By Swami Harshananda
Puṇḍra literally means ‘religious mark’.
Popular scriptures like the sectarian Upaniṣads and the purāṇas ordain that every person must wear a puṇḍra or a religious mark on the forehead and also on other parts of the body. This puṇḍra may be tiryakpuṇḍra[1] like the bhasma or vibhuti or urdhvapuṇḍra like the nāma worn by the Vaiṣṇavas[2] or even just a tilaka.[3]
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore