Bindi is an Indian symbol of a woman's wisdom and intelligence. What does the dot on the forehead of Indian women symbolize? There are black, green, red

Tilaka or tilak(Sanskrit: तिलक, tilaka) is a sacred mark that followers of Hinduism apply with clay, ash, sandalwood paste or other substance on the forehead and other parts of the body. The types of tilaka differ among followers of different directions of Hinduism and, among other things, serve as an identification mark, indicating belonging to a particular religious tradition. Tilak can be applied daily or only on special occasions.

Shaivaites Usually they use sacred ash - vibhuti. And apply tilaka on the forehead form of three horizontal lines called tripundra.

Tripundra- symbol of Shaivism. The red dot in the middle symbolizes the third eye of Shiva. The red dot under the three lines is a symbol of the connection between Shiva and Shakti (Parvati).

Vaishnavas They use clay from sacred rivers (such as the Yamuna) or holy pilgrimage sites (such as Vrindavan), which is sometimes mixed with sandalwood paste. They apply tilaka in the form of two vertical lines joining together between the eyebrows, this shape symbolizes the feet of Vishnu. The red line or dot inside symbolizes Lakshmi.

Followers of some branches of Vaishnavism also apply tilaka on the bridge of the nose in the form of a tulsi leaf. Vaisnava tilaka is called urdhva-pundra.

Shaktas- adherents of the path of worship of the Divine Mother - use kumkum, or red powder from turmeric. They apply tilaka in the form of a red vertical line or just a dot.

Followers of Ganesha use red sandalwood paste - rakta-chandana. Ganapatya (Sanskrit: गाणपत्य, gāṇapatya) is a Hindu religious tradition of worshiping Ganesha. Traditionally, Ganesh is depicted with tilaka in the form of an Indian trident - trishula (Sanskrit: त्रिशूल triṣūla “three spears”). Ganesha in Hinduism is the deity of wisdom and prosperity, “the remover of obstacles.”

The cult of Ganesha for many Hindus complements the worship of other deities, which is why there are various tilakas both on images of Ganesha and among worshipers.

The image of Ganesha with three horizontal stripes and a red dot symbolizes that Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati.

Shiva, Ganesh, Parvati. Shiva's tripundra symbol (three slightly rounded horizontal lines connected at the sides). The design is painted in red paste on Ganesha's forehead. Parvati's red dot is a symbol of Mother.

The overwhelming number of mature Indian women walk around with a scarlet dot in the middle of their forehead. This sign symbolizes the woman's practice of Hinduism and the fact that she is married.

Name

More often this mark is called a bindi.

Bindi Indian women- This is one of the types of sacred symbol of tilak, applied to the bodies of Hindus in the form of decoration and a sign of adherence to religious teachings.

Bindi is most often seen on the forehead of women, but it is also found on men.

The dots on the foreheads of the people of India, depending on their adherence to one or another direction of Hinduism, vary in shape, size and raw materials used.

Meaning

The ritual of applying a bindi to the face is several thousand years old.

According to legend, the dawn goddess Usha began to depict a miniature red circle on her forehead as a symbol of the rising daylight luminary as a sign of greeting to her husband Surya, the Sun God.

According to another version, the color red symbolizes blood and sacrifices to the gods in the hope of their mercy.

A lot has been said about tilak in folk legends and myths. For example, in brave heroes it burned with fire, and in moments of deep sorrow and despair it could spontaneously disappear.

The central part of the face above the bridge of the nose is considered to be the location of the ajna chakra, better known as the third eye. It is believed that through ajna a person loses the valuable vital energy of kundalini, and the bindi blocks its evaporation, protecting its owner from the influence evil forces and attracting good luck.

For a married woman, a red dot promises well-being and prosperity, and also reminds her of the sanctity of marriage.

In ancient times, girls, unmarried women and widows were only allowed to decorate themselves with black dots.

Raw material for bindi

The method of applying a bindi is extremely simple: Indian women dip the tip of their finger in cinnabar and, taking a little of the product, leave an imprint between their eyebrows.

Without certain skills, it is not always possible to apply a point exactly. In this case, improvised objects will help out - metal circles or coins with a round hole.

Lead oxide, livestock blood and others are also suitable as raw materials for bindi. natural dyes pronounced red tint.

Bindi these days

The bindi has already lost its original sacred meaning. Dots different sizes Women of different ages, marital status and religions living in the countries of South and Southeast Asia decorate their faces with flowers.

Felt, plastic or metal tilak stickers have become very popular. The adhesive base does not cause difficulties in their application, and large selection allows you to change them at least every day.

Extravagant beauties prefer gold-plated or silver-plated bindis, decorated with sparkles, rhinestones, inlaid precious stones.

