massive prose work that was broken up at a relatively early age in its transmission; another view is that the two represent separate stages in the life and work of the same author. The first translation, into Telugu , was produced by Ketana in c. 1250. Editions of the original Sanskrit text have been published in modern times by Agashe, Godbole and Parab, Kale, and Wilson. The work has been translated into English by Haksar, Jacob, Kale, Onians, and Ryder. In particular,

6557-484: The weather and dirt. Soviet labour units of the 1930s and 1940s wore them as part of their uniform (where uniforms were available). This habit was common until about the 1950s in the West for farmers and 1960s factory workers, and 1970s in the former USSR for farmers and factory workers. In the modern era, persons may choose to wear a headscarf for religious, moral, or practical reasons. Hilda Ogden , popular character from

6640-563: The word " babushka " (the word for "grandma" in Russian : бaбушка ) to indicate a headscarf tied below the chin, as still commonly worn in rural parts of Europe . In many parts of Europe, headscarves are used mainly by elderly women, and this led to the use of the term "babushka", an East Slavic word meaning "grandmother". Some types of head coverings that Russian women wear are: circlet , veil , and wimple . Islam promotes modest dress among men and women. According to some, it

6723-406: The words "Anirvarnaniyam parakalatram" meaning " The wife of another is not to be inspected. " This largely indicates that Avagunthana was a sign of a respectable married woman, and was a married woman's raiment. In Kathāsaritsāgara written in the 11th century AD, heroine in the story Ratnaprabhā protesting: " I consider that the strict seclusion of women is a folly produced by jealousy. It

6806-513: The work is conventionally dated to. Spink argues that the work has an essentially historical core, almost readable as a roman a clef , which is an accurate account of the Vākāṭaka fall and that Dandin (or one of the Dandins) had a personal, perhaps familial, connection to the events in the 5th-century. Evidence from the text has also been used to establish the spread of the cult of Vindhyavasini in

6889-704: Was taken to be a sign of immodesty, as people criticized her and gossiped. When she became aware of this, Yasodharā came before the assembled court and defended herself in a long statement: "Those whose thoughts have no cover, no shame or decorum or any virtue, those who gossip, may cover themselves with a thousand garments, yet they walk the earth naked. But those who veil their minds, control their senses, and have no thought for any other except their husband, why should they veil their faces?" Yasodharā's parents-in-law were delighted with their daughter-in-law's proud statement and gave her two white garments covered with jewels. The Lalitavistara Sūtra reflects changing times around

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