The paper focuses on the study of textiles in ancient India and its trade with different parts of the world. It attempts to explain trade of textiles in ancient India using both literary and archaeological sources. By examining different sources, it can be determined that textile industry in ancient India was an important craft occupation and it develops and change according to the time and place. This paper explains the importance of textile trade in ancient mainly cotton and silk and by analysing the sources one can bring out the fact that India had trade relations with Rome, Central Asia, China etc. during ancient times.

The main objectives of this paper are as follows:

1. To study the textiles of ancient India.

2. To examine the nature of the trade of the textile and connection of trade with outside world.

3. To study the importance of cotton and silk textile trade

4. To examine the trade relations of India with Rome, Central Asia, China etc. during ancient times.

In review of literature, a general survey of books which are relevant to the proposed area of research has been carried out to provide information for better understanding of the proposed research work.Balram Srivastava in his book Trade and Commerce in Ancient India, from the earliest times to c. A.D. 300 (1968) talks about the relations between the trade and economic growth of society which ultimately leads to urbanisation. The other book Crafts and Craftsmen in Traditional India by M. K. Lal (1978) talks about the origin and development of the most important age-old crafts in a broad historical perspective. The study seeks to present an analytical picture of technological aspects of a few traditional crafts of India such as textiles etc.  Apart from this, other book reviewed is Kameshwar Prasad’s Cities, Crafts &Commerce under the Kusanas(2022) which throws light on various crafts and their trade during the time of Kushanas.

Evidences of Textiles in Ancient India

As pointed earlier that the origin of the textiles can be traced way back to the Harappan period. The discovery of fragments of finely woven madder-dyed cotton fabrics and bobbins at Mohenjodaro traces back the antiquity of Indian textiles to over 4000 years.[5] The excavations at Alamgirpur in Uttar Pradesh have yielded fascinating evidence regarding cloth. The evidence was provided by impressions on a trough and the yarn seems to be fairly fine, though not of uniform section, the technique being that of plain weave.[6] A number of spindle whorls used to spin thread and eye-needles used for sewing cloth were found in many of the Harappan sites.[7] The spindle-whorls are circular objects, with one or more central holes, used as a flying wheel in a spindle. They may either be disc-shaped or plano-convex in section, made of materials like terracotta, bone, shell, faience, stone, metal, and wood.Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Chanhu-daro, Lothal, Surkotada, and Kalibangan are some of the Harappan sites that have yielded spindle-whorls.[8]

Cotton, either in the form of fibres or flax seeds or the fabric impression on terracotta objects, has been reported from many sites in the Mature Harappan (2600-1900 BCE) and Late Harappan (1900-1400 BCE) levels.[9] Kunal, a Harappan site in Haryana, has yielded carbonized cotton seeds in the Early Harappan context. During the post Harappan period, the evidence of textile weaving is found in one of the most remarkable finds from Nevasa, Maharashtra.[10] The find, however, was that of a necklace of seventeen barrel-shaped copper beads strung with thread, worn round the neck of a child buried in urns. A. N. Gulati, who examined the thread, is of the opinion that it was of white silk, apparently spun from cocoons on a cotton nep. This is thus the earliest evidence of the use of silk in India.[11] Other than this, the microscopic analysis of thread fragments found inside a copper or copper-alloy bangle and ornament from Harappa (Pakistan) and steatite beads from other Harappan sites such as Chanhu-daro (Pakistan) have yielded silk fibres, dating to c. 2500–2000 BCE.[12]

There are many references regarding textiles fabrics manufactured during the Vedic period (c. 1500-1000 BCE). According to the Rigvedic evidence, the dress consisted of two garments, namely, the vasas or lower garment and the adhivasaor an upper garment.[13] The Rig Veda mentions the word Uma,which is generally translated as ‘land of silk’. The term tasara is also mentioned that means a weaver’s shuttle.[14] The term Tarpya, occurring in the Vedic texts, perhaps referred to a silk garment. In the Yajurveda, we find the word veman, meaning a loom.[15] Also, in the Atharvaveda, there is mention of drapi which probably signifies a sort of mantle or cloak[16] (a sleeveless outdoor over-garment that hangs loosely from the shoulders).Silk is referred as Kausheya in the Valmiki’s Ramayana, a Sanskrit epic, dated variously in the first millennium BCE, and cotton is mentioned as Karpasa in the ancient Sanskrit literatures. There is mention of weavers in Rig Veda, described as vasovaya and the male weavers were known as vaya whereas the female weavers were called vayitri.[17]

