importance of tilaka

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Hare Krishna,

 

PAMHO, AGTSP

 

below are details on importance of tilaka quoted from Caitnaya Bhagavata Adi

lila 15:8

 

kindly use font type 'Balarama or 'Scagoudy' to read the text below.

 

your servant in mission of Srila Prabhupada

 

nanda gopal dasa

CB Adilila 15:8

TEXT 8

ito-madhye kadäcit keha kona dine

kapäle tilaka nä kariyä thäke bhrame

 

During this period sometimes by chance a student would forget to mark his

forehead with tilaka.

The word tilaka refers to when a person who is initiated as a Vaiñëava marks

twelve parts of his body above the waist-his forehead, stomach, chest, throat,

right waist, right arm, right shoulder, left waist, left arm, left shoulder,

upper back, and lower back-as temples of Hari, or ürdhva-puëòra (two vertical

lines). The forehead is one of these twelve places. In the Närada Puräëa it is

stated: "A Vaiñëava who marks his forehead with ürdhva-puëòra immediately

purifies the entire world." The devotees of Viñëu always apply ürdhva-puëòra,

or tilaka, and the devotees of Çiva, who are averse to devotional service to

Viñëu, apply tripuëòra, or three lines. Çästric injunction is that a king

should take the initiated twice-born who does not wear tilaka and sit him

backwards on an ass and have him driven out of town. Therefore every initiated

Vaiñëava must always wear tilaka. That is why the Lord, who is jagad-guru, the

teacher of everyone, gave such instructions in His childhood pastimes. If one

wants to worship LordViñëu, then he must accept the five saàskäras related to

initiation. Generally a twice-born undergoes ten kinds of saàskäras. Those who

are lower than the twice-born undergo fifteen types of saàskäras to become

Vaiñëavas. Just as a brähmaëa is obliged to maintain, an initiated Vaiñëava is

obliged to maintain çikhä, brähmaëa thread, tilaka, and mälä.

For a description on how to apply tilaka, one should refer to the

Hari-bhakti-viläsa (4.66-98). It is stated in Padma Puräëa, Uttara khanda??: "A

practitioner should decorate his body with twelve marks while chanting the

names of the Lord such as Keçava." The process for decorating the twelve parts

of the body with the twelve tilaka marks is as follows:

laläöe keçavaà dhyäyen näräyaëam athodare

vakñaù-sthale mädhavaà tu govindaà kaëöha-küpake

viñëuà ca dakñiëe kukñau bähau ca madhusüdanam

trivikramaà kandhare tu vämanaà väma-pärçvake

çrédharaà väma-bähau tu håñékeçaà tu kandhare

påñöhe ca padmanäbhaà ca kaöyäà dämodaraà nyaset

tat prakñälena-toyan tu väsudeväya mürdhani

ürdhva-puëòraà laläöe tu sarveñäà prathamaà småtam

laläöädi kremeëaiva dhäraëan tu vidhéyate

"When one marks the forehead with tilaka, he must remember Keçava. When one

marks the lower abdomen, he must remember Näräyaëa. For the chest, one should

remember Mädhava, and when marking the hollow of the neck one should remember

Govinda. Lord Viñëu should be remembered while marking the right side of the

belly, and Madhusüdana should be remembered when marking the right arm.

Trivikrama should be remembered when marking the right shoulder, and Vämana

should be remembered when marking the left side of the belly. Çrédhara should

be remembered while marking the left arm, and Håñékeça should be remembered

when marking the left shoulder. Padmanäbha and Dämodara should be remembered

when marking the back. Then one should wash with water and remember Väsudeva

while wiping the hand on the head. One should put on tilaka on the forehead

first. This is the rule. Then according to the above-mentioned procedure one

should put on tilaka. The Lord has stated in Padma Puräëa: "My devotees always

put on tilaka, which destros all kinds of fear."

If one does not decorate his body with tilaka he will incur sin. It is stated

by Närada Muni in Padma Puräëa: "If one performs sacrifice, gives in charity,

undergoes austerity, studies the Vedas, or offers oblations to the forefathers

without putting on tilaka, then all these activities will be useless. If a

person does not decorate his body with tilaka he is not to be seen, because his

body is as impure as a crematorium." It is mentioned in the Äditya Puräëa: A

king should put a fallen brähmaëa whose body is devoid of Vaiñëava marks of

tilaka, conch, and cakra on the back of donkey and drive him out of his

kingdom." It is stated in Padma Puräëa, Uttara-khaëòa: "A person who performs

any activity like worshiping deities without putting on tilaka achieves no

benefit. There is no doubt about it. Know for certain that a person who

performs sandhya without wearing tilaka is simply demoniac and surely goes to

hell."

