Khandua
An Odia ikat sari, usually red or orange, worn at weddings and offered to Jagannath
Khandua is an ikat sari from Odisha, woven by families in Maniabandha and Nuapatana in Cuttack district. The yarn is tie-dyed before weaving, the colour is usually red or orange, and the plain borders set it apart from other Odia ikat. Women wear it for weddings, and a long version is offered to the god Jagannath.
- Also called Maniabandi, Maniabandhi or Kataki, after Maniabandha in Cuttack district
- Traditionally red or orange, with the red prepared from the sal tree
- Kenduli Khandua, 12 feet and 2 kani long, is offered to Jagannath
- Borders are plain, unlike other Odia ikat saris with patterned borders
- Holds a Geographical Indication in India
What is Khandua?
Khandua is a sari from Odisha made in the bandha style, the local name for ikat, where yarn is bound and dyed before it ever reaches the loom. Weaver families in Maniabandha and Nuapatana, both in Cuttack district, make it. Because of that home it is also called Maniabandi, Maniabandhi or Kataki. The cloth is traditionally red or orange. Its borders are plain, which is how you tell it from other Odia ikat saris that carry patterns on the border. Women wear khandua for weddings, and a long devotional form of it is given to the deity Jagannath.
Where does Khandua come from?
The word khandua, in Odia, means a cloth worn on the lower part of the body. The other names come from the weaving centre: Maniabandha in Cuttack district gives Maniabandi and Maniabandhi, and Kataki is a third name from the same place. In the time of the Gajapati rulers, khandua cloth was woven in these workshops and carried to the Jagannath Temple. One account tells of Nilakantha Deva, king of Badakhemundi, being presented with a khandua sari made from a single length of khandua silk known as caukandika. Kenduli Khandua, a very long piece, is offered to Jagannath as a lower garment.
How is Khandua made?
The pattern is made before weaving, by the bandha method: parts of the yarn are tied off so the dye cannot reach them, and the design comes together as the loom work goes forward. The traditional red is prepared from the sal tree, Shorea robusta. Weavers in Maniabandha and Nuapatana produce the cloth as pata, a silk fabric. The sources describe weaving families at work rather than the hours involved, and they note that woven khandua travelled from these centres to the Jagannath Temple under the Gajapati kings.
Khandua, drawn
Colours, motifs and borders
Red and orange are the traditional colours, and the red is drawn from the sal tree. The motifs come out of worship and out of Odishan art. An auspicious elephant, read as a figure for the Buddha, stands in trailing vine with peacocks around it. There is a large many-petalled flower, a deula kumbha, and the Nabagunjara, an animal that belongs to Odishan imagery alone. The elephant woven at Nuapatana differs from the elephant of Sambalpuri sari and of other ikat in Odisha. Khandua borders stay plain, without motifs.
How Khandua is worn
Khandua is a sari, and the sources do not set out its drape fold by fold. What they do describe is length and function. The long Kenduli Khandua measures 12 feet and 2 kani, one kani being the length of a hand, and is treated as a lower garment. The name itself points to cloth worn on the lower half of the body. Women wear khandua at weddings, while the version carrying verses and pictures from the Gita Govinda is made for Jagannath to wear.
When Khandua is worn
The clearest everyday use the sources give is the wedding: khandua is worn by women getting married. Its other life is devotional. Cloth is offered to Jagannath to be worn as a lower garment, and the Kenduli Khandua, woven with stanzas and illustrations from the Gita Govinda, is the form made for that purpose. The sources do not name festivals, working days or mourning use for this sari, so those are left open.
Styles of Khandua
Place names do much of the naming here. Maniabandha in Cuttack district gives the sari its Maniabandi, Maniabandhi and Kataki names, and Nuapatana is the second weaving centre the sources name. The ikat elephant of Nuapatana is described as distinct from the elephant of Sambalpuri sari and from ikat made elsewhere in Odisha. Kenduli Khandua is the long devotional version, 12 feet and 2 kani. The single-piece silk form called caukandika appears in a record of a royal gift.
What Khandua means
Khandua holds a Geographical Indication in India. Much of its meaning runs through the Jagannath Temple: cloth woven in Maniabandha and Nuapatana was sent there in Gajapati times, and the Kenduli Khandua is still described as an offering made for the deity to wear. Verses and illustrations from the Gita Govinda appear on the cloth, joining text and image. The craft rests with the weaving families of Maniabandha and Nuapatana, who are credited with keeping it going.
Questions people ask about Khandua
Where does khandua come from?
It comes from Odisha, and more closely from the weaving centres of Maniabandha and Nuapatana in Cuttack district. Those places give it two of its other names, Maniabandi and Kataki. The cloth has long been linked to the Jagannath Temple, which received khandua woven in these workshops.
How is a khandua sari made?
It is an ikat sari, called bandha locally. The yarn is tied off in places before dyeing, so the dye skips those sections, and the motif appears as the cloth is woven on the loom. The traditional red dye is prepared from the sal tree, and the cloth is woven as pata, a silk fabric.
What designs appear on khandua?
An auspicious elephant, understood as a figure for the Buddha, stands among trailing vines with peacocks. There is also a large many-petalled flower, the deula kumbha, and the Nabagunjara, an animal particular to Odishan art. The borders themselves are plain, without motif work.
Who wears khandua?
Women wear it during weddings. A special long version, Kenduli Khandua, is offered to the deity Jagannath as a lower garment, woven with verses and illustrations from the Gita Govinda. The name khandua itself refers to cloth worn on the lower half of the body.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Khandua", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryPallu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions, weaves and prices differ from one weaver, town or shop to the next, and it is not buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-11-07.
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