Guest guest Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 SrI: Respected Sri Srinivasan, Thank you for the response. I would like to comment on a couple of points mentioned in your mail. About Thaali, the difference in Thaali culture between nOrth and the South will be taken up in the future posts. But there is no difference in sporting kumkum. Recent archeological excavations at the Harappan sites on the banks of the disappeared Saraswathy river, show artifacts bearing the images of women with distinct Thilak on their forehead. This will be most probably discussed in the International conference currently underway (on 21st & 22nd of Feb'09) at Loyola Marymount University in LA. This is dated back to 3rd millennium BC. This period tallies with the end of Kaliyuga or Krishna's exit. Wearing thilak is a continuing tradition that can be found mentioned even in valmiki Ramayana. One of the incidents that Sita narrated to Hanuman to be told to Rama was about how the Thilak on her forehead was once effaced and how Rama replaced it with " manah shila " (a kind of mineral of the red arsenic variety) from the hill they were standing then. (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundhara Khanda, sarga 40) As the tradition of sporting thilak can be authentically traced to Rama's and Krishna's times, there is reason to believe that it was a custom throughout the Bharatha desam including Tamilnadu. Tamils were towing a 'National' line only embracing an all Indian character (or Aryavartha or Bharatha or Jambhoodweepa culture). Rama's ancestor Sibi is mentioned in Tamil texts as one of the First 7 Patrons (Mudal ezhu vaLLalgaL). Sishupaalan of Krishna's times is one among the Second 7 patrons (Idai ezhu vaLLalgaL). Thus we have textual evidence of an all-Bharatha nature throughout the country. As I mentioned in one of the posts, dip in the Ganga and Vedic authority were fore everyone. We find a narration in Silappadhikaram of a newly married couple belonging to a Himalayan kingdom (Kashmir or Himachal Pradesh) coming to Madurai to see the Indra Vizha. Thiruppathy was one of the places they visited en route! There was good mixture of customs everywhere thanks to regular movement of people around Bharatha. That explains why it was made mandatory to feed at least one Athithi, everyday before taking food. We can imagine how many such athithis (travelers) must be available on any day! Thus cultural isolation did not happen in those days. But isolation happened only after the mleccha onslaught and with the fall of Tamil kings. With the advent of Muslim invasions, the entire Hindu society came under stress and ills of sorts. In fact we can say that the maangalya dharanam principles took shape as a result of Muslim onslaught. Whatever cultural habits we have now – different in different areas was a result of how different regions reacted to the threats to their life, identity and culture. Coming to Thialk in Tamil lands, we have independent evidences on sporting thilak, or kumkum or sindhoor in Tamil society. All men and women wore thilak on their forehead. Even the animals they maintain (like horses, cows, bulls, elephants) were given thilak. Whether it was round shaped or long was only a style – statement. The popular design for women was that of a peacock feather in Silappadhikaram times. We find mention of the tree from which the Kumkum was made. The kumkum that Madhavi used was derived from 5 sources, namely kottam, thurukkam, thakaram, agil and aaram. There were many plant sources also from which varieties of kumkum were derived. Chem-saandhu (red kumkum) is mentioned in many places. But black thilak was not worn as it was considered in- auspicious. Atharvana veda has the authority in these things. I wrote in the earlier parts of this series the reason why red colour was considered as auspicious. The North Indians follow the Mangal Vinayak or Siddhi Vinayak connection of it (Ganesha Mangalashtakam is recited in the beginning of marriage ceremony in most communities in the North). Further relevance of it in marriages customs of Tamils and others will be brought in future posts. What I want to make out is that wearing kumkum or Thilak continues to be a common custom throughout the Hindu society. Wearing it near the 'vagidu' (root word – 'vagirtthal' – dividing the hair) or in between the eye-brows (also a place denoting a division) was part of changing styles, which has now come to be connected with married status. A custom similar to wearing kumkum is how one does the hair-style. Today single plait is common and considered as the maximum we can expect to have as a mark of 'tradition'. But single plait was considered as inauspicious in olden times. Sita was sporting 'eka-vENi'- single plaited hair which was not a sign of happiness or auspiciousness. Similarly spreading the hair untied was a symbol of inauspiciousness. Drupadi deliberately did it to show her stature after the humiliation. But such a 'hair-style' is common nowadays. Even in wedding receptions we see the bride having her hair let loose, of course, with decorations done here and there. So styles change with times. The kumkum at the vagidu is something about style. But the rationale of having thilak in forehead is similar to the Urdhwa pundaram. The forehead is the 'peak' of the body. A vertical mark placed in bright colors is symbolic of upward movement of the self, of greatness embossed in strong terms. That is why the texts and even the inscriptions that speak about the victory of Tamil kings in the Himalayas, mention them as placing their 'thilak' on the Himalayas. The Himalayas are the peak of India or Bharatham. Embossing or placing their flag or symbol was considered as placing their 'Thilak'. This is not only a 'vettri-ch-chinnam' but a sign of oneself – that this is 'me'. For other details on Thilak, the following post can be browsed. http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2008/11/sindhoor-in-harappan-figurines.html Regards, Jayasree saranathan ************************************ --- In Oppiliappan , srinivasan sowmianarayanan <vasans2004 wrote: > > Srimathi Jayasree Saranathan is doing a great service. The perspective study about the importance of thAli from the historical and other angles is really informative. > In the North India, Hindu women do not appear to have thaali unlike their South Indian counterparts. They don't even wear kumkum at the point between the eye-brows. But married women put kumkum  at the point of the beginning of 'negidu' from which others come to know they are married. This practice is universally present among the Hindus in the North. > It appears that some indication is necessary to indentify a married woman distinct from un-married ones. While in the South it is Thaali, it is this kumkum at the top of the face in the North. > Regards, > dAsan > anbil SrInivAsan   > > --- On Fri, 20/2/09, Jayasree Saranathan <jayasree.saranathan wrote: > > Jayasree Saranathan <jayasree.saranathan > Maangalya DhaaraNam â€" part -6 > To: oppiliappan > Friday, 20 February, 2009, 10:41 PM > > > > > > > > > > Kaaradayaan nOnbu. > > > > > We have seen so far two different insights with reference to maangalya dharanam. > On the one hand, we have enough indicators for the absence of Mangal sutra in olden days. On the other we have enough indicators showing how Mangal sutra can have many meaningful connections. > Further probing takes us to a unique practice found in a small community in a small geographic region, involving the Mangal sutra. > This is the Kaaradaiyaan nonbu, performed exactly at Meena sankramana - at the moment when the Sun enters Pisces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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