Many details of manufacture of textiles as an industrial activity are also found in Kautilya’s Arthashastra that mainly talks about the Mauryan administration. It is mentioned in the text that the state is expected to engage in this industry on a large scale.[18] The sutradhyaksha, the officer in charge, was to get yarn spun from wool, bark-fibre, cotton, hemp and flax by women, especially those without support. Their wages were to be fixed according to the quality of the yarn. There were separate factories for weaving different types of cloth, cotton, linen, silk etc.[19] There is also a reference in the Arthashastra related to the manufacturing of kankata or armours in separate factories and it was the duty of sutradhyaksha to look after the manufacture of ropes, thongs and straps, useful for carts, chariots etc. used in fighting services. So, it seems quite likely that this officer was originally concerned mainly with the manufacture of clothing and equipment especially for the army.[20] Apart from these, there are references that shows cotton and silk weaving in different cities during the period between 7^th century BCE and 3^rd century BCE. The important cities were Benaras, Bengal, Madhura (Madurai), Aparanta (Konkan), Kalinga (Orissa), Vatsya (city of Kausambi) and Mysore.[21] All were famous for their specific quality of textile for example, Kasi for fine muslin, Madurai for finest cotton fabrics etc.Megasthenes, a Greek historian and an ambassador for Seleucid king Seleucus I, Nicator to the court of the Mauryan King Chandragupta Maurya (321–297 BCE), mentioned in his book Indika that the Indians wear flowered garments made of the finest muslin and garments dyed of bright colours.[22]

The Buddhist and Jaina literature, the Dramatic works of Ashvaghosa and similar other works also provides information related to different craft occupations such as weaving, dyeing, washing of clothes and use of cloth made of cotton, silk, hemp, linen etc. These texts mainly cover the time period between 2^nd century BCE to 3^rd century CE. The Jatakas refer to tailors, weavers, washermen, and Kasi cloth, manufactured in Benaras.[23] In Milindapanho, there are description of cotton thread spinners, dyers, dye manufacturers, Benaras muslin and other cloths of various kinds.[24] In the Divyavadana, it is mentioned that dhoti (loin cloth) and dupatta (scarf) manufactured at Kasi were famous.[25] Archaeological evidence bearing on textile industry is sparse, but some epigraphic records also mention the weavers and dyers. For example, an inscription from Mathura, records a dedication by a rayagini(wife of a washerman or dyer)[26], guild of weavers is mentioned in a Nasik inscription. Also, during the excavations at Rangmahal (Rajasthan), a few pieces of pottery with internal textile impressions were noticed and they give some archaeological evidence regarding the textile designs current in Rajasthan during the later Kushana period.[27]

Kalidasa, a great poet of the Gupta period (4^th-6^th century CE), describes weddings where both the bride and groom were attired in expensive fabrics termed dukula.[28] Amarsinha in his book Amarkosha also explains ksauma and dukula both as linen. Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang), a Chinese traveller who visited India between 630-645 describes that Indians used to wear varied types of clothes made of cotton, silk, wool, linen, and the animal’s hair.[29]

The period falling between 4^th century CE and 7^th century CE was also notable for textile industry. From the contemporary literary and epigraphic sources, it appears that Mathura, Gujarat, Rajputana, Assam, Mandasor (Malwa region) and Benaras were famous for cotton and silk weaving.[30] The Harshacharita of Banabhatta contains reference to the tye-dyed cloth in the region of Gujarat and Radputana. This text also mentions that Benaras was also another important centre for silk weaving, the heavy brocade known as kimkhab, for which Benaras is famous, were known as pushpapatta.[31] The Mandasor stone inscription of Kumaragupta and Bandhuvarman mentions a guild of silk-weavers (pattavayasreni) that shows many people were engaged in silk production. Apart from these, there are references to blankets made of hair of the mountain goat.

