Uttarīya (literally, superior/exterior in nature) is mentioned several times as a garment for both women and men. It could be used to cover the face, for example, when crying. It could be extended to arm's length from the body, such as to wave it to show excitement, or when Bhīma uses his uttarīya to carry drinking water to his mother and brothers.
When the Pāṇḍavas are in disguise as brāhmaṇas, and when they go into forest exile, they wear ajināni uttarīyāṇi - outer garments of animal hides, which I guess made it easier to carry water! When they gamble for forest exile, Śakuni says that whoever loses must be raurav'ājina-vāsasaḥ - clothed in ruru deer-hides, but when Kṛṣṇā Draupadī greets Jayadratha, she gathers her kauśika uttarīya - silken outer garment. Dhṛtarāṣṭra's widowed daughters-in-law wear white uttarīyas. Wearing garments without an uttarīya was expected of a brāhmaṇa.
The opposite of uttarīya is antarīya (literally, interstitial/interior in nature). When Karṇa demands the Pāṇḍavas' clothes, they only take off their vāsāṃsi uttarīyāṇi - outer garments, which suggests that the uttarīya was the only valuable or decorative part of one's clothing, probably covering the entire body, contrasting with antarīya being plain undergarments. Nala goes into exile with nothing but his antarīya; when he loses that too, he is naked.
The royal Kuru women took off their bhūṣaṇāni - ornaments, uttarīyāṇi, and veṣṭanāni - wrapped headdresses before wading into Gaṅgā to make funeral offerings to their fathers, grandsons, brothers, friends, sons, grandfathers, and husbands who had just died gloriously in battle. So, it was considered appropriate to perform solemn religious rituals in one's undergarments, bare-headed. Obviously, this society's attitude towards decorative garments was practical rather than formal.
On their heads, kṣatriya men wore uṣṇīṣa - a cloth wrapping similar to a turban, often with a srak - wreath of flowers on it, while śūdra servant-men wore white veṣṭana. One who wore uṣṇīṣa was said to be covered by three garments. Bhīṣma and Droṇa wore white uṣṇīṣa into battle, and most warriors seem to have worn uṣṇīṣa, even those who also wore śiras-trāṇa - head-protector. More distinctive headgear for those who didn't wear uṣṇīṣa was mukuṭa - crown, or kirīṭa - helmet. In Karṇa's dream, those who will survive the war wear white uṣṇīṣa and those who will die wear red uṣṇīṣa.
A person might also wear kañcuka - a cloak.
The garment covering the lower body was gathered in a knot called nīvī, over which a woman might wear a decorative girdle called raśanā. In a sexual situation, Bhūriśravas pulled his wife's raśanā and loosened her nīvī. Gopīs walking to Yamunā to fetch water, among piles of cowdung, would lift and knot their clothes and tie them in place (baddhair udgrathit'āmbaraiḥ).
Interestingly, when Kṛṣṇā Draupadī is brought to the assembly, she is described as srast'ottarīyā - her outer garment displaced (Sabhāparvan 60.47) as well as eka-vastrā/ek'āmbarā/eka-vāsas - wearing one garment, adho-nīvī - her garment's knot sagging, and patit'ārdha-vastrā - her garment half-fallen. From this, I infer that either she had taken off her uttarīya (to keep it clean) when Duḥśāsana grabbed her or the part of her one garment that fell down functioned as an uttarīya.
Book Talk
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
