Tilak and Bindiya
The Tilaka is normally a vermilion mark applied on the forehead.This mark has a religious significance and is a visible sign of a person
as belonging to the Hindu religion. The Tilaka is of more than one colour although normally it is vermilion. It also does not have any standard
shape and form and is applied differently by members of different Hindu sects and sub-sects.
The Tilaka is normally a vermilion mark applied on the forehead. This mark has a religious significance and is a visible sign of a person as belonging to the Hindu religion. The Tilaka is of more than one colour although normally it is vermilion. It also does not have any standard shape and form and is applied
differently by members of different Hindu sects and sub-sects.
It is applied as a 'U' by worshippers of lord Vishnu and is red, yellow or saffron in colour. It is made up of red powder (Sindhura) and sandalwood paste (Gandha). Worshippers of lord Shiva apply it as three horizontal lines and
it consists of ash (Bhasma). Soot (Abhira) is also used as a pigment for applying a Tilaka.
Thus there is a variety of pigments; red, yellow, saffron, white, grey,black, etc. These pigments are not only applied on the forehead but in some
cases they are applied also on the forearms and the abdomen. This is normally so in the case of worshippers of Shiva, a deity whose origin is said to lie in the primitive pre-Arvan or proto-Aryan society.
Literally, Tilaka means a mark. Sindhura which is also used to describe a Tilaka means red and Gandha which is also a term for Tilaka means pleasant odour. Hence, Tilaka normally connotes, a red mark with a pleasant odour. Some
scholars have seen the red colour as a symbolism for blood. We are told that in ancient times, in Aryan society, a groom used to apply his blood, on-his bride's forehead as a recognition of wedlock. The existing practice among Indian women
of applying a round shaped red Tilaka called Bindiya or Kumkum could be a survival of this.
Significantly when an Indian woman has the misfortune of becoming a widow she
has to stop wearing this mark. In a woman's case a Tilaka is a sign of her being
in wedlock Among men, the Tilaka has been traditionally interpreted as a good
luck charm. Apart from applying it in the course of normal life, its application had special significance while setting out for a battle, a hunt or before any other event of importance. To demonstrate the person's solemn commitment to
succeed in the endeavour he was about to undertake, the Tilaka was made up of
the person's own blood. Even today application of one's own blood as a Tilaka is
considered to be a display of solemn commitment to the oath or pledge being undertaken.
How this practice of Tilaka came into being is an open question. Even today in our civilized way of life, during festivals like Holi or Carnival whose origins are supposed to lie in a primitive tribal past, the smearing of colours is an essential aspect of festivities.
Tilaka could be a refined adaptation of this tribal practice.
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