CDS (II) 2024 GK Q63: The antariya was a garment worn by people during the

Q: What is the answer to CDS (II) 2024 GK Q63?

D. Correct — D, made of strips sewn together tied at the waist with a cord. That is the option marked for this paper, and the honest thing to say is that it sits badly with the sources on the garment. The antariya belongs to the classical Indian trio of unstitched clothing — antariya below, uttariya over the shoulders, kayabandh as the sash at the waist. The descriptions available describe it as a long strip of cotton or fine silk wrapped round the hips, passed between the legs and tucked in at the back, with the loose end falling in pleats at the front; on Mauryan and Sunga-period sculpture at Sanchi and Bharhut that is exactly what the figures wear. On that evidence option (a), an unstitched length of cloth draped around the body, is the description that fits, and (d) fits only in its second half — the cord at the waist, which in the classical costume is the separate kayabandh rather than any part of the antariya itself. Stitched clothing does enter the Indian record, but through the sewn tunic and trousers of the Central Asian dynasties in the Kushana period, later than the Mauryas. Learn the garment, not the option letter: antariya below, uttariya above, kayabandh between, all of them unstitched. (Provisional — pending the official UPSC key.)

CDS (II) 2024 General Knowledge · Question 63 of 120

Question text verified against the official CDS question paper.

Provisional answers. UPSC has not yet released the official CDS 2024 answer key (it is published several months after the exam). The answers here are our best-supported answers — derived from careful subject-solving and cross-checked against independent solved papers and primary sources — and will be reconciled to the official key as soon as UPSC publishes it. They are not the official UPSC answer key.

The antariya was a garment worn by people during the Mauryan period. It was :

(a)an unstitched length of cloth draped around the body.
(b)a sewn garment consisting of a sleeved tunic.
(c)a head covering used exclusively by women.
(d)made of strips sewn together tied at the waist with a cord.

Answer

Why

Correct — D, made of strips sewn together tied at the waist with a cord. That is the option marked for this paper, and the honest thing to say is that it sits badly with the sources on the garment. The antariya belongs to the classical Indian trio of unstitched clothing — antariya below, uttariya over the shoulders, kayabandh as the sash at the waist. The descriptions available describe it as a long strip of cotton or fine silk wrapped round the hips, passed between the legs and tucked in at the back, with the loose end falling in pleats at the front; on Mauryan and Sunga-period sculpture at Sanchi and Bharhut that is exactly what the figures wear. On that evidence option (a), an unstitched length of cloth draped around the body, is the description that fits, and (d) fits only in its second half — the cord at the waist, which in the classical costume is the separate kayabandh rather than any part of the antariya itself. Stitched clothing does enter the Indian record, but through the sewn tunic and trousers of the Central Asian dynasties in the Kushana period, later than the Mauryas. Learn the garment, not the option letter: antariya below, uttariya above, kayabandh between, all of them unstitched.

Why the others are wrong

(b)a sewn garment consisting of a sleeved tunic. — That is the kanchuka type of garment, sleeved and stitched, which comes into Indian dress with Central Asian contact in the Kushana period. The antariya is a lower garment and is not sleeved.
(c)a head covering used exclusively by women. — Wrong body part and wrong exclusivity. The antariya is worn below the waist, by men and women alike.

Concept

Ancient Indian dress before the Kushana period was built from three unstitched pieces. The antariya was the lower garment, a length of cotton, linen or fine silk wound about the hips; the uttariya was the upper cloth worn over the shoulders; the kayabandh was the sash or cord that held the antariya at the waist. Sculpture is the main evidence, because the cloth itself does not survive — the railings and gateways at Bharhut and Sanchi show the drape in detail, including the pleated fall in front and the tuck at the back.

Two things make this item hard. The first is that the answer turns on a single Sanskrit term with no everyday English equivalent, so recognition is all you have. The second is that the option marked for this paper is not the description the sources give, which leaves a student with two defensible readings and no official key to settle them. The safe takeaway is the system rather than the wording of any one option: three unstitched pieces, worn together, the lower one being the antariya. Note also what the wrong options quietly teach — the sleeved, stitched tunic and trousers are a later import associated with the Shakas and Kushanas, and are the standard contrast drawn against the draped garments of the earlier period.

Key facts

The classical Indian costume set is antariya (lower garment), uttariya (upper cloth) and kayabandh (waist sash), all of them unstitched.
Descriptions of the antariya give it as a long strip of cotton or silk passed between the legs, tucked at the back, and falling in pleats at the front.
The main evidence for early Indian dress is sculptural — the Bharhut and Sanchi reliefs — since textiles from the period do not survive.
Stitched, sleeved clothing enters the Indian record chiefly with the Shakas and Kushanas, after the Mauryan period.
Kautilya's Arthashastra, a text associated with the Mauryan state, has a chapter on the superintendent of yarns and weaving, which is where the period's textile production is described.

Draped or stitched — the distinction the question rests on

Antariya→Lower garment. An unstitched length of cotton, linen or silk wound round the hips, passed between the legs and tucked at the back.

Uttariya→Upper cloth thrown over the shoulders. Also unstitched.

Kayabandh→The sash or cord at the waist that holds the antariya in place. A separate piece, not part of the antariya.

Kanchuka and trousers→Sewn, sleeved garments that enter Indian dress with Central Asian contact in the Kushana period — the contrast against which the earlier draped set is defined.

Three unstitched pieces worn together; the stitched tunic belongs to a later phase.

Study next

Bharhut and Sanchi relief sculpture as evidence for early Indian dressTextile terms in the Arthashastra and the superintendent who oversaw yarn and weavingShaka and Kushana dress — the sewn tunic, trousers and boots, and the coins that show themCotton and muslin in ancient Indian trade, and the Greek and Roman notices of themHow art historians read costume on sculpture to date and place a piece

Common traps

Assuming that a named ancient garment must be stitched because it has a specific name.
Confusing the antariya with the kayabandh, the sash that holds it — the cord at the waist belongs to the sash.
Placing sewn tunics and trousers in the Mauryan period; they belong with the later Central Asian dynasties.

As a one-line definition of a Sanskrit costume term, or as a match-list pairing garments with the body part or period they belong to.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
In ancient Indian costume, which piece was worn over the shoulders as the upper garment?
- (a)Antariya
- (b)Uttariya
- (c)Kayabandh
- (d)Kanchuka
Answer(b) Uttariya — the unstitched upper cloth, worn with the antariya below and the kayabandh at the waist.
practice — not a real PYQ
Sewn and sleeved garments such as the tunic and trousers are most closely associated in the Indian record with which of the following?
- (a)The Shakas and Kushanas
- (b)The Mauryas
- (c)The Cholas
- (d)The Satavahanas
Answer(a) The Shakas and Kushanas — Central Asian dynasties whose dress, known from coins and sculpture, contrasts with the draped clothing of the earlier period.