{"id":13440,"date":"2016-07-27T19:28:07","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T13:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org?p=13437&amp;preview_id=13437"},"modified":"2016-07-27T19:28:07","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T13:58:07","slug":"vibhuti-what-significance-does-applying-ash-on-forehead-holds-in-hinduism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/?p=13440","title":{"rendered":"VIBHUTI: What significance does applying ash on forehead holds in Hinduism? | News Gram"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"td-post-featured-image\">It\u2019s believed that the holy ash also called \u2018vibhuti\u2019 or \u2018bhasma\u2019 protects man against all evil forces<\/li>\n<li>A Vibhuti has medicinal values, it is used in many Ayurvedic medicines and prevents headaches and cold<\/li>\n<li>A \u2018tripund\u2019 is good to display if one consciously remembers to follow the meaning behind its existence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cOM Namah Shivaya, OM Namah Shivaya\u201d are some words hymned by the Pandits, sages and your local gurus. These are mantras that are sung to ask Lord Shiva for his blessings. When one says the name Shiva, it automatically reminds him\/her of the tripund; a symbol made of three horizontal lines that Lord Shiva adorned on his forehead. While the world continues to worship the God with all his disciples, a question is bound to linger in the mind of a curious devotee, \u201c Why the Ash lines on the forehead?\u201d It\u2019s a question that can also stem from the daily visit to a temple, where one can very easily find many pundits flaunting the \u2018tripund\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73704\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.newsgram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Shiva_meditating_Rishikesh.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73704\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.newsgram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Shiva_meditating_Rishikesh.jpg\" alt=\"Lord Shiva meditating (Source: Wikimedia Commons)\" width=\"519\" height=\"652\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lord Shiva Idol. Image source: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are many stories behind the idea of putting ash on one\u2019s body but there\u2019s one universally agreed to the theory behind it. It\u2019s believed that the holy ash also called \u2018vibhuti\u2019 or \u2018bhasma\u2019 protects man against all evil forces. Ash is a substance that is obtained only when things are completely burnt off. This indicates that the ash kindles the devotee\u2019s spirit and purifies him.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Indian scriptures, <em>bhasma<\/em> means \u2018\u2018that by which our sins are destroyed and the Lord is remembered\u2019\u2019, this, in turn, signifies its inclusion in the worship of Lord Shiva. Adding to that a shiva lingam that is smeared with the holy ash is a common sight at shrines. Hence, to show one\u2019s respect to Lord Shiva, he\/she who renounces worldly practices and the person who completely rejects material pleasures, becomes a devotee and can wear ash on his forehead.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73702\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.newsgram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/shiv-feature.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73702\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.newsgram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/shiv-feature.jpg\" alt=\"Shiva Linga. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shiva Linga. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are five sacred names given to the ash of \u2018homa\u2019, the sacrificial fire. The names \u2018vibhuti\u2019 and \u2018bhasma\u2019 that are extensively mentioned in this piece also have a principle behind them. Since the holy ash is believed to burn the sins to ashes and give wisdom to all its called \u2018bhasma\u2019 or \u2018bhasmam\u2019. Additionally, its name raises the spiritual power of an individual and hence the name \u2018vibhuti\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Science has its reason to believe that vibhuti has medicinal values attached to its name too. It is used in many Ayurvedic medicines and prevents headaches and cold. Not only that, bhasma is also compounded with other medicines to increase its use.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, a \u2018tripund\u2019 is good to display if one consciously remembers to follow the meaning behind its existence and strives to live by it. Without awareness of the truth that lies behind it, these symbols are nothing but social identities.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013<em>by Karishma Vanjani, an intern at NewsGram. Twitter:<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BladesnBoots\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BladesnBoots<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s believed that the holy ash also called \u2018vibhuti\u2019 or \u2018bhasma\u2019 protects man against all evil forces A Vibhuti has medicinal values, it is used in many Ayurvedic medicines and prevents headaches and cold A \u2018tripund\u2019 is good to display if one consciously remembers to follow the meaning behind its existence \u201cOM Namah Shivaya, OM [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1141],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}