Skip to main content

Sricharanam

Sricharanam is the name given to the namam used by Iyengars (caste name given to Hindu/Tamil Brahmins who follow Visistadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya), members of Sri Vaishnava tradition.

Sri could be a prefix or it could refer to Lakshmi, while Charanam refers to feet.

Sricharanam consists of single, thin, vertical red or yellow line in the middle of the forehead. The full Sricharanam, also called Thiruman Sricharanam includes a white U mark.

Sricharanam represents the feet of Vishnu and the red/yellow line in the middle represents Lakshmi. The Sricharanam signifies devotion to Vishnu.

The red namam is made out of Sindoor, red powder.
Yellow namam is Sandal wood (Chandan) paste.
Thiruman is made out of clay.

The two iyengar sub-sects, Thengalai and Vadagalai wear the Thiruman Sricharanam in different ways.

Thiruman in the case of Thengalai extends to the bridge of the nose, forming a Y shape. Vadagalai wear the U namam.

Popular posts from this blog

GOLDEN-BACKED WEAVER

The golden-backed weaver is also known as Jackson's weaver.    Native to Eastern Africa, specifically found in Burundi, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.   Adult male is bright yellow with a glossy black head and rusty-orange underparts.    Female is dullish yellow overall and can be difficult to distinguish from other female weavers.
Read more

Importance of Dhanurmasa

Dhanur Masa or Dhanurmas is a month in the Hindu calendar. It corresponds to the zodiac sign of Saggitarius (Sun transits through Saggitarius). The Dhanus month or masa is called Margazhi (Margali) in the Tamil Hindu calendar. Dhanurmasa is also called as Shoonya Masa as it is considered inauspicious to do any good thing other than God and Holy functions. According to tradition, Gods wake up early in the morning during the month of Dhanurmasa. Special prayers are offered to Sri Maha Vishnu during the auspicious period of "Brahm Muhurta", i.e one and half hours before sunrise. During this month, devotees offer prayers to the Lord very early in the morning. The month of Dhanurmasa is considered a very special month for performing Puja of Vishnu. Vishnu Sahasranama is chanted during the period. The 30 pasurams/verses of Thiruppavai will be recited to wake up Lord Vishnu. Thiru means Sacred and Ppavai means Vrat. It is believed that Goddess Goda Devi, also known as Andal has comp...
Read more

Goree Island - Africa's known slave trade memorial

The Goree Island (meaning good harbor in French) is 3.5 kms off the coast of Dakar, Senegal (measuring 27 hectares or 900 meters by 300 meters). The island has 1,800 inhabitants (1,000 Christians and 800 Moslims). This island has no car or no crime.   Between 15 th  to 19 th  century, it was the largest slave trading center on the Africa coast. It is estimated that 2 Million Africans were shipped or passed through the island to work in the plantations in Europe and the Americas. Ruled earlier by Portugese, Dutch, English and French, it continues to remind us of human exploitation (slave trading). As I understand, 1.2 to 2.0 Million Africans died during the transport.  The small fort called slave house was built in 1776. This house of slave ( Maison des Esclaves)  on Goree Island and the story is that millions of African slaves passed through the house's “Door of No Return”, facing the west across the Atlantic ocean. The slave houses had 150 to 2...
Read more