Indian
Culture and Traditions
What Does Your BINDI Say
About You
By Ram Lingam
“ Woman’s beauty is multiplied 1000 times when she wears a Bindi
” - Indian Proverb
When an Indian woman decorates her
forehead with sindoor or bindi, she is just following a tradition that
goes back atleast 5,000 years. Wear a bindi or a decorative mark on your
forehead and you will get noticed everywhere. It is no wonder that bindi
has found its way to the international fashion world. In fact globally,
the Bindi is one of India’s
best recognized symbols. If you wear a bindi what does it say about you?
Is it merely a decoration or is there more to it?
An
Indian proverb says "A woman's beauty is multiplied 1,000 times when
she wears a bindi". For many Indian women, getting dressed for a
special occasion is incomplete without the bindi. When a woman grooms
herself in a lavish Indian way, she gives special importance to
decorating her forehead with a bindi. However, modern day bindi stickers
have made it easy and bindi is used more for decoration today.
For generations, bindi has been the most visually
attractive of all forms of body decoration. In fact, in the 16
decorations for personal grooming (solah-shrungār), bindi is the first
shrungaar and has a strong religious implication.
But first - what
does the word ‘bindi’ mean? Like the various aspects of
authentic Indian culture, the bindi carries with it a wealth of meaning.
Bindi is derived from the sanskrut word ‘bindu’, which means dot. Bindi
is also known as 'sindoor', 'tilaka', ‘tilak’, 'tilakam' 'tika' or
'pottu'. But kumkum and sindoor are not synonymous as unmarried women use
kumkum but not sindoor. The ancient name for bindi is tilaka and teeka or
tikka is its distorted form.
In ancient times, small decorative leaves were used (which
were made by cutting them into different shapes) and then pasted upon the
forehead. The decorative leaves (patra) were also known by various names
--'Patralekhā', Patramanjari', 'Patrachhedya' or 'Patrabhanga'.
Authentic kumkum is of special significance and an
essential item in all religious rituals, hence auspicious. The turmeric
is dried and powdered with a lime/lemon to give the rich red colored
kumkum. Every deity and every altar in Sanāthana dharma has red kumkum.
It is red in colour as red is a known colour of power.
Is the practice of bindi really ancient? A cursory look at the ancient
paintings, murals from the antiquated Ajantā or Ellora caves, Rājasthani
paintings or even sculptures from the ancient temples of India, shows
that the forehead of the Indian women is always found decorated with
ornaments and also bindi. Cave 16 at the Ajanta
caves has a mural where a princess and her lady-attendant are with a tray
both wearing the bindi. Female figurines excavated in Baluchistan seem to
imply application of sindoor to the partition of women's hair in Harappā culture.
Personal decoration practices also go back to the
times of Rāmāyana, the Māhābhārata and the Vedic period and till today
they haven’t changed because it still looks “cool”. In the Māhābhārata,
the Pāndava queen Draupadi wiped her 'kumkum' off the forehead in anguish
at Hastināpur.
The practice of using 'kumkum' on foreheads is also
mentioned in Vedic texts, many ancient texts (Purānas), the Lalitha
Sahasranāma and Ādi Shankara’s Soundarya Lahiri. In the famous eight
verses (astakam) on the symbol of Lord Shiva called the ‘Lingashtakam’
the composer says “Kumkuma chandana lepitha lingam..” meaning “I bow
before that symbol (lingam), which represents the eternal Lord Shiva,
adorned by sandal paste and kumkum”. Tilaka has been mentioned in Sanskrit plays
of Mahākavi Kālidasa and other works like Panchatantra. Sant Tulsidās
mentions it in his Rāmcharitmānas at the time of the marriage between
Lord Ram and Sitā.
Kumkum is also showered as an offering (kumkuma archana)
during the abhisheka of a deity. In the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom
till today makes a 'tilaka' mark on the bride's forehead as a sign of
wedlock. It is called the "Sindoor Dana" ceremony and married
women adorn the sindoor thereafter. Along with Indian traditions and
rituals, the personal attire and grooming (alankaar, shrungaar) also
finds a permanent place in Indian lifestyle.
Is there a mystic element to bindi? The area where the bindi
is positioned is said to be the location of the
Āgnya Chakra (the subtle spiritual eye) in the language of yoga
which is said to be the major nerve center in the human body. To the
spiritual seeker, the tilaka made of sandalwood paste serves as a reminder
of a seeker's ultimate goal i.e. enlightenment. The tilak is applied with
the prayer - "May I remember the Lord. May this pious feeling
pervade all my activities. May I be righteous in my deeds! "
Bindi is certainly a part of the detailed Indian
shrungār. In many communities, it is enjoined upon married women to sport
a kumkum mark on their foreheads at all times. In these changing times
bindis are sported by unmarried women as well. Many women in the Indian
sub-continent and Southeast Asia sport a bindi
even though they are not followers of Dharma. These days even women from
Western cultures adorn a bindi.