Prohibition for wearing tilaka that is crooked or in three lines: It is stated

in the Padma Puräëa, Uttara-khaëòa: "A person who wears three-lined tilaka

instead of Vaiñëava tilaka is the lowest of men. Because of breaking the rules

for marking tilaka on the body, which is the abode of Lord Viñëu, such a person

certainly goes to hell." It is stated in the Skanda Puräëa: "A person should

not wear crooked tilaka even if he is about to die nor should he chant any

names other than the holy names of Näräyaëa. He should wear Vaiñëava tilaka

using gopé-candana if possible??. Elsewhere it is stated: "Learned person know

that there are prescriptions for the brähmaëas and devotees to wear Vaiñëava

tilaka and other people should wear three-lined tilaka. If one sees or touches

a brähmaëa who has put on three-lined tilaka rather than Vaiñëava tilaka, he

should take bath with his clothes on. A Vaiñëava should not wear three-lined

tilaka rather than proper Vaiñëava tilaka because such an act does not please

Lord Hari." In te narrations about the month of Kärtika in the Skanda Puräëa it

is stated: "One should not see a person whose forehead is not decorated with

Vaiñëava tilaka. If one happens to do so, he should immediately look at the

sun, for Lord Hari and Lakñmé devé reside within the tilaka." It is stated in

the Padma Puräëa, Uttara-khaëòa: "Marks of tilaka resembling a banyan leaf, a

bamboo leaf, and the bud of a lotus are most enchanting."

The glories of decorating the body with tilaka are as follows: "The beautiful

vacant space within the mark of tilaka is the sitting place for Çré Lakñmé and

Çré Janärdana, the Lord of lords. Therefore know for certain that the body that

is marked with tilaka is a sanctified temple of the Lord." It is mentioned in

the Brahmäëòa Puräëa: "If a person is impure, ill-behaved, and engaged in

sinful activities with his mind but nevertheless decorates his body with

tilaka, he certainly becomes pure forever. One should mark his forehead with

tilaka while seeing his face in a mirror or in the water, but never touch the

tilaka with one's fingernails."

The rules and regulations for applying tilaka: It is stated in the Padma

Puräëa, Uttara-khaëòa: "The most fortunate unalloyed devotees of Hari should

decorate their bodies with marks of tilaka resembling the lotus feet of Hari

with a vacant space in between the two lines. ??They should begin to mark from

the tip of the nose up to the end of the forehead with tilaka or other suitable

clay. The tip of the nose refers to the three-fourth part of the nose. One

should draw two separate lines beginning from the middle of the eyebrows

upwards." The prescription for keeping space within the mark of tilaka: "A

fallen twice-born who applies tilaka without keeping a vacant space between the

two lines certainly abandons Çré Hari and Lakñmé devé, who reside within that

space. There is no doubt that a fallen twice-born who applies tilaka without

keeping a space maintains the feet of a dog on his forehead. Therefore, O

beautiful one, brähmaëas and women should always mark their foreheads with

tilaka resembling two sticks wih a space between.

The symptoms of tilaka as temples of Hari: "The mark of tilaka that starts from

the nose and stretches up to the hair on the head with a beautiful space in

between the lines is called a temple of Hari. Lord Brahmä resides on the left

side, Sadäçiva resides on the right side and Lord Viñëu resides in the middle

of such a tilaka mark. One should not apply anything in the middle." The clay

used for preparing tilaka is described in the Padma Puräëa as follows: "One

should collect clay for tilaka from the place over which water that has been

used to bathe Lord Viñëu flows. One can also collect clay from the

transcendental abode of Hari. One should devotedly collect clay from the

Venkata Hill, from Srirangam, from Çré Kürma-kñetra, from Çré Dvärakä, from Çré

Prayäga, from Çré Nåsiàha-kñetra, from Çré Varäha-kñetra, or from Çré Våndävana

[or any forest of tulasé] and then mix it with the water that has washed the

lotus feet of Viñëu. In this way one should decorate one's body with such

tilaka and come before the Lor. O Mahäräja Ambaréña, just see one whose

forehead is decorated with tilaka made of gopé-candana to minimize your sinful

reactions." In the Skanda Puräëa, Dhruva Mahäräja speaks as follows: "If you

see a person decorated with the tilaka marks of a conch and cakra, adorned with

tulasé maïjarés on his head, and his limbs smeared with gopé-candana, then why

should you fear sinful reactions? Thereafter a Vaiñëava should mark his

forehead with attractive tilaka of clay collected from the root of a tulasé

plant. On the upper portion of the forehead one should apply the sandalwood

pulp and wear the garland that have been offered to the Lord. In this way one

should decorate one's forehead with three kinds of tilaka. One should also

decorate his body with various shapes like Matsya and Kürma and various weapons

like the cakra in order to please Lord Hari.

The Vedic injunction regarding applying tilaka: It is stated in the

Hiranyakesiya branch of the Yajur Veda: "A person who wears tilaka marks

resembling the lotus feet of Hari becomes very fortunate and dear to the

Supreme Brahman, Çré Hari. A human being who wears tilaka with a space in the

middle becomes eligible for liberation." In the Katha branch of the Yajur Veda

it is stated: "The great soul who after applying tilaka meditates through

mantras on Çré Viñëu, who holds a cakra, who is the Supreme Absolute Truth, who

is greater then the greatest, and who resides in the hearts of His devotees,

certainly becomes pure." It is stated in the Atharva Veda: "The fortunate

practitioner who throughout his life decorates his body with tilaka marks like

the cakra certainly attains the all-pervading Lord Viñëu's supreme abode, which

is the ultimate goal of the devotees.