Puṇḍra
By Swami Harshananda
Sometimes transliterated as: Pundra, PuNDra, Pundra
puṇḍra (‘religious mark’)
Popular Hindu scriptures like the sectarian (minor) Upaniṣads and the purāṇas ordain that every Hindu must wear a puṇḍra or a religious mark on the forehead as also on other parts of the body.
This puṇḍra may be tiryakpuṇḍra (worn crosswise) like the bhasma (or vibhuti) or urdhvapuṇḍra like the nāma worn by the Vaiṣṇavas (followers of the Viṣṇu sects) or even just a tilaka (circular mark).
See TIRYAKPUNDRA and URDHVA-PUNDRA for details.
References
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore
OLD CONTENT
puṇḍra (‘religious mark’) Popular Hindu scriptures like the sectarian (minor) Upaniṣads and the purāṇas ordain that every Hindu must wear a puṇḍra or a religious mark on the forehead as also on other parts of the body. This puṇḍra may be tiryakpuṇḍra (worn crosswise) like the bhasma (or vibhuti) or urdhvapuṇḍra like the nāma worn by the Vaiṣṇavas (followers of the Viṣṇu sects) or even just a tilaka (circular mark). See TIRYAKPUNDRA and URDHVA- PUNṇRA for details.
