Tilaka

What the mark is

A tilaka is a mark placed on the body, usually on the forehead. Many Hindus locate that spot at the ajna chakra, the centre they also call the third eye or the spiritual eye. Marks can also be put on the neck, a hand, the chest or an arm. The substance changes with region and sect: clay, charcoal, turmeric, sandalwood paste, red lead, cow dung, or ash taken from a sacrificial fire. Someone may wear a tilaka every day, as ornament, to show which religious group they belong to, at a rite of passage, or to honour a person who has just arrived.

Vaishnava forms

Those who worship Vishnu, the Vaishnavas, use a form called urdhva pundra. Two or three vertical lines begin below the hairline and reach almost to the tip of the nose, and an elongated U crosses them in the middle. A devoted Vaishnava may mark twelve places on the body, but the forehead line is the best known. Sandalwood paste and other materials serve for it. Every sect draws its own version. Styles carry names taken from their founding teachers or their home towns, and Ayodhya and Jaipur are among the places named, alongside the marks of the Vallabha Sampradaya, the Swaminarayana, the Nimbarka and the Madhva traditions.

Shaiva forms

Followers of Shiva wear the Tripundra, which is also called Rudra-tilaka. It takes the shape of three bands lying across the forehead, with one vertical stroke or a circle at the centre. Vibhuti, the sacred ash kept from sacrificial fires, is the usual material. That ash carries the idea of letting go of the world, or renunciation. Writers describe this form as the older of the two main kinds, and note that similar forehead markings appear in other parts of the world.

Meaning of the lines

A Vaishnava text, the Vasudeva Upanishad, teaches that the three upright lines of the urdhva pundra stand for a set of threes: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; the Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda; the worlds Bhu, Bhuva and Svar; the sounds a, u and m that make up Om; the states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep; and the three bodies. A Shaiva text, the Kalagni Rudra Upanishad, gives each band of ash its own meanings in chapter two, linking the lines to sacred fires, syllables, the gunas and forms of the self.

Other traditions

Shaktas, who worship the Goddess in her many forms, wear a red dot inside three horizontal lines, or within a semicircular line. Ganapatya followers use red sandal paste. Jains take sandalwood paste and mark the forehead of an image during puja. The same gesture is used on an idol when worship begins, on a rock or a tree before it is cut or moved for craft work, and on a new piece of property. A bindi is related but not identical: it is a stick-on worn by women rather than men, often red or maroon for married women, and now made in many colours and shapes to go with Indian dress.

How Tilaka is kept

Custom decides the details. A person usually puts the mark on after bathing, at home or in a temple. A Vaishnava may touch twelve places on the body, and the forehead drawing is done with the most care. A Shaiva takes ash and lays down three bands, then adds a line or circle in the centre. Priests mark images and objects while worship is going on. A mark given to a guest is a sign of respect. Children receive one at rites of passage, and many people wear one every day.

When and where

No single date governs it. Plenty of people wear a tilaka daily, and others only when an occasion calls for it, such as a rite of passage, a festival, a pilgrimage or a temple visit. Which days count, and which shape is drawn, follow the region and the lineage a person belongs to.

The tilaka is kept across India, and Hindu and Jain communities elsewhere carry it with them. Its forms are not the same everywhere. A particular style travels with a teaching lineage or a temple rather than with a district, so no one town can be called its home.

What Tilaka means

Worn on the body, the mark speaks on several levels. It can announce which deity a person follows and which teacher or lineage they belong to. It can also place someone within a ceremony. The lines hold meanings that the Upanishads set out, and the ash of the Shaiva form points to release from worldly attachment. Offered to a visitor, the same mark becomes simple courtesy and welcome.

Questions people ask about Tilaka

See also

GamosaA white Assamese cloth with a red border, worn, gifted and laid under sacred textsAs-salamu alaykumA traditional Arabic greeting of peace exchanged in daily life and prayerPicnicA meal taken outdoors in a park or scenic spot, often shared with friends and family.Akhand PathThe unbroken, continuous reading of the entire Sikh scripture over two days

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Tilaka on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.