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Tripundra Bhasma Dharan

hari

New Member
Namaste All,

On my weekly holidays, after my bath my wife sometimes smears bhasma (holy ash) on my forehead, neck, chest, upper arms, elbows and wrists with her three fingers. She tells it brings prosperity to the home. She wears it on her forehead only. She tells women are forbidden to wear any tilaka over the body other than forehead and neck. We are not in any sect (We keralites worship Devi, Shiva, Krishna, Ganesh, Ayyappa etc.). We use bhasma, chandan and kumkum for tilaka.

Recently in Maharashtra we saw some Veershaivaite women with bhasma tripundra tilaka all over their body. They look very beautiful with Bhasma lepana. We then searched the net and found women with tripundra tilaka on their forehead. But not over the body.

Our doubt is, Can women other than Veershaiva sect smear bhasma all over their body?

With love,
hari
 
I have no idea.

I have been wrestling with this idea, because I am from the Gaudiya Vaishnava sect, both women and men wear urdhva-paundra tilaka all the time... but except for small instances, it seems that in other Vaishnava sects only men wear urdhva-paundra tilaka.

In some sects of Hindu Dharma, only men take to wearing tilaka on all the parts of the body because only men take diksha. But the Gaudiya sect of Vaishnava Dharma all wear Gaudiya tilaka (women also take diksha like men), and in the Virashaiva sect of Shaiva Dharma, all the women also wear tilaka.

4222870508_902eba5760.jpg


Manipuri women in their traditional dress and Gaudiya Vaishnava tilaka

My idea? If you feel that it is right, and you and your wife feel that you love Shiva so much that you want to express that through tripundra-tilaka, then by all means let your wife adorn her entire body with bhasma.
 
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Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Namaste All,

On my weekly holidays, after my bath my wife sometimes smears bhasma (holy ash) on my forehead, neck, chest, upper arms, elbows and wrists with her three fingers. She tells it brings prosperity to the home. She wears it on her forehead only. She tells women are forbidden to wear any tilaka over the body other than forehead and neck. We are not in any sect (We keralites worship Devi, Shiva, Krishna, Ganesh, Ayyappa etc.). We use bhasma, chandan and kumkum for tilaka.

Recently in Maharashtra we saw some Veershaivaite women with bhasma tripundra tilaka all over their body. They look very beautiful with Bhasma lepana. We then searched the net and found women with tripundra tilaka on their forehead. But not over the body.

Our doubt is, Can women other than Veershaiva sect smear bhasma all over their body?

With love,
hari

People can do whatever they want. I believe what you're really asking is ,"What are the local traditions?" If your wife wants to smear it all over, there might be a reaction in your Kerala community because it isn't your tradition there. India is so incredibly vast, and these things vary widely. Certainly she could stay inside the house and put vibhuthi on more than the forehead. Vibhuthi is well known for its curative effects, so some will use it to 'heal' on open sores, or even things like sprains.

These things are only interpreted as hard and fast rules because of the set cultural norms involved.
 

hari

New Member
Hi Gaura Priya,

Thank you for your prompt response. The girls in the picture look very beautiful with the long Vaishnava tilaka.

In my humble opinion, the ancient Hindu knowledge about all traditions and customs are very much complex. Even our hymns, ritualistic activities, homas, yantras all are with specific meaning. So, tilak vidhi also to be followed with proper knowledge.

From your valuable reply, I have come to know that in Gaudiya sect of Vaishnava Dharma all women also take Deeksha. In Veershaiva sect of Shaiva Dharma also women take Deeksha. Now my doubt is, like the Veershaiva women, Gaudiya Vaishnava women also apply tilaka (but in vaishnava form) all over their body? If we get some photographs of Vaishnava women with tilaka all over their body, it will give some more inputs. If so, can women without taking deeksha apply tilaka all over the body like the men? In my society men are not taking deeksha, but they can smear bhasma all over their body. Over the bhasma tilaka, we put leaf shaped tilaka with chandan also.

We are devotees of Shiva, Devi and Vishnu also. After seeing the Veershaiva women, my wife wants to smear bhasma all over her body. She tells if men can smear bhasma without deeksha, why not women? As a first step she has started drawing single line tilaka with chandan on both of her upper arms just above the elbows and on the chest like the routine chandan tilaka on forehead and neck (Chandan we receive as prasad while visiting Ayyappa Temple). Now after seeing your answer we are more confident on trying bhasma on her entire body.

