Pasapali sari
A handloom ikat saree from Odisha with chess-board checks in contrasting colours.
Pasapali is a handloom Bandha ikat saree from the Sambalpuri tradition, woven mainly in Bargarh district of Odisha. It takes its name from pasa, gambling games played on a chess-like board, and its body carries intricate checks of contrasting colours that recall one.
- Named after pasa, gambling games played on a chess-like board.
- Its body carries intricate checks of contrasting colours, like a chess board.
- Woven mainly in Bargarh district of Odisha, in the Sambalpuri tradition.
- Bandha ikat: the pattern is dyed into the yarn before weaving.
- Also known by the name Saktapar.
What is Pasapali sari?
Pasapali is a handloom saree woven mainly in Bargarh district of Odisha, in the east of India. It is made in the Bandha technique, the Odisha form of ikat, in which yarn is dyed before weaving. The saree belongs to the Sambalpuri family of weaves. What marks it out is its field of checks: squares of contrasting colours laid side by side so the cloth reads like a chess board. That likeness gave it its name, taken from pasa, gambling games played on a squared board. The same saree also answers to the name Saktapar.
Where does Pasapali sari come from?
Pasapali takes its name from pasa, gambling games played on a squared board, the same grid as a chess board. The name was an obvious pick for weavers whose cloth already carried checks of contrasting colours across its body, squares laid out like a gaming board. The saree belongs to the Sambalpuri weaving tradition of Odisha and is woven mainly in Bargarh district. It is also known as Saktapar. No dates or legends are recorded for its beginnings; the weave is identified by its home district, its ikat technique and the chess-board pattern that names it.
How is Pasapali sari made?
Every Pasapali is woven by hand. The technique is Bandha, the Odisha name for ikat: before the loom is set up, the yarn is tied so it resists dye in places, then coloured, so the pattern sits inside the thread rather than on the surface. When this dyed yarn is worked on the loom, the checks emerge as squares of contrasting colour. The design and the cloth grow together. Weaving is centred in Bargarh district, where the saree is a handloom product of the Sambalpuri group.
Pasapali sari, drawn
Colours, motifs and borders
The pattern is a grid of checks. Squares in one colour sit against squares in another, chosen in strong contrast so that each block stands out and the body reads as a chess board. The checks are intricate, small and closely worked. No single pair of colours is fixed to the name; the constant is the contrast itself, which turns the field of the saree into a board set for a game of pasa.
Styles of Pasapali sari
Two names cover one cloth. Weavers and sellers call this checked saree Pasapali, after the gaming board, and also Saktapar; the two names describe the same weave rather than two styles. It sits inside the Sambalpuri family of handloom sarees of Odisha, and the chess-board check is the marker that sets it apart from its cousins within that family.
Questions people ask about Pasapali sari
Where does the Pasapali saree come from?
It comes from Bargarh district in Odisha, in eastern India, where it is woven mainly by hand. The saree belongs to the Sambalpuri weaving tradition of the state, and Bargarh is the district most closely tied to its making.
Why is it called Pasapali?
The name comes from pasa, gambling games played on a squared board like a chess board. The saree's checks of contrasting colours resemble such a board, so the game's name passed to the cloth.
How is a Pasapali saree made?
It is a handloom saree made in Bandha, the Odisha form of ikat. The yarn is tied and dyed before weaving, so when it is worked on the loom the checks of contrasting colour appear as part of the cloth itself.
What does the pattern look like?
The body carries intricate checks in contrasting colours, arranged like the squares of a chess board. This grid is the saree's signature, and it is the reason the saree carries the name Pasapali.
Is Saktapar a different saree?
No. Saktapar is a second name for the same saree, not a separate weave. Both names describe one checked handloom cloth from the Sambalpuri tradition of Odisha, woven mainly in Bargarh district.
Good reading and sources
- Pasapali sari on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Pasapali sari", 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 2026-10-03.
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