The Sangam literature (3^rd century BCE – 2^nd century CE) mentioned the remarkable skill development in the art of weaving cotton and silk cloths in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost part of India, at a very early period.The cotton and silk clothes were called variously as tugil, atai, ar̤uvai, kalingam (apparently imported from Kalinga area, i.e., Odisha), and other names.[32] The other literary sources such as the Silappadikaram mentioned that in the port town of Kaveripattinam, there were weavers (karukas) who combined in themselves the functions of a middlemen and dealt in the fine fabrics made of silk, fur and cotton.[33] Therefore, it can be determined that textile industry in ancient India was an important craft occupation and it develops and change according to the time and place.

Evidences of Trade of Textiles in Ancient India

Trade and commerce are the important part of the economic life of the society, starting from Indus culture till present times. There is a long history of lively interests of scholars in the history of trade and urban development in early India. The growth of cities during the first and second urbanisation is also directly connected with the development of long-distance trade of India with areas abroad.[34] We find reference of Roman trade with India in different sources such as The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, the Natural History of Pliny and the Geography of Ptolomy. In this paper, an attempt is made to discuss minutely about the trade of textiles that was there in ancient India.

During the Harappan Civilisation, the material evidence demonstrates their active interaction with contemporary civilizations and also that their trade networks economically integrated a huge area, including major parts of the Indian sub-continent, Middle Eastern countries, Central Asia, and beyond.[35] Apart from other materials, cotton products remained as an important export good of the Harappans. The sealing from Umma (modern Umm al-Aqarib, near Jokha in Iraq) is reported to have been found in association with a bale of cloth, which evidently was exported from India.[36]

When one talks about early historic period, The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea mentions that silk and cotton cloth, mallow cloth, all kinds of muslins, and yarn were exported from the Indian seaports such as Barygaza (Bharuch, Gujarat), Tagara (Ter, Maharashtra), Bacare (Porakad, Kerala), Muziris (Kerala), and others to western countries.[37]The Periplus also speaks of the availability of cotton garments of the very fine quality, the so-called Gangetic, which was exported from the port Gange.[38] This book gave information about the trade in Chinese silk floss, yarn and cloth which went to Limyrike (or Damirica, i.e, the Dravida country in far south India) through the Ganges River. Thus, the Bengal coast appears to have catered to the demands in the ‘West’ for textile products. Of these, the trade in cotton garment is terminal in nature, while the export of the Chinese Silk to south India was transit trade. From south Indian ports these items appear to have been shipped to the West.[39] Large quantities of cloth, as stated in the text, were brought to Barygaza from the metropolis of Minnagara, an important inland trade centre.[40]

Strabo (64 BCE-24 CE), a Greek geographer and historian, mentioned the richness of Indian fabrics in detail and Arrian of Nicomedia, another Greek historian of 1^st-2^nd centuries CE, mentioned the textile trade between Indians and Arabs in the 2^nd century CE.[41] Several Buddhist sources also gave references of textile trade within India. For example, Jatakas mentions that Kashi muslin was sold in the city of Mithila at 1000 kahapanas (coin)[42], Dhammapada Atthakatha provides information of a merchant of Sravasti, loaded five hundred carts with cloth dyed with saffron flower who set out from Varanasi to trade. Kautilya’s Arhashastra mentions silk trade. According to this text, there was a tradition that the eggs of the insects and the seeds of the mulberry trees were carried to India by a Chinese princess concealed in the linking of her head-dress. Though generally the Chinese Silk reached India through Central Asia, the silk worm came to India by a land-route via Brahmaputra Valley and then it was introduced in Khotan and Persia.[43]

The reference of Silk (Kaushika) also mentioned in Mahabharata that India obtained silk from China which came to India through Bactria. A price-list of Chinese silk with a traders memorandum written on in Brahmi which was discovered at a ruined watch-station on the old Chinese limes, is a strong argument in favour of the view that traders from India coming to trade in silk, had already reached the limes in the later part of the 1^st century BCE.[44] Other Buddhist works like the Milindapanho, Mahavastu, Divyavadana, all composed in the first four centuries of the Christian era, give some idea of the merchants and their activities. Milindapanho describes in detail shops full of merchandise, dealing in Benaras muslin and clothes of different kinds in the city of Sagala during Kushana period.[45] Therefore, by examining the above-mentioned evidences, it can be concluded that Indian textile mainly cotton and silk were important commodities of trade in India and also brings out the fact that India had trade relations with Rome, Central Asia, China etc. during ancient times.

