Antoniochx at 05:29, 9 December 2025

2025-12-09T05:29:37Z

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{{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 ''[[pehlwan]]s'' (wrestlers) while exercising or [[sparring]] in a ''[[Akhara#Dangal|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|right|thumb|A [[pehlwan]] sports a ''langoti'' at an ''[[akhara]]'']]

The short type of ''lungooty'' worn by [[naga sadhu]]s or [[baba_(honorific)|baba]]s often leaves the buttocks bare, it is also known as <nowiki>''coopees''.</nowiki><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rcjmiBm8hHQC|title=Hobson-Jobson|pages=525|isbn=9781853263637 |last1=Yule |first1=Sir Henry |last2=Burnell |first2=Arthur Coke |year=1996 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions }}</ref>

==Use==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Südindischer Meister um 850 002.jpg
| caption1 = Painting depicting youth in kaupina harvesting lotus in pond, circa 850 CE.
| width1 = 180
| image2 =
| caption2 = Youth in kaupina harvesting lotus in pond, 850 CE
| width2 = 196
}}
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 [[briefs|jock briefs]] since ancient times. Wrestlers and bodyguards also wear an [[Jockstrap#Protective cup|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.<ref name=wrestle>{{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}}</ref> 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<br>Vedanta Vakyeshu sada ramayantah<br>Bikshanna matrena tustimantah<br>vishokamantah karane charantah<br>kaupina vantah kalu bagyavantah
| source = Adi Shankara
| align = right
| width =
| border = 1px
| fontsize = 85%
| bgcolor =
| style =
| title_bg =
| title_fnt =
| qalign =
| quoted = 2
| salign = right
}}

It has religious significance attached to [[asceticism]] for the [[Hindu]]s. The ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'' enjoins that a true ascetic should not wear anything other than a kaupina.<ref>[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</ref> Sometimes the god [[Shiva]] himself is depicted wearing Kaupina.<ref name=shaivism>{{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}}</ref> The deities [[Lord Murugan|Murugan]] of [[Palani]] and [[Hanuman]] are said to be wearing this garment.<ref name=hanuman>{{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)}}</ref> Langot or kaupin is associated with celibacy.<ref name=Celibacy>{{cite book|last=Abbott|first=Elizabeth|title=A history of celibacy|year=2001|publisher=James Clarke & Co.|isbn= 9780718830069|pages=493 pages}}</ref> [[Adi Shankara]] composed a [[Verse (poetry)|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|right|thumb|[[Sculpture]] of [[athletes]] in a similar undergarment at the [[Indian Museum, Calcutta]], recovered from the [[Graeco-Buddhist]] site of [[Jamalgarhi]] in [[North-West Frontier Province|NWFP]], present-day Pakistan.]]

The older ''Kapinaum'' form is distinct from the present-day ''Langota'' or ''Langoti'' which is [[sewn]] and covers the [[buttock]]s. It was worn as [[underwear]] in ''dangal'' held at ''akhara''s. It is now mainly used by men when exercising and other intense physical games especially [[Wrestling in India|wrestling]], to prevent [[hernias]] and [[hydrocele]].<ref name="Mahatyagi2007">{{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–}}</ref>

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==
A langot was worn by [[Mowgli]], the main hero of [[The Jungle Book]] franchise including the
[[Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book|1942]], [[Adventures of Mowgli|1967–1971]], [[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|1967]], [[The Jungle Book (1994 film)|1994]], [[The Jungle Book 2|2003]], [[The Jungle Book (2016 film)|2016]], and [[Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle|2018]] films.

==See also==
{{div col |colwidth=12em}}
* Similar Indian clothes
** [[Kacchera]]
* Related Indian clothes
** [[Clothing in India]]
** [[Dhoti]]
** [[Lungi]]
** [[Veshti]]
* Similar foreign clothes
** [[Bahag (garment)|Bahag]]
** [[Breechcloth]]
** [[Fundoshi]]
** [[Loincloth]]
** [[Mawashi]]
** [[Perizoma (loincloth)|Perizoma]]
** [[Subligaculum]]
** [[Thong]]
* Related foreign clothes
** [[Tallit katan]]
** [[Temple garment]]: religious undergarments worn by many [[Mormons]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==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}}

[[Category:Indian clothing]]
[[Category:Undergarments]]
[[Category:Asceticism]]
[[Category:Hindu asceticism]]
[[Category:Folk costumes]]

Kaupinam - Revision history

Antoniochx at 05:29, 9 December 2025