Verse 1.15.8

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.15.8:

ইতো-মধ্যে কদাচিত্ কেহ কোন দিনে কপালে তিলক না করিযা থাকে ভ্রমে ॥ ৮ ॥

इतो-मध्ये कदाचित् केह कोन दिने कपाले तिलक ना करिया थाके भ्रमे ॥ ८ ॥

ito-madhye kadācit keha kona dine kapāle tilaka nā kariyā thāke bhrame || 8 ||

ito-madhye kadacit keha kona dine kapale tilaka na kariya thake bhrame (8)

English translation:

(8) During this period sometimes by chance a student would forget to mark his forehead with tilaka.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The word tilaka refers to when a person who is initiated as a Vaiṣṇava marks twelve parts of his body above the waist—his forehead, stomach, chest, throat, right waist, right arm, right shoulder, left waist, left arm, left shoulder, upper back, and lower back—as temples of Hari, or ūrdhva- puṇḍra (two vertical lines). The forehead is one of these twelve places. In the Nārada Purāṇa it is stated: “A Vaiṣṇava who marks his forehead with ūrdhva-puṇḍra immediately purifies the entire world.” The devotees of Viṣṇu always apply ūrdhva-puṇḍra, or tilaka, and the devotees of Śiva, who are averse to devotional service to Viṣṇu, apply tripuṇḍra, or three lines. Śāstric injunction is that a king should take the initiated twice-born who does not wear tilaka, sit him backwards on an ass, and have him driven out of town. Therefore every initiated Vaiṣṇava must always wear tilaka. That is why the Lord, who is jagad-guru, the teacher of everyone,

gave such instructions in His childhood pastimes. If one wants to worship Lord Viṣṇu, then he must accept the five saṃskāras related to initiation.

Generally a twice-born undergoes ten kinds of saṃskāras. Those who are lower than the twice-born undergo fifteen types of saṃskāras to become Vaiṣṇavas. Just as a brāhmaṇa is obliged to maintain a pure brāhmaṇa thread, an initiated Vaiṣṇava is obliged to maintain śikhā, brāhmaṇa thread, tilaka, and mālā.

For a description on how to apply tilaka, one should refer to the Hari- bhakti-vilāsa (4.66-98). It is stated in Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa: “A practitioner should decorate his body with twelve marks while chanting the names of the Lord such as Keśava.” The process for decorating the twelve parts of the body with the twelve tilaka marks is as follows:

lalāṭe keśavaṃ dhyāyen nārāyaṇam athodare vakṣaḥ-sthale mādhavaṃ tu govindaṃ kaṇṭha-kūpake viṣṇuṃ ca dakṣiṇe kukṣau bāhau ca madhusūdanam trivikramaṃ kandhare tu vāmanaṃ vāma-pārśvake

śrīdharaṃ vāma-bāhau tu hṛṣīkeśaṃ tu kandhare pṛṣṭhe ca padmanābhaṃ ca kaṭyāṃ dāmodaraṃ nyaset tat prakṣālena-toyan tu vāsudevāya mūrdhani

ūrdhva-puṇḍraṃ lalāṭe tu sarveṣāṃ prathamaṃ smṛtam lalāṭādi kremeṇaiva dhāraṇan tu vidhīyate

“When one marks the forehead with tilaka, he must remember Keśava. When one marks the lower abdomen, he must remember Nārāyaṇa. For the chest, one should remember Mādhava, and when marking the hollow of the neck one should remember Govinda. Lord Viṣṇu should be remembered while marking the right side of the belly, and Madhusūdana should be remembered when marking the right arm. Trivikrama should be remembered when marking the right shoulder, and Vāmana should be remembered when marking the left side of the belly. Śrīdhara should be remembered while marking the left arm, and Hṛṣīkeśa should be remembered when marking the left shoulder. Padmanābha and Dāmodara should be remembered when marking the back. Then one should wash

with water and remember Vāsudeva while wiping the hand on the head. One should put on tilaka on the forehead first. This is the rule. Then one should put on tilaka according to the above-mentioned procedure.” The Lord has stated in Padma Purāṇa: “My devotees always put on tilaka, which destroys all kinds of fear.”

If one does not decorate his body with tilaka, he will incur sin. It is stated by Nārada Muni in Padma Purāṇa: “If one performs sacrifice, gives in charity, undergoes austerity, studies the Vedas, or offers oblations to the forefathers without putting on tilaka, then all these activities will be useless. If a person does not decorate his body with tilaka he is not to be seen, because his body is as impure as a crematorium.” It is mentioned in the Āditya Purāṇa: “A king should put a fallen brāhmaṇa whose body is devoid of Vaiṣṇava marks of tilaka, conch, and cakra on the back of donkey and drive him out of his kingdom.” It is stated in Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa: “A person who performs any activity like worshiping deities without putting on tilaka achieves no benefit. There is no doubt about it. Know for certain that a person who performs sandhyā without wearing tilaka is simply demoniac and surely goes to hell.”

