Tag: Thiruman

Srivaishnavaites wear Thiruman, Namam , the Urdhva Pundaram , is worn as a mark indicating the fact that they worship Lord Vishnu.

There are two styles of wearing the Thriuman.

One is called the Vadakalai and the other one is Thenkalai.

The Vadakalai Thiruman has a curve at the bottom,  ( the habit of calling this symbol as ‘U’ shape must stop as it is irreverent), while the Thenkalai mark is closed at the bottom and there is the extension at the bottom.

Generally, the Thiruman is applied on the forehead and it is auspicious to wear the Thiruman in Twelve places in the Body.

There are twelve Adityas and Vishnu is one of the Adityas.

‘Adityaanam Aham Vishnu’ Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10.

Names of the Adityas.

The 12 Adityas		Ruling Month	Solar Month	Lunar Month
1	Dhata	March – April	Madhu	Chaitra
2	Aryama	April – May	Madhava	Vaishakha
3	Mitra	May – June	Shukra	Jyeshtha
4	Varuna	June – July	Suchi	Ashadha
5	Indra	July – August	Nabhas	Shravana
6	Vivasvan	Aug – Sept	Nabhasya	Bhadrapada
7	Tvashtha	Sept – Oct	Isha	Ashvina
8	Vishnu	Oct – Nov	Urja	Karttika
9	Amshuman	Nov – Dec	Sahas	Margasirsha
10	Bhaga	Dec – Jan	Sahasya	Pushya
11	Pusha	Jan – Feb	Tapas	Magha
12	Parjanja	Feb – March	Tapasya	Phalguna

Therefore the Thiruman is applied in Twelve places.

The Thiruman consists of two parts.

The outer white line is from Namakkatti, a type of stone, a form of Chalk.

A vertical line is placed in the center with either turmeric paste(this is used by the Vadakalaiyar), while the Thenkalaiyar use a type of Kumkum made of a mix of Turmeric powder and Lime.

The two white lines represent the Feet of the Lord Vishnu, while the Sri Churna represents goddess Lakshmi ,his consort.

The latter will bring prosperity.

The extra line is made to represent the feet of Lord Vishnu more graphically or to distinguish the Thenkaliyar in the South.

I think the latter view is correct as the first type, that of a curve at the bottom is uniform in India except in Tamil Nadu and is prevalent among those who migrated from Tamilnadu,

Information on this is welcome.

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