upavīta

…and the sacred thread (upavita, or yajnopavita). The thread, consisting of a loop made of three symbolically knotted and twisted strands of cotton cord, is replaced regularly so that it is worn throughout the lifetime of the owner, normally over the left shoulder and diagonally across the chest to…

…is distinguished primarily by the sacred thread (upavita), which is bestowed on him during his boyhood investiture and worn diagonally across the body, over the left shoulder, at all times. During the water offering to saints, it is worn suspended around the neck and, during ancestor rites, over the right…

…torso, and in India the yajnopavita is passed diagonally from shoulder to waist. Among the Parsis, including the women, the cord is made of strands of lamb’s wool or of goat’s or camel’s hair, and in India the material varies according to caste and may be cotton, hemp, or wool.…