SINDOOR HANUMAN
INTRODUCTION
Sindoor is a type of holy mark in Hinduism, similar to sacred ash and sandal paste. It appears in orange and red colour and it would be mostly applied by Hindu married women on their foreheads, and they used to apply this paste, in order to show themselves as married women in front of others. Widows would not apply sindoor on their foreheads.
Hanuman is very fond of applying sindoor on his body, and it is believed, that after he met Ma Sita at Lanka, and conveyed the good news to Lord Rama, he has applied Sindoor throughout his body with full of happiness in his mind. We can find Hanuman applied with Sindoor paste in all of his temples and his shrines present in other temples. Sindoor is a holy mark which would be usually applied by the Hanuman devotees, in order to honour the great Lord. Sindoor paste gives chillness to our body and it removes the heat from our body. Since it is liked by Lord Hanuman, it is suggested for us to apply the paste, in order to show our love and respect to the Shiva Amsha Hanuman. This paste would be applied by most of the North Indian Hindus.
This holy powder is made out of turmeric and lime, and some other harmless chemical substances also are added.
The sindoor would be applied to the woman during the time of her wedding by her husband, and thereafter, she herself applies it regularly. The significance of Sindoor is mentioned in the holy Puranas. As per the legend, even the bad demons would not touch the ladies who apply sindoor on their foreheads.
The red sindoor is very much liked by Lord Hanuman, since his beloved mother Ma Anchana and Ma Sita used to apply sindoor on their fore heads. The idols of Lord Hanuman would be applied with full of Sindoor powder paste, especially during festival days like Hanuman Jayanthi and Rama Navami.
It is very much essential for the married women to apply this sacred paste in order to protect themselves from dangers, and also it is one of the regional customs of Hindus. Sindoor is considered as an aspect of Ma Shakti Devi, and whoever applies this sacred paste would be protected and blessed by her. Hindu married women, who apply this holy paste, would appear similar to Ma Shakti Devi, and whoever sees them, would give good respect to them, and nobody would think badly about them.
In Mahabharata, it is mentioned that Ma Draupadi the holy consort of the Pandavas used to regularly apply sindoor in order to show her true love to her consorts. Sindoor is also mentioned in the famous Lalitha Sahasranama and Soundarya Lahari Stotras.
Sindoor is a type of Ayurveda medicine, and we can apply it in wounded parts of our body, by chanting the mantra, “OM SHAKTI PARASHAKTI”, in order to get a speedy recovery.
But nowadays due to the rapid advancement in technology, some modern married girls are not interested to apply the holy Sindoor on their foreheads, since some of them are considering that it is an old or out of date fashion. They should understand the significance of Sindoor by referring to our ancient Puranas and other holy texts of Hinduism.
“OM SHIVASHAKTI NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR