why keeping tuft for brahmans

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Sir,
I am a telugu vidiki brahman. I am interested in following our brahman acharalu to the posible extent. I am very eager to know why we should shave our head by keeping tuft. As a matter of fact I am doing it. But I want to know its significance. Plz explain.
Bhargava sarma.

 

[nachi naga]

Sir,
I am a telugu vidiki brahman. I am interested in following our brahman acharalu to the posible extent. I am very eager to know why we should shave our head by keeping tuft. As a matter of fact I am doing it. But I want to know its significance. Plz explain.
Bhargava sarma.

sarma cheruvela

is it vidiki or velikkey?

kudumi probably was counterweight for head weight

 

[kgopalan]

unexpectedly if you fell down on the floor by nskipping this kudumi protects you from brain injury. where there are hairs in tose inner organs of those particular areas will never get diseased quickly. yoga charya karthik said this in one t v programme.

 

[happyhindu]

NN,

Possibly he meant vaidiki not velikey.

Namaskaram Sarma garu,

The ucchi talai (top of the head, shikha area) has 10,000 acupressure points (sahasrara chakra). The tuft is kept bcoz mild pressure while pulling the hair there everyday increases blood circulation to that area, and increases memory.

There is no proof for this explanation though. It is by word of mouth that i heard somewhere.

Regards.

 

[pannvalan]

These Telugu brahmins belong to a sect called 'Vaidheekalu' meaning their ancestors were practicising vaidheekam. The other popular sect is 'Niyogi' brahmins.

 

[saidevo]

namaste sarmaji.

Here is some information about the significance of kuDumi--shikhA--tuft of hair on the head, from the book Hindu Samskaras by Rajbali Pandey published by Motilal Banarsidas Ltd.

chUDAkaraNa: tonsure
The association of top-hair with long life

The prayers of this ceremony (done at the end of the first year or before the expiry of the third year of age) invoke long life for the child. Is there any connection between longevity and the top-hair? Sushruta, (in the sharIra-sthAna of his saMhitA) says, "Inside the head, near the top, is the joint of a shira (artery) and sandhi (a critical juncture). There in an eddy of hairs is the vital spot called adhipati--overlord. Any injury to this part causes sudden death."

This must be the reason for growing the kuDumi in the form of a tuft of long hairs and tie it over the top of the head. Women also hang their hair to secure the top of head, whether they plait or let it fall freely.

During my school days, some brahmin boys (not me) used to have a kuDumi and were promptly ridiculed by the non-brahmin boys by this song:

வடநாட்டுக்காரனுக்கு வட்டக்குடுமி
தென்னாட்டுக்காரனுக்கு தேங்காய்க்குடுமி
மலயாளக்காரனுக்கு அப்பளக்குடுமி!

vaDa~nATTukkAranukku vaTTakkuDumi
thennATTukkAranukku thE~ggAykkuDumi
malayALakkAranukku appaLakkuDumi!

For the North Indian, it's circular tuft;
For the South Indian, it's coconut tuft;
For the MalayALI, it's pApad tuft!

 

[kunjuppu]

i have seen several north indians, have a cropped hair, and a teeny weeny tuft of a few strands of hair, to qualify for a kudumi

best of both the worlds?

 

[Dr.T.N.Jambunathan]

For people like us குடுமி "சிண்டு முடியதான்" இருக்கு Jambu

 

[kunjuppu]

the way the world is going, the only kudumis you will find in the future will be on the coconuts.

 

[AnanthaNarayanan]

Icon of a Brahmin

Kudumi wiht half shaved forehead and sacred thread is icon of a Brahmin. but now seen in vaideekas only.

These icons of brahmins were badly affected in times of dravidian movements in TN.:roll:

 

[Nara]

Kudumi wiht half shaved forehead and sacred thread is icon of a Brahmin. but now seen in vaideekas only.

These icons of brahmins were badly affected in times of dravidian movements in TN.

As far as I can tell kudumi was the standard hairdo for everyone, not just Brahmins. As also, the thread was not the province of only Brahmins, many NBs like thattaan and achari wore it too.

Brahmins cutting off their tufts started long before the dravidian parties gained ascendancy in Tamilnadu politics. It is neither accurate nor productive to blame dravidian parties for every change that we don't like.

Cheers!

 

[Iyyarooraan]

Even modern mobile wielding, bike riding vaidheekas dont sport a prominent tuft. In many desertation (baldness) has deprived the chance to sport one.

 

[nachi naga]

As far as I can tell kudumi was the standard hairdo for everyone, not just Brahmins. As also, the thread was not the province of only Brahmins, many NBs like thattaan and achari wore it too.

Brahmins cutting off their tufts started long before the dravidian parties gained ascendancy in Tamilnadu politics. It is neither accurate nor productive to blame dravidian parties for every change that we don't like.

Cheers!

well said nara.dravidians are pro-ambattans.they love ambattans.as they are ambattans loyalists.kudumi promotes ambattans.oh tikki wale oh tikki wale kahan gayeah thum

asari jaathi wear threads even today.

 

[Nara]

tikki wale oh tikki wale kahan gayeah thum

NN, என்னை திட்டவேண்டும் என்றால் தமிழிலேயே திட்டலாமே !

Having grown up right in the middle of anti-Hindi education I have no idea what you are trying to say.

Cheers!

 

[nachi naga]

NN, என்னை திட்டவேண்டும் என்றால் தமிழிலேயே திட்டலாமே !

Having grown up right in the middle of anti-Hindi education I have no idea what you are trying to say.

Cheers!

