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Sacred strokes of color on foreheads are a major display of Hinduism at India’s Maha Kumbh festival

By SHEIKH SAALIQ - Jan 31, 2025, 02:25 AM ET
Last Updated - Jan 31, 2025, 02:25 AM EST
India Maha Kumbh Sacred Strokes
A Hindu devotee gets a sacred mark on his forehead after bathing at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the Saraswati rivers during the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

A vermilion dot on the forehead is one of India’s most widely accepted Hindu cultural insignias

PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — The pilgrims come and go as strangers. They march like a sea of people, walking toward the spot where they take holy baths, drawn by the hope that the bathing would bring them salvation.

But when they leave — believing their sins have been cleansed by the redemptive bath — they leave with one thing in common: their foreheads display a sacred stroke of color.

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This sacred stroke, called tilak, is ubiquitous to the millions of Hindu pilgrims attending the Maha Kumbh festival in India's northern Prayagraj city, where faithful gather at the spot where the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers converge. Applied by Hindu priests using sandalwood paste, turmeric and sacred ashes, these strokes represent divine connections in Hinduism, with each type having its own symbolic association with a deity.

The festival, where a stampede killed 30 people Wednesday, has historically embraced diversity in the ancient traditions of Hinduism. They allow plurality in belief and ritual practice of faith of Hindus, who comprise 80% of India’s population. The markings worn on the foreheads cut across castes and classes, many of them being unique identifiers of the numerous religious communities, all under the umbrella of Hinduism.

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