Now -a-days girls are making tattoos on their body parts (the most prominent places I think are the upper arms). In my opinion If they draw Gopi chandan tilak or leaf shaped chandan tilak on their upper arms instead of drawing meaningless tattoos, it may give them some divine beauty.

with love
hari
 
Hi Gaura Priya,

Thank you for your prompt response. The girls in the picture look very beautiful with the long Vaishnava tilaka.

Yes, they are very beautiful! :)

From your valuable reply, I have come to know that in Gaudiya sect of Vaishnava Dharma all women also take Deeksha. In Veershaiva sect of Shaiva Dharma also women take Deeksha. Now my doubt is, like the Veershaiva women, Gaudiya Vaishnava women also apply tilaka (but in vaishnava form) all over their body? If we get some photographs of Vaishnava women with tilaka all over their body, it will give some more inputs. If so, can women without taking deeksha apply tilaka all over the body like the men? In my society men are not taking deeksha, but they can smear bhasma all over their body. Over the bhasma tilaka, we put leaf shaped tilaka with chandan also.
Yes they do. All Gaudiya Vaishnava women, even without diksha, can put tilaka all over the body. Especially if the women are pujarinis in the temple, they should put urdhva-pundra all over the twelve parts of the body.

It is simply part of our tradition. Even without diksha, we should all strive to love Krishna/Vishnu, and so we encourage women and men both to wear tilaka, and if on the twelve parts of the body, it is more auspicious and beautiful. In our Vaishnava Dharma, we are dedicating our bodies to Lord Vishnu, so why not wear His tilaka marking?

I just wear it on my forehead and do 'water' tilaka on the rest of my body, but it is still auspicious. :) I am a girl, and I love wearing our Gaudiya tilaka every day. Om Keshavaya namah, Om Narayanaya namah, Om Madhavaya namah...

We are devotees of Shiva, Devi and Vishnu also. After seeing the Veershaiva women, my wife wants to smear bhasma all over her body. She tells if men can smear bhasma without deeksha, why not women? As a first step she has started drawing single line tilaka with chandan on both of her upper arms just above the elbows and on the chest like the routine chandan tilaka on forehead and neck (Chandan we receive as prasad while visiting Ayyappa Temple). Now after seeing your answer we are more confident on trying bhasma on her entire body.

Now -a-days girls are making tattoos on their body parts (the most prominent places I think are the upper arms). In my opinion If they draw Gopi chandan tilak or leaf shaped chandan tilak on their upper arms instead of drawing meaningless tattoos, it may give them some divine beauty.

with love
hari
I pray that you and your wife will be pleasing to Lord Shiva through wearing his tilaka markings. There is nothing more auspicious than anointing the body as temples of the Divine. And it certainly makes one look even more beautiful, at least spiritually. :D
 
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People can do whatever they want. I believe what you're really asking is ,"What are the local traditions?" If your wife wants to smear it all over, there might be a reaction in your Kerala community because it isn't your tradition there. India is so incredibly vast, and these things vary widely. Certainly she could stay inside the house and put vibhuthi on more than the forehead. Vibhuthi is well known for its curative effects, so some will use it to 'heal' on open sores, or even things like sprains.

These things are only interpreted as hard and fast rules because of the set cultural norms involved.

This is the truth. Unfortunately, if I was a Sri Vaishnava and was wearing the Sri Vaishnava tilaka, I would be causing somewhat a disrupture from local customs, lol.
 

hari

New Member
People can do whatever they want. I believe what you're really asking is ,"What are the local traditions?" If your wife wants to smear it all over, there might be a reaction in your Kerala community because it isn't your tradition there. India is so incredibly vast, and these things vary widely. Certainly she could stay inside the house and put vibhuthi on more than the forehead. Vibhuthi is well known for its curative effects, so some will use it to 'heal' on open sores, or even things like sprains.

These things are only interpreted as hard and fast rules because of the set cultural norms involved.

Thanks for your valuable advice.