“The entire body emanates energy in the form of
electromagnetic waves – the forehead and the subtle spot between the
eyebrows especially so. That is why worry generates heat and causes a
headache. The tilak cools the forehead, protects us and prevents energy
loss. Using plastic reusable ‘stick bindis’ is not very beneficial, even
though it serves the purpose of decoration.”
So what does
your Bindi say about you? Does it mean your culture, your ethnic identity,
your marital status or is it just for decoration? It could be ‘any of the
above’, ‘some of the above’ or even ‘all of the above’. Can ‘none of the
above’ be an option?
Coconut - Fruit Of
Lustre In Indian Culture
By Vimla Patil,
In every ritual or sacrament, the coconut
is omnipresent in Indian culture. It is called Shrifal or fruit of prosperity
because the tree yields not only the fruit with refreshing water and tasty
kernel which is eaten fresh or dried and as well as for extracting oil, but
also because every part of the tree is used for some purpose or the other in
India. A coconut tree is often called the Kalpavriksha or the tree that grants
all blessings...
One of the first trees to be cultivated by mankind, the
coconut palm plays a significant role in the religious, cultural and social
life of Indians. Indeed, as the Kalpavriksha or the tree which fulfils
all desires of mankind, a coconut palm plays a very prominent role in Indian
community life. For instance, in religious rituals, the coconut or ‘nariyal’
is used on all auspicious and religious occasions be it birth, marriage, buying
a new house or car or at the opening ceremony of a new company or firm.
It signifies prosperity and auspicious events and is offered in every temple as
a symbol of the completeness of life. It is always seen in the symbol of the
Poornakumbh or the pot of nectar which the Gods obtained from the churning of
the cosmic ocean. The pot, with the swastika (symbol of the sun’s energy),
mango leaves and a coconut placed in the centre of the leaves is the symbol of
immortality and divinity in Indian culture.
According to a myth, in bygone ages, all the seers or
Rishis used to sacrifice a goat in order to ward off evil forces during their
religious rituals. As time passed, this practice of animal sacrifice
became obsolete and religious rituals became peaceful and non-violent.
The coconut replaced the sacrifice and ever since, the coconut, called Shrifal
or fruit of lustre, became an ever present motif in India’s cultural life. Legend
also decrees that the coconut is the primary fruit of the earth. It is
likened to the head of Brahma, the creator of the universe. Thus Brahma
and the coconut are considered primary to creation.
The coconut is a favourite fruit of all deities and is
seen in all temple or home worship rituals as an ever present cultural
motif. As an auspicious symbol, the coconut plays a role in many
festivals and sacraments. During the naming ceremony of a child on the
twelfth day after its birth, coconuts are given to all the women present.
The guests also put a coconut each in the lap of the new mother with a blessing
that her progeny should be healthy and prosperous. During weddings,
coconuts are exchanged by both sides and are often distributed to all guests.
When elders, scholars, teachers, gurus or parents are honoured, a coconut and a
shawl symbolise the respect shown to them. In India, even governmental
institutions, art and science academies and universities use the coconut as a
motif in honouring scholars and researchers for their achievements in the
pursuit of knowledge.
Diwali, Dussera, Ganesh Puja, Durga Puja, Holi - all these
festivals mean a gigantic number of coconuts offered to the gods and to
guests. But the day which celebrates the coconut unfailingly is Nariyal
Purnima in the Hindu month of Shravan. Officially, the full moon of this
month is the close of the monsoon and the rains begin to abate from that
day. Along the west coast of India, fisher folk offer thousands
of coconuts to the sea before setting out in their trawlers to resume their
fishing operations. The offering of the coconut is their prayer for safe
sailing and prosperity.
The coconut is imbued with medicinal qualities too.
It is called Arogya Vardhak or health enhancer. Coconut water is called
amrit or nectar. A glass of this sweet water each day cures many ailments and
washes out all toxins. The white kernel is grated or ground and used in a
variety of luscious curries and vegetable delights. Dry or fresh, coconut
kernels make excellent chutneys.
Prasad or holy food is made of coconut chips and
distributed to devotees at the end of a worship or festive function.
Dried kernels are used for extracting oil which is used as a cooking medium or
for making hair or massage oils. Soaps and candles are also made from the oil.
The coconut palm is called the wish fulfilling tree
because each part of it is useful. Its leaves, dried and woven into a
tapestry like design, are used for covering huts and cottages in Indian
villages. The trunk is used for making supports for the huts or as
fuel. The coir taken from the outer covering of the coconut is used in
stuffing pillows or mattresses as well as for making ropes. The shell is
cleaned and made into cups or spoons with a handle. Many handicrafts are
created from the leaves of the tree and the shell of the fruit.
With these
myriad uses, the coconut participates actively in every aspect of India’s
cultural life!
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My
humble salutations to Sri Ramalingam ji,
Vimla Patil ji and hindu samskrit dot com for the collection)
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