Vaishnavas as an indication of their affiliation with Vishnu. It is generally worn on the forehead, but may also be worn on other parts of the body such as the shoulders. The markings are made either as a daily ritual, or on special occasions, and denote the particular sampradaya, or the lineage to which the devotee belongs. The different Vaishnava sampradayas each have their own distinctive style of tilaka based on the siddhanta of their particular lineage. The general tilaka design is of two or three vertical lines resembling the letter U or Y, which represent the feet of Vishnu.[2]
Literature
Left: A Vaishnava Hindu with Tilaka Urdhva Pundra.[3] Right: A Shaiva Hindu with Tilaka Tripundra[4][5]
The Urdhava Pundra has historically been associated with the Vaishnava tradition, just as the Tripundra has been associated with the Shaiva tradition.[3]
The Padma Purana explains the theological significance of this symbol:[6]
May the Pāvamānya (hymns) purify me with the thousand-edged disc with which they always protect themselves. The disc of the Creator is bright with metal plates and golden. We knowing the hymn purify it (already) purified by it. The unaging disc with the felly is the eye of the noble one. Having put it on gods reached a high position. Therefore, (the marks of) the weapons should be duly put on particularly by brāhmaṇas, especially by Viṣṇu’s devotees. The noble one of a pure heart, who having the Ūrdhvapuṇḍra (perpendicular marks of sandal on the forehead) and the mark of the disc, meditates on Viṣṇu’s position, by means of singing the hymn always reaches (god Viṣṇu) higher than the highest always remaining in his heart.
The Vasudeva Upanishad, a Vaishnava text, explains the significance of the three vertical lines in the Urdhva Pundra Tilaka, offering a number of interpretations:[7][8]
To be a reminder of the Vedic scriptures - Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Samaveda;
The three worlds Bhu, Bhuva, Svar;
The three phonemes of Om - A, U, M;
The three states of consciousness - awake, dream sleep, deep sleep;
The three realities - Maya, Brahman, and Atman;
The three bodies - Sthula, Sukshma, and Karana.
The Skanda Purana also offers some details regarding the mark:[9]
Listen to the marks of the devotees attentively, O Mother. It is a secret, O Dharaṇī. They have permanent marks of conch and discus on the pair of arms. Their special characteristic is Ūrdhvapuṇḍra (sectarian mark in a vertical V-like form) with a gap in the middle. Others have twelve such Puṇḍras on the forehead, heart, neck, belly, two sides, two elbows, two arms, back and back of the neck. When they apply the mark they recite the twelve names beginning with ‘Keśava’ and ending with ‘Vāsudeva’ and say ‘Obeisance to you’. When they apply it on the head, they say ‘Vāsudeva’.
In Vaishnava tradition, the Urdhva Pundra is applied on different regions of an individual's body, and its application requires one to ritually invoke the various names of Vishnu. This is also referred to as nama.[10] The Chandogya Upanishad sheds some light on this concept in the form of an order in which the mark is applied, correlating each with an epithet of the preserver deity:[11]