Is santhata “felt”?

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Greetings :pray:

This topic might interest Bhante @Brahmali for his Vinaya translations.

I was looking into the difference between wool and felt and the definition of how felt is made reminded me of a santhata.

Specifically:

Felt, on the other hand, is a non-woven fabric typically made by matting, condensing, and pressing wool fibers together.

See here for a video of how it’s made:

The only difference might be that rice water was used in Ancient India instead of soapy water, but that shouldn’t be too important.

If this is the case, would it be appropriate to translate santhata as “felt” or “felt blanket”, and nisīdanasanthata as “sitting felt”?

Thank you :pray:

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In a literal sense, I believe, ‘santhata’ is that which has been spread out. It’s a past participle.

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@gioz93
My post was not really on topic - therefore deleted.

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Thanks for this! Yes, it seems the santhata was made of fabric that is similar to felt. I will add this to my discussion of the term.

When considering the appropriate translation, however, the main issue at that the term santhata is specified mostly by its usage, not by the kind of fabric it is, that is, the santhata was a specific kind of large cloth used as an underlay or to warm oneself, like a blanket. For this reason I think blanket is still a better rendering.

I will edit my discussion of the santhata in my Appendix of Technical Terms.

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