| Tilaka |
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TILAKS WORN BY MEN It may be made with sandalwood paste, Ashes , clay, or another 'cooling' (per Ayurveda ) substance. Different Hindu traditions use different materials and shapes to make the tilak.
TILAKS WORN BY WOMEN in '' Bride And Prejudice '']] Tilakam (or tilaka) have been worn by Hindu women for many millennia. They generally use dots, or bindi, rather than the lines worn by men. They usually make their marks with red powder, such as Sindoor , kumkum, or kasturi. Sometimes a dark powder is used. The bindi can vary from small to large. The tilaka is also worn as a beauty mark, by women of all faiths, with no connotation of Hindu belief. The term "bindi" seems to be more often used for beauty marks. See Bindi . A women's tilak can be called: Sometimes the terms sindoor, kumkum, or kasturi are used, by reference to the material used to make the mark. TILAKS WORN IN NEPAL In Nepal , the tilak is called a "tika," and is a mixture of ''abir'', a red powder, yoghurt, and grains of rice. THE PURPOSE OF THE TILAK The tilak is decorative; it is also an identifying mark. Worn by a priest or an ascetic, it shows which Hindu tradition he follows. The tilak is also believe to have medicinal and protective functions. The pastes applied are considered "cooling", and are applied to the ''ajna Chakra '', a concentration of spiritual energy on the forehead between the eyebrows. The tilak is also considered to bestow spiritual comfort and protection against demons, bad luck, and other evil forces. The earliest reference to a tilak is said to be found in the Rigveda , an early Sanskrit hymn. The hymn describes lord Surya 's wife, the goddess Usha (or dawn), as wearing a bright red dot on her forehead, symbolic of the rising sun. Tilaks are also discussed in the Vasudeva Upanishad . RELATED CUSTOMS In addition to the bindi, in northern India, a vermilion mark in the parting of the hair just above the forehead is worn by married women as a symbol of their married status. During North Indian marriage ceremonies, the groom applies sindoor on the parting in the bride's hair. IN OTHER CULTURES The ritual use of painted marks is also to be found in other religious traditions, ancient and modern. In Ancient Near East and Africa similar marks were used by Mediterranean worshippers of Helios in Heliopolis , South Egypt ( Thebes ), etc. REFERENCES
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