Colored Tilaks

topic posted Tue, November 20, 2007 - 8:24 AM by  Saahithya
Hare Krsna,
PAMHO, AGtSP,

Just wondering if someone here happens to have some information regarding the colored tilaks that are used to do decorations on brass deities. I know they are available in vrindavan, but my concern is if they will stain the brass deities while we attempt to do sringar on Them.

I have heard that some temples use water colors mixed with gopi candan to decorate brass deities, while others use these colored tilaks...those in the manor--what do the pujaris use there? or pujaris in other temples? your expirence using somethings for doing color decorations on the deities?

I once used some type of color which left behind a faint stain on the deities and thus I'm concerned about using something new on Them now...

I'll soon post pics on my gallery with examples of what i mean by color decorations on brass deities.

Hope someone here can clear things up.

Haribol!
Thank you very much.
ys,
saahithya
posted by:
Saahithya
New Jersey
  • Re: Colored Tilaks

    Tue, November 20, 2007 - 10:31 AM
    paint cannot stain brass deities. the colored tilaks will not affect brass deities. metal is not porous like marble, where this would be a concern.

    ys,
    manu
    • Re: Colored Tilaks

      Wed, November 21, 2007 - 10:23 AM
      Thank you for the reply prabhu. the fact that i previously used some kind of paint that left behind a faint stain on my deities is raising my concern even more...
      have you done sringar on brass deities with colored tilaks? also, in temples, deities are decorated everyday and thus the decorations done with colored tilaks will most often be taken off the right next day. however, in home worship, deities most often get bathed and decorated every ekadasi..which means the decorations stay on them for about 14 days. i hope this extended duration on which the tilaks stay on them will not cause any stains..? any thoughs?
      thank you very much!
      ys,
      saahithya
      • Re: Colored Tilaks

        Wed, November 21, 2007 - 11:38 AM
        In my experience the only thing that has stained my deitied is dark red kumkum powder. I have used diluted food colour with gopichandan which works good but only for light colours as i was a little worried about the darker ones staining.
        • Re: Colored Tilaks

          Thu, November 22, 2007 - 12:44 PM
          Hari bol! at the manor...

          the large marble deities a decorated with the sticky bindis on festival days, and are (as far as I know) never painted , though Radha and sita May get a little rouge on their cheeks on their appearance days.

          samller deities, have designs put on in plain gopi chandan, or sticky bindis, Rama Sila's decorations are permantely painted. - hope this helps.

          Your servant,
          K.
          • Re: Colored Tilaks

            Mon, November 26, 2007 - 3:47 AM
            For Radha Gopivallabha, I used only white tilak, and then got colored tilaks from Vrindavan. I still like the white tilak better, and it is very striking on the Lord's face. The colors sometimes make for a muddled look...

            I love the Vrindavan deities with Krsna's face completely painted with tilak designs...

            Hare Krsna!

            SriRKd
            • Re: Colored Tilaks

              Mon, November 26, 2007 - 3:25 PM
              I'm also a fan of plain thilak on brass deities sometimes I add a bit of kesar (saffron) to it to get a nice light yellow colour. Although I have been using sandalwood paste more than gopichandan recently.

              On this subject, what do you use to apply thilak designs i've always used wooden toothpicks but believe silver ones are preffered. SriRKd I saw a pic of you painting Radha Gopivallabha and it looked like you were using a paintbrush, does the thialk need to be quite watery for this?
              • Re: Colored Tilaks

                Tue, November 27, 2007 - 8:22 AM
                Hare Krsna Prabhus,
                Thank you for the replies. Is white tilak available in vrindavan too?
                i apply chandan and do decorations with regular paintbrush, although i remember reading that the shastras say that the way to apply chandan or decorate the deities is with a brush made of the hair from cow's tail(i'll look for the exact referance).

                As for the other point, those who have used the colored tilaks, is it safe to assume that it won't stain brass deities even if the decorations are left on them for more than 10days?

                Krishan prabhu: Thanks for the reply, Radha Gokulananda look beautiful indeed! Here are the links to some photos where the small deities were decorated with color--did the pujaris used colored tilaks?
                www.flickr.com/photos/dei...0030247158/
                www.flickr.com/photos/dei...4508094209/

                thank you very much
                ys,
                saahithya
                • Re: Colored Tilaks

                  Tue, November 27, 2007 - 10:25 AM
                  ahhh - Rama Navami, yes, coloured tilaks were used, but they were very light colours, I'll ask Gadadhara Prabhu to see what they use. I think Manish Prabhu was asking something similar before, and he found with his Radha Rasabihari that leaving designs on for more than a few days does leave faint marks.

                  YS. Krish.

                  P.S. tulasi-saligrama vivah pics look great, thank you.
                  • This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.

                    Re: Colored Tilaks

                    Tue, December 4, 2007 - 12:03 PM
                    Haribol,
                    Here is the link to one more picture of little Radha Gokulananda with beautiful Purple tilak decorations: www.flickr.com/photos/dei...2085428411/

                    ys,
                    saahithya
                    • Re: Colored Tilaks

                      Tue, December 25, 2007 - 7:53 AM
                      nice article on this subject:

                      www.dandavats.com/

                      however, don't know about its usage on brass deities...
                      • Re: Colored Tilaks

                        Tue, December 25, 2007 - 5:46 PM
                        Haribol, i was just going to post a link to the same article, however i would caution about the product mentioned. Just because something is made with all "natural minerals " does not mean it is safe. Especially wth the trend to be environmentally and health conscious there is alot of "greenwashing" and "false greenery/environmentalism" in the commercial world. I would be especially weary of using these products on brass deities for extended use as based on the fact that they contain glitter and sparkle. Although they may be worth trying on shilas. Although you never know until you try. At the same time as the article says who knows whats in the commercially available coloured thilaks.
                        • Re: Colored Tilaks

                          Thu, December 27, 2007 - 2:27 AM
                          "Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide. Iron Oxides, Manganese , Ultramarines"

                          And you could easily get poisoned by any one of these heavy metals... also just because something is natural doesn't mean it's safe. Cobra venom is natural too, but deadly... so you get the picture...

                          A lot of people, esp in the US, get poisoning each year from vitamin overdoses for the same reason. People think "all natural" means that it's safe to use, regardless of dosing. The vitamins are often fat soluble and the concentration in the body increases, without being excreted, resulting in toxicity...

                          Sadly, I don't think this mineral stuff is meant for trace consumption (in charanamrita), unless it is marketed as "non-toxic." So be careful!

                          I personally like to use the regular tilak, which is white or yellowish colored. You can always color it with saffron, and it makes for a very Brajvasi look, esp for shilas. Plus, it's edible in charanamrita. The colored varieties, I can't vouch for.

                          I have used the colored varieties from Vrindavan on Radha Gopivallabha, and They looked beautiful. On marble deities, the colors of the tilak are even more striking. Radha Gopivallabha's charanamrita isn't collected for the congregation. The charanamrita from the small Radha Krsna deities is collected and distributed, so this seemed ok...

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