Prohibition for wearing crooked or three-lined tilaka: It is stated in the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa: “A person who wears three-lined tilaka instead of Vaiṣṇava tilaka is the lowest of men. Because of breaking the rules for marking tilaka on the body, which is the abode of Lord Viṣṇu, such a person certainly goes to hell.” It is stated in the Skanda Purāṇa: “A person should not wear crooked tilaka even if he is about to die, nor should he chant any names other than the holy names of Nārāyaṇa. He should wear Vaiṣṇava tilaka, using gopī-candana if available.” Elsewhere it is stated: “Learned person know that there are prescriptions for the brāhmaṇas and devotees to wear Vaiṣṇava tilaka and other people should wear three-lined tilaka. If one sees or touches a brāhmaṇa who has put on three-lined tilaka rather than Vaiṣṇava tilaka, he should take bath with his clothes on. A Vaiṣṇava should not wear three-lined tilaka rather than proper Vaiṣṇava tilaka because such an act does not please Lord Hari.” In

the narrations about the month of Kārttika in the Skanda Purāṇa it is stated: “One should not see a person whose forehead is not decorated with Vaiṣṇava tilaka. If one happens to do so, he should immediately look at the sun, for Lord Hari and Lakṣmīdevī reside within the tilaka.” It is stated in the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa: “Marks of tilaka resembling a banyan leaf, a bamboo leaf, and the bud of a lotus are most enchanting.” The glories of decorating the body with tilaka are as follows: “The beautiful vacant space within the mark of tilaka is the sitting place for Śrī Lakṣmī and Śrī Janārdana, the Lord of lords. Therefore know for certain that the body marked with tilaka is a sanctified temple of the Lord.” It is mentioned in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa: “If a person who is impure, ill- behaved, and engaged in sinful activities with his mind decorates his body with tilaka, he certainly becomes pure forever. One should mark one’s forehead with tilaka while seeing one’s face in a mirror or in water, but never touch the tilaka with one’s fingernails.”

The rules and regulations for applying tilaka: It is stated in the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa: “The most fortunate unalloyed devotees of Hari should decorate their bodies with marks of tilaka resembling the lotus feet of Hari with a vacant space between the two lines. They should begin to mark from the tip of the nose up to the end of the forehead with tilaka or other suitable clay. The tip of the nose refers to three-quarters down the nose. One should draw two separate lines beginning from the middle of the eyebrows upwards.” The prescription for keeping space within the mark of tilaka: “A fallen twice-born who applies tilaka without keeping a vacant space between the two lines certainly abandons Śrī Hari and Lakṣmīdevī, who reside within that space. There is no doubt that a fallen twice-born who applies tilaka without keeping a space maintains the feet of a dog on his forehead. Therefore, O beautiful one, brāhmaṇas and women should always mark their foreheads with tilaka resembling two sticks with a space between.”

The symptoms of tilaka as temples of Hari: “The mark of tilaka that starts from the nose and stretches up to the hair on the head with a

beautiful space in between the lines is called a temple of Hari. Lord Brahmā resides on the left side, Sadāśiva resides on the right side, and Lord Viṣṇu resides in the middle of such a tilaka mark. One should not apply anything in the middle.” The clay used for preparing tilaka is described in the Padma Purāṇa as follows: “One should collect clay for tilaka beneath flowing waters that have bathed Lord Viṣṇu. One can also collect clay from the transcendental abode of Hari. One should devotedly collect clay from the Veṅkaṭa Hill, from Śrī Raṅgam, from Śrī Kūrma- kṣetra, from Śrī Dvārakā, from Śrī Prayāga, from Śrī Nṛsiṃha-kṣetra, from Śrī Varāha-kṣetra, or from Śrī Vṛndāvana [or any forest of tulasī] and then mix it with the water that has washed the lotus feet of Viṣṇu. In this way one should decorate one’s body with such tilaka and come before the Lord. O Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, just see one whose forehead is decorated with tilaka made of gopī-candana to minimize your sinful reactions.” In the Skanda Purāṇa, Dhruva Mahārāja speaks as follows: “If you see a person decorated with the tilaka marks of a conch and cakra, adorned with tulasī mañjarīs on his head, and his limbs smeared with gopī-candana, then why should you fear sinful reactions? A Vaiṣṇava should mark his forehead with attractive tilaka of clay collected from the root of a tulasī plant. One should mark his forehead with gopī-candana and wear the garland that has been offered to the Lord. In this way one should decorate one’s forehead with one of the three kinds of tilaka. One should also decorate his body with various shapes like Matsya and Kūrma and various weapons like the cakra in order to please Lord Hari.”

The Vedic injunction regarding applying tilaka: It is stated in the Hiraṇyakeśīya branch of the Yajur Veda: “A person who wears tilaka marks resembling the lotus feet of Hari becomes very fortunate and dear to the Supreme Brahman, Śrī Hari. A human being who wears tilaka with a space in the middle becomes eligible for liberation.” In the Kaṭha branch of the Yajur Veda it is stated: “The great soul who after applying tilaka meditates through mantras on Śrī Viṣṇu, who holds a cakra, who is the Supreme Absolute Truth, who is greater then the greatest, and who

resides in the hearts of His devotees, certainly becomes pure.” It is stated in the Atharva Veda: “The fortunate practitioner who throughout his life decorates his body with tilaka marks like the cakra certainly attains the all-pervading Lord Viṣṇu’s supreme abode, which is the ultimate goal of the devotees.”