The textile industry has constituted the most important sector of the Indian economy and the Indian textile industry has been one of the leading textile industries in the world since antiquity. The archaeological and literary sources shows that how the trade of cotton and silk helps in developing trade relations with other countries. If one compares the change or the evolution that took place in textile industry from ancient times till present day, then that growth or journey is extra-ordinary. Because, due to the advancement in science and technology after Renaissance or after the Industrial revolution, the textile craft seems to have reached its zenith mainly during the 19^th-20^th century. Different types of traditional textiles either of cotton or silk are found to have been manufactured, the most important of them being brocades, muslins, embroidered fabrics for example- the kasida embroidery of Kashmir, the darning stitch phulkari work of the Punjab, the art of embroidering with gold and silver threads of Benaras, the chikankari of Uttar Pradesh and rumals of Chamba, tye-dyed fabrics popularly known as bandhni in Gujarat, chundri in Rajasthan and Choongdi in Madurai etc. Today in India, textile industry gives millions of employments and income and also responsible for the transmission of religion, culture, tradition, language, technology, art, and architectural idioms from India to other countries and vice versa through trade relations.

1. M.K. Pal, Crafts and Craftsmenin Traditional India, New Delhi: Kanak Publications, 1978, p. 2.

2. Kameshwar Prasad, Cities, Crafts and Commerce under the Kusanas’, New Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 2022, p. 109.

3. M. K. Pal, op.cit, p. 2.

4. Duraiswamy Dayalan, Silk and Cotton Textiles, the Principal Maritime Trade Commodities of Ancient India, Acta Via Serica, Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2021, p. 92.

5. M.K. Lal, op.cit, p. 61.; R. J. Mehta, The Handicrafts and Industrial Arts of India, Mumbai, 1960, p. 95.

6. Indian Archaeology 1958-59, p. 52.

7. Harappan Civilization, Indian Journal of History of Science 53, no. 3, 2018, pp. 279-295.

8. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p. 95.

9. Ibid., p. 96.

10. M. K. Lal, op.cit, p. 61.

11. Ibid.; Indian Archaeology 1959-60, p. 28.

12. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p. 98.; Good, Kenoyer and Meadow, “New Evidence for Early Silk in the Indus Civilization”, Archaeometry 51, no. 3, 2009, pp. 457–66.

13. M. K. Lal, op.cit, p. 62.

14. Ibid.; Rigveda, VI. 9.2.

15. M. K. Lal, op.cit, p. 62.; Vajasaneyi Samhita, XIX. 83.

16. Atharvaveda, XIII. 3.1.

17. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p. 100.

18. R.P. Kangle,The Kautilya Arthashastra, Part III, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas Publishing House, 2021, p. 184.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. M. K. Lal, op.cit, p. 63.; Motichandra, Geographical and Economic Studies in the Mahabharata, Lucknow: Upayana Parva, 1945, pp. 93-94.

22. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p. 102.; J. W. McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian, London: Trubner & Co, 1877, (Reprint.) Calcutta: Chuckervertty, Chatterjee & Co., Ltd., 1960.

23. Kameshwar Prasad, op.cit, p. 109.

24. Ibid.

25. M. K. Lal, op.cit, p. 64.; Divyavadana, p. 29.

26. Kameshwar Prasad, op.cit, p. 109.; Epigraphia Indica, I no. 5, p. 384.

27. Kameshwar Prasad, op.cit, p. 109.

28. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p. 102.

29. Ibid., p. 103.

30. M. K. Lal, op.cit, p. 66.

31. Ibid.

32. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p. 103.

33. M. K. Lal, op.cit, p. 64.

34. Ranabir Chakravarti, Trade and Traders in Early Indian Society, New Delhi: Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 2020, p. 16.

35. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p.97.

36. Ibid.

37. Ibid.

38. Ranabir Chakravarti, op.cit, pp. 119-120.

39. Ibid.

40. Duraiswamy Dayalan, op.cit, p. 104.

41. Ibid.

42. Balram Srivastava, Trade and Commerce in Ancient India (From the earliest times to c. A.D. 300), Varanasi: The Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1968, p. 279.

43. Ibid., pp. 284-285.

44. Ibid., pp. 288-289.

45. Kameshwar Prasad, op.cit, p. 128.