Vaiṣṇava-dress, part 4

Vaiṣṇava-dress, part 4

On wearing Vaiṣṇava-dress the post-modern rationalist Vaiṣṇava-lobby may argue:

“The terms "dhoti" or "sari" are not Sanskrit words and not mentioned in scripture.”

Let us have look at the different Sanskrit-dictionaries -

अवगुण्ठन n. avaguNThana
1.the act of covering the head of women;
2.a veil (for the face) (fig. also);

(Apte Dictionary)

धटी f. dhaTI piece of cloth worn over the privities

(Spokensanskrit.org)

Now let's look at scripture -

The word 'dhoti' is mentioned in Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī’s Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu  (2.1.351) -

smerāsyaḥ parihita-pāṭalāmbara-śrīś 

channāṅgaḥ puraṭa-rucoru-kañcukena |

uṣṇīṣaṁ dadhad aruṇaṁ dhaṭīṁ ca citrām 

kaṁsārir vahati mahotsave mudaṁ naḥ ||

Bhānu Swāmi's translation: "The enemy of Kaṁsa, smiling in great joy, and wearing a pink dhoti, orange turban, an excellent vest of shining gold, and multi-color sash, creates joy in us.”

Bhānu Swāmi has the dhoti's color wrong, but does translate dhaṭī as dhoti

Professor David L. Haberman has it right in his Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu translation -

351. The Enemy of Kamsa, dressed in the following manner during the Great Celebration, is our delight. He has a smile on his face, a beautiful pink scarf placed over his shoulders, and a long shirt that glistens like gold covers his body; he wears a red turban on his head and a multi-colored cloth (dhoti) around his waist.

Both translate dhaṭī as dhoti. Bengalis pronounce the short 'a' as 'oh'

Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī’s Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu 3.4.31, describing Kṛṣṇa's śeṣa-kumāra age:

dhaṭī phaṇa-paḍī cātra kiñcid-vanya-vibhūṣaṇam |

laghu-vetraka-ratnādi maṇḍanaṁ parikīrtitam

Bhānu Swāmi's translation: 

“A long narrow cloth wrapped around the waist, cloth folded to resemble a serpent’s hood at the front, flower ornaments and a small stick in His hand are considered the ornaments of the last part of the kaumāra age.”

Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s ṭīkā: 

dhaṭī svalpa-vistara-bahvāyamānaḥ paṭa-viśeṣaḥ. yaḥ khalu vicitra-parivṛtti-bāhulyenādharāṅge vicchittiṁ labhate 

dhaṭī = dhoti; svalpa = little; vistara - wide; bahu = much; āyamānaḥ = stretching; paṭa = cloth; viśeṣaḥ = kind of; yaḥ = who; khalu = surely; vicitra = wonderful; parivṛtti = surrounding; bāhulyena = with an abundance; adharāṅge = on the lower body; vicchitti = cut; labhate = attains

Jīva Gosvāmī’s Commentary, Bhānu Swāmi's translation:

"dhaṭī is a long, narrow cloth. It looks attractive, wrapping the lower half of the body in various ways."

The other 3 Vaiṣṇava-dress blogs from March 2012 and May 2017 are found
here, here and here. The now updated pdf on this topic on my website madangopal.com is here.