Urdhva Pundra

The Urdhva Pundra is a tilak worn by followers of the Hindu sect Vaishnavism to show that they are devotees of Vishnu. It is generally worn on the forehead, but also on other parts of the body. It was introduced by Saint Madhvacharya. The markings are made either as a daily ritual, or on special occasions, and denote which particular lineage, or sampradaya the devotee belongs to. The different Vaishnava sampradayas each have their own distinctive style of tilak based on the siddhanta of their particular lineage. The general tilak pattern is of two or more vertical lines resembling the letter U, which commonly represents the foot of Vishnu.

Urdhava Pundra has been part of the Vaishnava tradition, just like Tripundra has been part of the Shaiva tradition. The Vasudeva Upanishad, a Vaishnava tradition text, explains the significance of three vertical lines in Urdhva Pundra Tilaka to be a reminder of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva; the Vedic scriptures - Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda; three worlds Bhu, Bhuva, Svar; the three syllables of Om - A, U, M; three states of consciousness - awake, dream sleep, deep sleep; three realities - Maya, Brahman and Atman; the three bodies - Sthula, Sukshma, and Karana.

In the Vallabha, Rudra sampradaya the tilak worn is a double vertical red line which is rounded from base. This "U" represents Purna Purushottama Shri Krishna's lotus feet who is the only form of god worshipped in the Vallabha sampradaya.

The Madhva sampradaya mark two vertical lines with Gopichandana representing Krishna's 'lotus feet'. In between a vertical black line is made from the daily coal of the dhupa (incense). In this sampradaya,worship is done to Narayana or Krishna daily. The coal left after offering incense is used to mark the black line. This is called as angara. Those who are wearing this line have finished the Devara Puja (worship). Underneath the black line, red dot is added to indicate that one has finished eating their lunch.This dot is called as akshate. It is the ash of the banana tree flower petal mixed with turmeric paste. The shape of angara-akshate is like that of a gada (mace). It is supposed to be Pranadeva Sannidhi (have the presence of Vayu Devaru). Those who did not perform daily worship to Narayana wear the simple two line tilak only.

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