Tricivara

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One of the first known representations of the Buddha, wearing the tricivara, in the Hellenistic style of Greco-Buddhist art, Gandhara, Standing Buddha (Tokyo National Museum).

The tricivara or ticivara (from ti: three, civara: robe) is the traditional Buddhist monastic garment, and is often worn by the Buddha. It is composed of three different elements:

• the lower robe, or undergarment (the antaravasaka)
• the upper robe (the uttarasanga)
• the outer robe (the sangati)

The tricivara garment is described in Vinaya rules (Vin 1:94 289). From the 1st century CE, it is regularly used in representations of the Buddha, with the sangati usually the most visible garment, and the undergarment or uttarasanga protruding at the bottom. The uttarasanga is usually barely visible within the folds of the sangati.

The shape and folds of the tricivara were treated in Greek style in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.

Other items worn with the tricivara were:

• a waist clothe, the kushalaka
• a buckled belt, the samakaksika