In other countries, women with Indian roots or those who have decided to convert to Hinduism also decorate themselves with bindis.

Tilak is often perceived as a detail of style. At one time, many celebrities, far from India and Hinduism, appeared in public with a red dot between their eyebrows.

What's with the red dot on Hindus' foreheads? Probably each of you asked a similar question when looking at the people of India. I want to tell you a little about this.

It's called a point on the forehead tilak.

Tilaka or tilak is a sacred mark applied on the forehead and other parts of the body by followers of Hinduism. For this they use clay, sandalwood paste and ash. By the type of tilaka on a person’s forehead, one can determine which religious tradition the person belongs to.

Varieties of tilaka.

Tripundra.

These are three horizontal stripes on the forehead, which are applied with ash by the followers of God Shiva. Sometimes Shaivites and Shaktas, followers of the Goddess Shakti, also apply a red dot or line in the middle of the forehead or in the place of the third eye. This symbolizes the energy of Shakti.

Vaishnava tilak.

There are many varieties of them, but they all look like the letter U or V. Two parallel lines connecting at the bottom symbolize the foot of God Vishnu. Vaishnavas use clay from holy rivers - Yamuna or holy places of pilgrimage - the city of Vrindavan to apply tilak. If two lines are connected in the middle and a tulasi leaf is depicted on the nose, this is a Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.

The followers of the Madhva Sampradaya make a tilaka of two vertical lines, which represent Krishna's feet, and a black line between them. It is applied with ashes after a fire sacrifice. A dot is often placed under the black line, which symbolizes Goddess Lakshmi or Radha.

Followers of Sri Vaishnavism draw the tilaka in the form of two parallel lines, symbolizing the feet of Narayana, with a red line in the middle representing Lakshmi and a small line in the middle representing the guru.

Followers of the Nimbarka Sampradaya apply tilaka from special yellow gopi-chandana clay in the form of two parallel lines and a black dot in the middle. The lines represent the temple of God.

Followers of the Pushti Marga tradition apply the tilaka in the form of a single vertical red line, symbolizing Yamuno-devi.

Tilakas for women.

Indian women wear tilaks in the form of a dot - a bindi.

They come in different sizes and colors, with sparkles and stones. Red color indicates that the woman is married.

Also, after performing a puja or visiting a temple, a Brahmin applies tilak to the devotees' forehead. Puja is a religious ceremony in Hinduism, an offering to the deity of water, flowers, incense, and food.

Welcome to India.

The most common name for this point is bindi. Sometimes it is called tika, chandra or tillak. This translates to “drop” or “small particle”.

Most often it is women who wear a bindi on their forehead. But men also sometimes put such a mark on their forehead. It is applied as a distinctive sign and decoration. It can be of any shape, and the materials used to apply this point are also varied. It depends on the trends in Hinduism.

Why is tika applied specifically between the eyebrows? It is believed that the “sixth chakra” is located in this place. It collects life experience. According to Tantric custom, whatever a person thinks about rises up the spine to the sources of the head and passes through the bindi. The purpose of this point is to conserve energy and enhance concentration.

There is also a custom that the groom must apply his blood to his future wife. Therefore, tika was considered its symbol. But now this ritual is not popular, and it is gradually being forgotten.

Before India became an independent country, the bindi indicated one of the castes. For example, if the dot was black, the woman was classified as a kshtariya, and if it was red, she was classified as a brahmana.

According to custom, the bride must cross the threshold of her husband's house dressed in bright clothes, jewelry and with a bright bindi on her forehead. Red dot and prosperity married woman and serves as a reminder to her of the sanctity of marriage.

What is a bindi made of?

Traditionally, the bindi is burgundy or red. By using a small amount of cinnabar (scarlet-colored mercuric sulfide) with a fingertip, a woman can create a perfectly straight bindi.

Some women who do not have the dexterity use discs or coins with a hole. They are attached to the forehead with wax, and a bindi is applied to the hole. The disc is then removed.

In addition to cinnabar, sindoor (lead oxide), abir, and ox's blood can be used as paint for tiki. There is also a dye called turmeric. It is made from turmeric, lemon juice, honey and powdered sugar.

Surely many of us have seen Indian women at least in famous films that were once popular earlier. Most of them had a red dot on their forehead, which was a symbol that the woman was legally married to a man. In addition, this was an indicator that this woman preaches Hinduism, i.e. this is a symbol not only of a certain social status, but also religiosity, as well as a person’s worldview.

Symbol meaning

Drawing a bindi on the forehead is a very ancient tradition dating back centuries. For example, Usha, the goddess of the morning, applied this sign to herself as a greeting to her husband Surya, who appears to the sun gods.