Actually In Kerala people always appreciate bhasma dharan, since they consider bhasma as utmost divine. In my childhood during shivrathri, I had seen people prepare bhasma and keep it in a special pot which is generally hanging on the front side of the house. Nowhere I have heard that bhasma lepan over the entire body is forbidden for the women there. Only the matter is I have not seen any women with their body marked with bhasma tripundra. I had seen some old photographs of aged ladies with bhasma all over their body.

So, I want little bit more conscious not about the local custom, but about the general rules which may be described in Vedas or any other hindu ancient books.

with love
hari
 

hari

New Member
Yes, they are very beautiful! :)

I just wear it on my forehead and do 'water' tilaka on the rest of my body, but it is still auspicious. :) I am a girl, and I love wearing our Gaudiya tilaka every day. Om Keshavaya namah, Om Narayanaya namah, Om Madhavaya namah...

Thank you for the quotes.

But, I did not understand why "Water Tilaka". If you can wear real tilaka on your forehead, then why shouldn't you wear real tilaka on all the twelve parts of your body?
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Thanks for your valuable advice.

Actually In Kerala people always appreciate bhasma dharan, since they consider bhasma as utmost divine. In my childhood during shivrathri, I had seen people prepare bhasma and keep it in a special pot which is generally hanging on the front side of the house. Nowhere I have heard that bhasma lepan over the entire body is forbidden for the women there. Only the matter is I have not seen any women with their body marked with bhasma tripundra. I had seen some old photographs of aged ladies with bhasma all over their body.

So, I want little bit more conscious not about the local custom, but about the general rules which may be described in Vedas or any other hindu ancient books.

with love
hari

Here is one link, but it doesn't say anything about gender. The application of vibhUti (Holy Ash) - bhasma dhAraNa vidhi

I've travelled a bit hither thither in India, but also have come into contact with Indians from nearly every state here in Canada. I've never seen a woman wearing full tripundra. Even amongst men it isn't common except for priests and hard core Saiva bhaktars. But you do see various people smearing the leftover ash (when they take it by hand, versus having the priest put it on foreheads) all over the neck area especially. I'm sorry I can't be more useful.

If you feel it is healing, I'd just do it. Certainly the sandalwood has a definite cooling effect, most especially after tonsure at a place like Palani.
 
Thank you for the quotes.

But, I did not understand why "Water Tilaka". If you can wear real tilaka on your forehead, then why shouldn't you wear real tilaka on all the twelve parts of your body?

Because I don't want to run out of gopi-chandana, and I live in Canada. :D And sometimes, I am just lazy.

But here it is difficult to wear tilaka and go to work, for example. So water tilaka is useful because you are blessing your body with the mantras and are wearing tilaka, even if it is invisible. You are still protected by the mantras.

Real tilaka is not the substance, but the very fact that we are dedicating our bodies in the service of Sri Krishna. :p
 

hari

New Member
Yes, they are very beautiful! :)

Yes they do. All Gaudiya Vaishnava women, even without diksha, can put tilaka all over the body. Especially if the women are pujarinis in the temple, they should put urdhva-pundra all over the twelve parts of the body.

It is simply part of our tradition. Even without diksha, we should all strive to love Krishna/Vishnu, and so we encourage women and men both to wear tilaka, and if on the twelve parts of the body, it is more auspicious and beautiful. In our Vaishnava Dharma, we are dedicating our bodies to Lord Vishnu, so why not wear His tilaka marking?

I just wear it on my forehead and do 'water' tilaka on the rest of my body, but it is still auspicious. :) I am a girl, and I love wearing our Gaudiya tilaka every day. Om Keshavaya namah, Om Narayanaya namah, Om Madhavaya namah...

I pray that you and your wife will be pleasing to Lord Shiva through wearing his tilaka markings. There is nothing more auspicious than anointing the body as temples of the Divine. And it certainly makes one look even more beautiful, at least spiritually. :D

Which are the twelve body parts where we put Urdhwapundra tilaka as per the vidhi?
 
