SADAACHARA SMRUTI - URDHVA PUNDRA DHARNE

Step 19 

Urdhva Pundra dharne

Applying Nama with gopichandana

Pundra in Sanskrit means sugargane. Since our gopichandana is in shape of sugarcane we call as urdhva pundra.  Urdhva means erect/straight. Hence nama that we apply should start from down drag upwards.

Why do we apply urdhva pundra?

Whatever our ancestors said has abundant genuineness and helps increase our satvik gunas. They are our well wishers and not enemies. They have proved a lot of things which science is not able to find the result until today.  The answer to many question Science calls it as approximate, unpredictable, etc to which our ancestors have given perfect answers. Ha! Ha! The worst part is we don’t believe our own blood and we believe in something called western culture and science which has installed many wrong thoughts and beliefs that has spoiled our culture and habits.  Now everywhere we see brats as our own children, we ourselves feel ashamed to wear traditional dress/ attire, to apply gopichandhana, even to keep bindhi on our forehead. Shame on us is what we feel. On the other hand good news is foreigners are joining ISCON following and praying our Krishna each and every second. They follow our culture; they even make their own food growing the plans that’s necessary for them.

There is always a relation between spirituality and yoga practices.

The person who practices yoga knows about the naadis.

There are seven chakras in our body.

SAHASRARA (Crown Chakra) -- spirituality

VISHUDDHA (Third Eye Chakra) -- Awarness

AJNA (Throat Chakra) – Comunication

ANAHTA (Heart Chakra) – Love Healing     

MANIPURA (Solar Pixels Chakra) – Wisdom Power

SWADHISHTANA (Sacral Chakra) – Sexual Creativity

MULADHARA ( Root Chakra) – Basic Trust

Applying urdhva pundra helps all these chakras to get activated one by one. It takes the flow from Sushumna nadi to Brahma nadi which is in the tip of our head.  It also helps invoking God from the twelve parts where we apply gopichandhana.

Urdhva Pundra dharane by our Acharyaru

Its told by our acharyaru

yajno danam tapo homah svadyayah pitrutarpanam
vyartham bhavati tatsarvam UrdhvapunDram vina kritam

We get authority (yogyatha) to do yagna, dhana, pooja, homa, tapas, pitru tarpana or pitru karya only if we wear urdhva pundra. Else every work that we do is a waste (vyarta).

Which shows everybody should apply urdhva pundra. Its misinterpreted that it is a symbol for Vishnu Bhaktas (vaishnava chinha), no that is wrong shanka, chakra,gada, padma are the vaishnava symbol. Hence everybody should wear urdhva pundra.

It’s told by our Madhvacharya that a person who has eaten flesh of dog (a person with very less values – we call him as ayogya) if he applies urdhva pundra which can be seen by others he gets purified. 

Hence the nama that we put has to be seen by everyone. People it can be invisible, any way we have bhakti in our heart. No it has to be visible.  Acharyaru did not have nama for exposing to others, he did it so his shishyas can follow and everybody will get the benefit of bhagavath anugraha. To make us pure, to always keep us as bhagavath we need to apply urdhva pundra. A person with urdhva pundra on their forehead will never commit a mistake.

Urdhva pundra dharane on our Sushameendra theertharu

A forehead without urdhva pundra is equal to graveyard (smashana). One has to do prayarchita by looking at the sun after seeing a face without urdhva pundra.

Men - should mix gopichandhana and water in mid of their palm. (sure everybody kows this)

While taking gopichandhana with water*:

Gopichandana Papagna Vishnu Deha Samudbhava|

Chakrankitha Namasthesthu DhaaraNan Mukthi dho Bhava||

Meaning:

Hey! Gopichandana! You are washing all our sins. You are born out of Vishnu Deha. You are having the sign of Chakra. I prostrate to you. Please bestow me Mukthi as I am wearing you.

*the water that we mix the gopichandhana with has to be pure. We should mix it with nirmalya theertha/saligrama abhisheka   theertha. It can also be nirmalya of previous day.

Having the Saligramaabhishiktha Thirtha in the left palm,

Imam Me gange Yamune saraswathi Shuthudri Sthomam Sachatha PurushNyaa

Asikniya Marudwa Drudhe vitasthayaRjikiye ShRNohya Sushomayaa

Thus you are doing Prathana for Jalaabhimaani Devatha. 

Then you are rubbing the Gopichandana with water. 

Say “ Namo NarayaNaaya Namah”, reciting Bhagavad Naamas, the Gopichandana is to be applied to your body.

 First keep it on the forehead praying:

Rathipathi manmadhanthargatha  Umapathi Rudranthargatha Bharathiramana Mukyapranathargatha Sri Bhoovarahaya nam:  

Fingers for applying Urdhva pundra nama dharane – what is the result

Thumb (angushta) – well nourish

Fore finger (toru beralu) – moksha  

Middle finger (Madhya) – long life 

Ring finger (anamika) – will never be short/lack of food

Hence mostly we apply nama with fore finger to get moksha.

Applying nama :

Before snana apply tulasi mrthika.

Immediately after snana in water.

Before sandhyavandhana in gopichandhana (with 12 namas).

After puja should apply nama with the sadal (gandha) that we offered to God.

After that apply angara.

Shri Krishna will sit on the places where we apply urdhva pundra.

Think of  Keshava when applying urdhva  pundra on forehead.

Think of  Narayana when applying urdhva  pundra from belly button to heart.

Think of  Madhwa when applying urdhva  pundra on heart.

Think of Govinda when applying urdhva  pundra on neck.

Think of  Vishnu when applying urdhva  pundra on right side of stomach.

Think of Madhusudhana when applying urdhva  pundra on right shoulder .

Think of  Trivikrama when applying urdhva  pundra on right side of neck.

Think of Vamana when applying urdhva  pundra on left side of stomach.

Think of  Sridhara when applying urdhva  pundra on left shoulder.

Think of  Hrishikesha when applying urdhva  pundra on left side of neck.

Think of  Padmanabha when applying urdhva  pundra on middle of lower back.

If you want to know more about urdhva pundra please refer to

https://sites.google.com/site/aktbfkollam/mudhradharam/urdhav-pundra-and-mudra

On the crisp:

Every men and women should apply Urdhva Pundra.

While mixing gopichandhana with water:

Gopichandana Papagna Vishnu Deha Samudbhava|

Chakrankitha Namasthesthu DhaaraNan Mukthi dho Bhava||

Having the Saligramaabhishiktha Thirtha in the left palm,

Imam Me gange Yamune saraswathi Shuthudri Sthomam Sachatha PurushNyaa

Asikniya Marudwa Drudhe vitasthayaRjikiye ShRNohya Sushomayaa

 First keep it on the forehead praying:

Rathipathi manmadhanthargatha  Umapathi Rudranthargatha Bharathiramana Mukyapranathargatha Sri Bhoovarahaya nam:  

Parts of the body	Bhagavath roopas
Forehead	Keshavaya nam:
Neck	Govindaya nam:
Right side of neck	Trivikramaya nam:
Left side of neck	Hrishikeshaya nam:
Right side of shoulder	Madhusudhanaya nam:
Left side of shoulder	Sridharaya nam:
Heart	Madhavaya nam:
Right side of stomach	Vishnave nam:
Left side of stomach	Vamanaya nam:
Belly button to heart	Narayanan nam:
Middle of lower back	Padmanabhaya nam: