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Re: Meaning Behind Various Signs or Marks on Face
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Subject: Re: Meaning Behind Various Signs or Marks on Face
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From: vijaypai@rice.edu (Vijay Sadananda Pai)
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Date: 7 Dec 1995 02:27:32 GMT
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Approved: srh <srh@rbhatnagar>
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Article: 667 of soc.religion.hindu
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Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
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Organization: none
In soc.religion.hindu, Maridel Crawford-Brown
<3mjc23@qlink.queensu.ca> wrote:
>I would like to know the meaning behind the various signs or marks
>Hindus sometimes paint on their faces. Do they wear them all the time or
>only for holy reasons or special reasons? Do different castes have
>different marks? I am doing a paper on Hindu art but so far can't find
>this covered. Any help appreciated.
These are better thought of as sampradaya (sect) marks rather
than caste marks; though in some sampradayas the marks given
also reflect varNa and aashrama, they usually do not.
Among Vaishnavas, devotees of different sampradayas wear two vertical
lines on their head, either with just a joining at the bottom (U
shaped) or a line down part of their nose (Y shape), made from
gopi-chandan (mud from Dwaraka) in the Maadhva and Gaudiya lineages,
or from another type of mud from a pilgrimage site in the Sri
Vaishnava line. There may be either a red vertical line, a single
red dot, or no mark at all down the middle.
There are several meanings. Most come from the Puranas, particularly
the Padma Purana. I know of 2 meanings of the 2 vertical lines. One
is that they are the two lotus feet of Lord Vishnu. If a mark is worn
down the nose it represents a tulasi leaf offered at His feet, and
a red mark down the middle is the abode of Sri Laksmi devi.
The other meaning I know (also from Padma Purana) is that the two
vertical lines are the abodes of Brahma and Shiva, and the center
part is the abode of Sri Laksmi-Narayana, so one should be very
careful not to smudge the middle. There is no contradiction between
the two meanings since Brahma and Shiva are great devotees constantly
aspiring to gain the association of Lord Vishnu's lotus feet.
Scripturally speaking, this tilak (called Thirumaan in the Sri
sampradaya) should be worn all the time, and this practice is
still followed by Vaishnavas in many villages in India; in the
cities, tilak-wearing is indeed rare and generally limited to
priests.
Yours,
Vijay
Yours,
Vijay
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