Put the water in your left hand, and rub the hard tilak into the water, creating a wet paste out of the clay. Begin by putting your ring finger of the right hand into the clay, and starting between the eyebrows, bring the finger straight up to the hairline, making two straight lines. It should look like a long, narrow U-shape. Then use some more tilak to make the marking on your nose, it should extend about 3/4 of the way down your nose. As you apply the tilak to your body, chant the following mantras:

forehead: om keshavaya namaha
belly: om narayanaya namaha
chest: om madhavaya namaha
neck: om govindaya namaha
right: belly om vishnave namaha
right: arm om madhusudhanaya namaha
right: shoulder om trivikramaya namaha
left: belly om vamanaya namaha
left arm: om shridharaya namaha
left shoulder: om hrishikeshaya namaha
upper back: om padmanabhaya namaha
lower back: om damodaraya namaha

Take the remaining tilak, and wipe it on the back of the head, in the area of the sikha, and chant om vasudevaya namaha.

tilak.jpg

This might be of help. :)

Hare Krishna!
 
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hari

New Member
This might be of help. :)

Hare Krishna!

I have got some photographs of women with various forms of tilaka. But I don't know how to post it? Since I am a new member, I am not authorized to insert photographs.

My wife has started wearing tripundra with bhasma on 16 parts of her body every day after bath. She also chants "Aum Nama Shivaya" 108 times daily. I always encourage her to do that. We are happy and there is tremendous "Shanti" in our home which is enriched with Shiv Bhakti. I also feel the increased respect and regards in my office.

With love hari
 

hari

New Member
namaskar all
How to put tripundra without bhasma or make vibhuti at home without cow dung? Thanks.... aumnamasivaya

Namskar !
Tripundra can be made with chandan also. Please take a small banana leaf and make three parallel small cuttings with the help of a needle. Then place it on your forehead and smear sandalwood paste on it. Gently remove the small banana leaf. You can see very beautiful tripundra on your forehead. You may apply small dot on the middle of it with sindoor. Similarly, you may make tripundra on your neck, chest and both upper arms. You can take help from others to place the leaf and smear chandan on it, since these two things do simultaneously may be difficult. Wife can take help from husband to put tripundra with chandan on five places in the above manner and husband can get help from wife for putting his tripundra.

Still if you make tripundra with bhasma, it will be better. You will get scented bhasma from the kerala stores or tamil stores at your place if you are at any metro cities of India. Dried Cow Dung after burning gives good bhasma and it is considered as pure white bhasma.

If you want to put bhasma as tripundra, please see the vidhi as given below:
Bhasma should be smeared as three lines minimum on 5 places of your body. If you want to smear more places, then either 8 places or 16 places or 32 places, you can smear it. A male has to smear bhasma after wetting it in the morning. In the evening without wetting, it has to be smeared in powder form. But for a woman, in the morning and in the evening she has to smear it in powder form only. Chant Aum Nama Shivaya while smearing bhasma.

Aum Nama Shivaya
 

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hari

New Member
Gayathri Shastri.png



Om Namashivaya.


Dear All,

During the past years, I have studied about bhasmadharan, experimented it, and got benefits of it.

Bhasma is the purest matter in the universe and it cannot be further purified. But, it can purify everything.

Before performing puja or going to the temple, we do take bath to purify our body. But, after the bath if we do proper bhasmadharana on our forehead and body, it will help us purify not only the body, but our mind and soul also. With pure body, mind and soul, if you do any puja, the result will be Bhasma should be smeared as three lines, on minimum 5 places, or 8 or 16 or 32 places of the body. More places you put, more benefit will be availed.

How does bhasma purify the body? You might have seen bhasma or ash is being used to make the bronze lamps clean. It cleans all the oil, rust etc completely. Even soap and water will not clean it like that.
Bhasma, removes the dust and impurity from the small pores on our body, it destroys the germs, it absorbs the water which get accumulates on some parts of our body.

Bhasma purifies the mind by removing all negative thoughts, makes it calm, cool and we feel confidence.

Bhasma removes all the sins and purifies our soul.

You can experience the benefits, by smearing it as per the vidhi on your body.

If your wife performs Somvar vrat for you, after bath in the morning, she may apply bhasma as tripundra lines on her forehead, both sides of the neck, chest, both sides of the upper back, both upper arms, above both elbows, on both elbows, on both fore arms and on her both wrists. These 16 tripundra marks will certainly bring prosperous to your entire family.

On daily basis you can also wear bhasma on 16 or even 32 places of your body.

Om Namashivaya
 
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