The Indian subcontinent with its rich cultural heritage is home to world-renowned religions. Diversity being India's celebrated quality, the massive population of the country is diversely categorised into several religions. One such prominent religion with the highest number of devotees in the nation is Hinduism. In fact, centuries back India was proudly called Hindustan by the Rajput kings; this shows how Hinduism as a religion has blended into the lifestyle of the people. Hinduism is further sub-categorised into two major sects, Vaishnavism and Shaivism. The Vaishnavism followers worshipped Lord Vishnu and the Shaivism followers worshipped Lord Shiva. Both of the sects used Tilak/mudra stamps to draw a symbolic mark, traditionally known as Tilak in Sanskrit, to denote their religious lineage. Every Hindu simply considered wearing their respective Tilak as the utmost pride of their existence. Even today in this millennial era the practice of wearing Tilak is still seen in a few places. Tilak is generally drawn using a paste made of ash, sandalwood, turmeric, vermilion and clay. The Tilak paste differs from one sect to another. In Shaivism, ash, known as vibhuti, happens to be the prime material for the Tilak. In Vaishnavism, sandalwood and clay are mixed to create the Tilak paste.
According to Yogic culture there are 7 chakras in the human body, of which the Tilak, with the help of Tilak stamps, is worn on the Ajna chakra, which means "perceiving" and is considered the third eye: intuition, the path to universal knowledge. Apart from the Ajna chakra, Tilak is also worn on the chest, neck and arms. Hinduism preaches that the human body itself is of divine holiness, and wearing Tilak is considered to be an auspicious decoration and purifying element for the human body. In the Chola dynasty, it is said that King Raja Raja Chola, who was a sincere Shivanite, used Tilak stamps made of gold and silver! This proves how valued these materials were in those days. Apart from the royal community, the common people used copper Tilak stamps and considered them a must-have in every home.
Other than Tilak stamps, other body mark stamps were also very much used in Goa and South India. The mark stamps were basically a set of five mudras, called 'Pancha Mudras' in the local Goan Konkani language.
These represent the Shanka (conch shell), Chakra (spinning discus), Gada (mace), Padma (lotus flower) and Sri Narayan (Lord Vishnu). The Vaishnavas wore these mudras to signify that they were followers of Lord Vishnu. The five designs signify the 5 ayudhams of Maha Vishnu, considered to be the five ornaments.
These are stamped on specific body parts using 'Gopi chandan' paste (the fine clay found in and around the Gopi Kund Lake/Tilak Mitti), made on flat round stone slabs by turning the Gopi chandan sticks along with holy water in a circular motion.
In Goa, some still follow this custom every day as an early morning ritual after bathing, while most others do so during rituals, ceremonies and other religious functions.
Western culture is rapidly engulfing the entire nation in this information era and there is an evident decrease in the rich religious rituals and customs followed by the people of India. In fact, they are considered obsolete nowadays. As a result the Tilak stamps and body mark stamps are on the verge of extinction.
We at Goa Decor, with an aim to honour these prideful elements, have preserved these age old 18th century copper body mark stamps (panch mudras) in our personal collection.
We present these copper panch mudras in 2 sizes (large and small) at our studio, wrapped in red satin cloth and placed in carved wooden boxes. The pure silver ones are available only in large size.
Pure Silver Handcrafted Mudras
For the love of H E R I T A G E
For the love of Goa by a Goan,
GALLERY: F8, Silvio Heights, 1st floor, St-Inez, Panaji - Goa
Also at: Qiinza Lifestyle Store, Khorlim, Assagao - Goa
WhatsApp/call 7020068459
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