Saffron robe
The orange, yellow or ochre robe of Buddhist monks and Hindu ascetics.
Also: kasaya, bhagwa, gerua, ochre robe
Buddhist monks were instructed to wear robes of plain, dyed cloth, and the dyes at hand were roots, bark and wood. In Sri Lanka and South-East Asia the heartwood of the jackfruit tree gave a yellow-brown, and robes there range from bright orange to deep ochre. Tibetan monks wear maroon, and East Asian monks grey, brown or black. Hindu renunciants wear a similar colour, called bhagwa or gerua, traditionally from red ochre earth; it stands for fire and for giving up worldly ties. The costly spice saffron was rarely the actual dye.