Kaupinam#Langota
{{short description|Undergarment}}
The kaupinam, kovanam, kaupina, langot, or lungooty is a loincloth worn by men in the Indian subcontinent as underclothing. It is still commonly worn in South Asia by pehlwans (wrestlers) while exercising or sparring in a dangal. It is basically a rectangular strip of cloth used to cover the genitals, with strings connected to the four ends of the cloth, for binding it around the waist and between the legs. File:India_wrestling_akhara_training.jpg sports a langoti at an akhara]]
The short type of lungooty worn by naga sadhus or babas often leaves the buttocks bare, it is also known as
Use
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| caption1 = Painting depicting youth in kaupina harvesting lotus in pond, circa 850 CE.
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It is still used extensively by Kalaripayattu (martial artists), bodyguards (ang-rakshaks) and wrestlers (pehelwans) in rural India, especially in games of Malla-yuddha and the medieval variation Pehlwani (a form of sparring from West Asia and South Asia). It is also worn during fitness training & sports coaching (kasrat); by men performing any form of physically straining activity and weight lifting such as farming.
Langot is a male sports gear and undergarment, associated with almost every form of physically straining sports like kushti and kabaddi of Indian traditions. It has been worn by henchmen and sportsmen during practices and sessions, in a similar way to the contemporary use of gym shorts and jock briefs since ancient times. Wrestlers and bodyguards also wear a abdominal guard underneath, to protect and support their genitals.
The kaupinam is a very ancient form of sportswear and was in use since the early Vedic Period (2000–1500 BC), as is evident from a verse in the Sam Veda of Hindu scriptures.{{cite book|last=Alter|first=Joseph S.|title=The wrestler's body: identity and ideology in north India|year=1992|publisher=University of California Press|isbn= 9780520076976|pages=305 pages}} The devotees of the Hindu god Shiva were said to be wearing kaupinam.
Religious significance
{{Quote box
| title = Kaupina Panchakam
| quote = Kaupina vantah kalu bagya vantah
Vedanta Vakyeshu sada ramayantah
Bikshanna matrena tustimantah
vishokamantah karane charantah
kaupina vantah kalu bagyavantah
| source = Adi Shankara
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It has religious significance attached to asceticism for the Hindus. The Bhagavata Purana enjoins that a true ascetic should not wear anything other than a kaupina.[http://vedabase.net/sb/7/13/2/ Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.13.2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019071350/http://vedabase.net/sb/7/13/2/ |date=2013-10-19 }}, Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Sometimes the god Shiva himself is depicted wearing Kaupina.{{cite book|first=C. V.|last=Narayana Ayyar|title=Origin and early history of Śaivism in South India|volume=6|series=Madras University historical series|year=1939|publisher=University of Madras|pages=155, 185|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEFQtQAACAAJ}} The deities Murugan of Palani and Hanuman are said to be wearing this garment.{{cite book|last=Lutgendorf|first=Philip|title=Hanuman's tale: the messages of a divine monkey Oxford scholarship online|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 9780195309225|pages=434 pages(see:186)}} Langot or kaupin is associated with celibacy.{{cite book|last=Abbott|first=Elizabeth|title=A history of celibacy|year=2001|publisher=James Clarke & Co.|isbn= 9780718830069|pages=493 pages}} Adi Shankara composed a verse called Kaupina Panchakam to assert the significance of asceticism. Famous Maharashtrian sant Samarth Ramdas and Tamil rishi Ramana Maharshi were always depicted wearing a langot in popular pictures.
Langota
File:Indian_Museum_Sculpture_-_Wrestlers,_Jamalagarhi_(9218073869).jpg of athletes in a similar undergarment at the Indian Museum, Calcutta, recovered from the Graeco-Buddhist site of Jamalgarhi in NWFP, present-day Pakistan.]]
The older Kapinaum form is distinct from the present-day Langota or Langoti which is sewn and covers the buttocks. It was worn as underwear in dangal held at akharas. It is now mainly used by men when exercising and other intense physical games especially wrestling, to prevent hernias and hydrocele.{{cite book|author=Raman Das Mahatyagi|title=Yatan Yoga: A Natural Guide to Health and Harmony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IjpmZ3ysHTsC&pg=PA33|year=2007|publisher=YATAN Ayurvedics|isbn=978-0-9803761-0-4|pages=33–}}
The loincloth is about 3" wide and 24" long single piece of cotton cloth. It is first put between the legs and then wrapped around the waist very tightly.
In media
See also
{{div col |colwidth=12em}}
- Similar Indian clothes
- Kacchera
- Related Indian clothes
- Clothing in India
- Dhoti
- Lungi
- Veshti
- Similar foreign clothes
- Bahag
- Breechcloth
- Fundoshi
- Loincloth
- Mawashi
- Perizoma
- Subligaculum
- Thong
- Related foreign clothes
- Tallit katan
- Temple garment: religious undergarments worn by many Mormons
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References
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External links
- [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/630855860272488500/ How to wear], visual description.
- {{cite web |url=http://www.yatan-ayur.com.au/langota.htm |title=The Langota |publisher=Yatan Holistic Ayurvedic Centre |access-date=10 August 2012}}
{{Clothing in South Asia}}