நர அதற்கு அர்த்தம் குடுமி அய்யா குடுமி அய்யா எங்கே நீங்கள் ....உங்கள பொய் நான் கோவிச்சிக்க முட்யுமா ,சீனியர் சிடிசன் ஆசை ,லோகல சொன்ன செரியான கிழ பாடு பா

as vadivelu says,aha ivan avana aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

 

[sangom]

I have read (but now don't remember the source) that the tuft was a primitive tribal practice when hair cut was not in practice and people, including men wanted to have some control over their unruly hair especially when they went hunting animals. The primitive man found that he could tie it up as a knot and prevent the hair from falling in front of his eyes thus disturbing his view and attention. Some tribes who had longer hair, in course of time resorted to making two or three knots in order to keep the hair from dangling. This became a symbol of the tribe as time passed and eventually the vedic people, who also had their tribal origins, also composed of people with one, two or three knots. This practice is still followed by some tribes in India even today. As the priestly class became all powerful, this difference was translated into the number of Rishis quoted in the 'pravara' and the knot was limited to one in all cases. (I wonder whether the 'panchARshEya' and 'saptARshEya' people sported 5 and 7 knots respectively!).

At some point in history there arose the practice of shaving the head keeping just enough hair for a 'decent' and 'attractive' kudumi; and the knot was not always over the 'whirl' in the top of the head. In time there arose a group of people with 'poorva Sikha' (munkuDumi). It therefore seems that the juncture referred to by Charaka has no significance in this matter.

Regarding the doubt raised by Sri Sarma cheruvela, it will be seen that the kudumi has no significance and one may or may not wear it; as a compromise, one may follow the north indian style referred to by Sri Kunjuppu (nowadays this style is being adopted by more and more TBs as a symbol of their - outward, may I say - religiosity).

 

[AnanthaNarayanan]

As far as I can tell kudumi was the standard hairdo for everyone, not just Brahmins. As also, the thread was not the province of only Brahmins, many NBs like thattaan and achari wore it too.

Brahmins cutting off their tufts started long before the dravidian parties gained ascendancy in Tamilnadu politics. It is neither accurate nor productive to blame dravidian parties for every change that we don't like.

Cheers!

NARA JI
you are right in all sence, but what i intended is that brahmins were soft targets in dravidian movement.(even though lot of tamil brahmins enriched tamil nadu and tamil language in all means) i did not mean that dravidian movement is the cause for the removal of tuft in brahmins else where in TN OR KERALA;
Now very rare people have tufts, some have few extra long hairs in place of tuft.( in my village out of ten only two having, one is vaideekar another siva temple kurukkal)

if any body want to keep tuft let them keep it.

i am not pro or anti to tuft and dravidian movements.

all the best

 

[Raghy]

Tuft was common for Chinese, Native Americans (North and south); Many Caucasians are seen sporting a tuft; Samoan and Torres strait Islanders sport tufts....Tuft is not excluisive to caste Brahmins. In most places, Tuft means nothing.

Cheers!

 

[saidevo]

More on tuft and baldness: shikhA and khalati

Some interesting facts come up when we dig out the references to shikhA and khalati through a google search:

• The words 'khalati' and 'kulva' mean 'bald-headed, bald', and are found in those meanings in the vAjasaneyi samhitA, taittirIya samhitA, shatapatha brAhmaNa, kAtyAyana shrauta sUtra, and Rig Veda 8.102. (MWD)

• Obviously, shikhA is grown to cover the chUDa--crest, of the head that eventually turns kulva--bald. Since women always have their shikhA flowing over their chUDa, perhaps that consistent cover preserves the hair growth in that area and prevent women from becoming bald.

• The shikhA is tied in a knot in religious ceremonies accompanied by the gAyatrI mantra. An untied shikha was a symbol of disgrace, impurity and mourning.

• One of the famous examples of an untied tuft is that of ChANakya who took a vow to keep it untied until the King Nanda who insulted him was dethroned. The other example is that of DraupadI when she was insulted in the royal court by Duryodhana's brother.

• The shikhA on the top of the head represents the shikhara that is raised atop all Hindu temples. Temple architecture is based on the vAstu puruSha maNDala or Mystic Square, a diagram said to represent the Supreme Being (Brahman). A temple is considered a symbolic depiction of the Supreme Being, whose head is represented as the shikhara of the temple. And in men, the shikha symbolises the brahmANDa on which BrahmA is said to reside.

• From a (curious if not odd) GauDiya-VaiShNava perspective,

(1) The Vaishnavas following a descending spiritual path that is they depend on the mercy of the Supreme Lord at every step to pull them out of Maya. So when we are drowning in Maya and only our head is out of the water, Guru and Gauranga can still pull us out comfortably by holding our head by this tuft of head called the shikha. So the shikha shows the subordination and dependence of the devotee on the causelessmercy of Lord Gauranga-Krishna at all times.

The Mayavadis follow the ascending path since they egotistically confident of achieve God and coming out of illusion by the dint of their insignificant efforts or sadhan. So they do not keep a shikha because they do not need the mercy of the Lord.

(2) Shikha is also like a spiritual antenna on the top of head meant to show to the Lord and that we are aspiring recepients of His causeless mercy.

Ref:
shikha
Significance of wearing Shikha

PS: A high school classmate of mine who was a kOmuTTi cheTTi, would say that the word 'ambaTTa' signified a brahmin. To the furious brahmin boy to whom he spoke this word, he would explain, 'am' means 'azhagiya'--beautiful, and 'bhaTTa' means a bramin priest, so he did not say anything derogatory. In retaliation, we brahmin boys discussed in hushed tones that he was a devotee of shIrdi sAyI, so probably a Muslim, although he sported a dab of sandal paste prominently on his forehead. This chap took over the management of a grocery shop from his father and still held it when I last visited our village some years back.

*****