Urdhva Pundra

Three Sri Vaishnava practitioners with the Urdhva Pundra on various parts of the body - forehead, neck, arms, chest and stomach region.
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Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
Consorts
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Holy scriptures
Puranas
Sampradayas
Others
Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions

The Urdhva Pundra (Sanskrit: ऊर्ध्वपुण्ड्र, romanized: Ūrdhvapuṇḍra, lit. 'elevated mark')[1] is a tilaka worn by Vaishnavas as an indication of their affiliation with Vishnu. It is generally worn on the forehead, but may also be worn on other parts of the body such as the shoulders. The markings are made either as a daily ritual, or on special occasions, and denote the particular sampradaya, or the lineage to which the devotee belongs. The different Vaishnava sampradayas each have their own distinctive style of tilaka based on the siddhanta of their particular lineage. The general tilaka design is of two or three vertical lines resembling the letter U or Y, which represent the lotus feet of Vishnu.[2]

  1. ^ Nelson, Eric; Wright, Jonathan (2017-06-26). Layered Landscapes: Early Modern Religious Space Across Faiths and Cultures. Taylor & Francis. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-317-10720-0.
  2. ^ "britannica.com - Vaishnavism". Archived from the original on 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-02-08.