This symbol is also found in many legends and stories about various heroes. Thus, the bindi could become fiery in valiant people, or disappear from the forehead if a person experiences extreme despair and mental anguish. Bindi is also a symbol of the future happy life women, allowing her to find a place in the family.

All people who are somehow interested in Hinduism know that the area between the eyebrows is considered the location of the sixth chakra. This is a kind of “third eye” that allows a person to comprehend the great wisdom of existence, hidden from other people. According to Tantrism, the area between the eyebrows is considered the point through which the kundalini energy exits. That is why, in order to preserve this energy, a bindi is drawn, which also protects a person from various troubles and misfortunes.

Bindi is also a symbol of marriage in India. Every Indian woman who gets married becomes the keeper of the hearth, and her main responsibility is to take care of the family she came to. This symbol speaks of the luck of this woman, and also reminds her of certain responsibilities for preserving the marriage that fall on her shoulders.

If the red dot was considered a certain symbol of love and marriage, then the black dot had a completely opposite meaning. If a woman had this sign on her forehead, then this was evidence that she was in mourning. Those girls who had not yet entered into a legal marriage went without a bindi at all, but not in all cases.

According to tradition, those women who had “ critical days" There is probably no need to explain this circumstance, because a lot can be assumed here - from insulting the feelings of believers to lengthy explanations and allusions to the symbols of blood that represented the bindi.

In ancient times, when in India there was a division of people into castes, it was the dot that made it possible to understand which category its bearer belonged to. For example, those with a red dot belonged to the Brahmin caste, and women with black bindis were representatives of the Kshatriyas. However, the castes have long since disappeared, but the symbol itself lives on to this day, and if we take into account the interest in it not only among representatives of Hinduism, then we can say with confidence that this interest will not dry up for a very long time.

What is it made from?

The dot on the forehead of Indian women had a traditional red color, or this shade could be a little darker. It is made from a special mineral - vermillion, which is mercury sulfide. But in order to make a perfectly even point, you need to have sufficient skill in this matter.

Some women are unable to do this, so they use various round objects to get the perfect outline of their bindi. Coins with a hole in the middle, disks - all this can be used as an aid. The stencil is applied to the forehead, and paint is poured inside the hole.

In addition to vermilion, women can use other materials in making this symbol on their forehead:

• Sindoor, which is lead oxide.
• Bull's blood.
• Abir is in the form of a red powder that must be mixed with rice flour and yogurt.
• Turmeric is a scarlet dye that is mixed with lemon juice.
• Rusk powder, which is pre-mixed with glue and honey.
• Saffron mixed with pollen from flowers.

All these options have a right to exist, so Indian women use one or another option, depending on the availability of the necessary ingredients.

How to call her correctly

The point on the forehead of Indian women is called “bindi”, derived from the Sanskrit “bindu”. It means approximately the same thing as it symbolizes, i.e. dot or drop.

Bindi is one of the varieties of tilak - a symbol in Hinduism that representatives of this religion can apply to various parts of the body, not just the forehead. This is not just decoration, but a certain semantic load that speaks of a certain status of a person.

Indian women's bindis were drawn exclusively in the form of a dot, although it could be of different sizes, and also made of different materials. It is also worth noting that bindi is not the only name for this symbol. Depending on the region of India, the local dialect, and other factors, the point may be called by the following words:

• kumkum;
• tickli;
• bottu;
• sindoor etc.

How are things now?

If previously the bindi had a serious semantic load, indicating a certain status and religiosity, now this symbol has become by usual means jewelry for women. Now everyone draws bindis - from little girls to respectable ladies. At the same time, they can all adhere to different religions, not be married, i.e. There are no strict requirements for its carriers.

Nowadays, bindis, which are stickers with a self-adhesive structure, are very common. They can be metal, felt or made from other types of material. Of course, they cannot be called full-fledged bindis, but they are quite suitable as a disposable decorative element. In addition, some women decorate such stickers with gold plating, sparkles or precious stones - in this they are limited only by their imagination and financial capabilities.

Bindi is distributed throughout South Asia, as well as in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc. Outside these countries, the bindi is also common, but as decor or an element of some stage image. Not for nothing, such famous representatives of show business as Shakira, Gwen Stefani, Madonna and many others adorned themselves with this symbol. This is understandable, because according to a survey conducted not long ago, women with bindis look much more attractive and alluring than without them.

However, one should not take this symbol too lightly, because it is part of the history of an entire continent. In India, for example, traditions regarding the application of a bindi are still strong, so it is not customary there to decorate yourself with this symbol if you do not have the right to do so. And if you come here, you should study the history and traditions of the state in advance so as not to offend local residents with his illiteracy.

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