Why do Indian women wear "BINDI" on their forehead?

Well many of us don't know the reason , why women in India wear BINDI ???
Does it signifies anything??? or just a tradition ? o.O

what does the word ‘bindi’ mean?


 Like the various aspects of authentic Indian culture, the bindi carries with it a wealth of meaning. Bindi is derived from the sanskrit word 'bindu’, which means dot. Bindi is also known as ‘sindoor’, ’tilaka’, ‘tilak’, ’tilakam’ ‘tika’ or ‘pottu’. But kumkum and sindoor are not synonymous as unmarried women use kumkum but not sindoor. The ancient name for bindi is tilaka and teeka or tikka is its distorted form.

In ancient times, small decorative leaves were used (which were made by cutting them into different shapes) and then pasted upon the forehead. The decorative leaves (patra) were also known by various names –’Patralekha’, Patramanjari’, ‘Patrachhedya’ or ‘Patrabhanga’.

Authentic kumkum is of special significance and an essential item in all religious rituals, hence auspicious. The turmeric is dried and powdered with a lime/lemon to give the rich red colored kumkum. Every deity and every altar in Sanathana dharma has red kumkum. It is red in colour as red is a known colour of power.

Is the practice of bindi really ancient? A cursory look at the ancient paintings, murals from the antiquated Ajant? or Ellora caves, Rajasthani paintings or even sculptures from the ancient temples of India, shows that the forehead of the Indian women is always found decorated with ornaments and also bindi. Cave 16 at the Ajanta caves has a mural where a princess and her lady-attendant are with a tray both wearing the bindi. Female figurines excavated at Baluchistan seem to imply application of sindoor to the partition of women’s hair in Harappa culture.

Personal decoration practices also go back to the times of Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Vedic period and till today they haven’t changed because they still looks “cool”. In the Mahabharata, the Pandava queen Draupadi wiped her ‘kumkum’ off the forehead in anguish at Hastinapur.

The practice of using ‘kumkum’ on foreheads is also mentioned in Vedic religious texts, many ancient texts (Puranas), the Lalitha Sahasranama and Adi Shankara’s Soundarya Lahiri. In the famous eight verses (astakam) on the symbol of Lord Shiva called the ‘Lingashtakam’ the composer says “Kumkuma chandana lepitha lingam..” meaning “I bow before that symbol (lingam), which represents the eternal Lord Shiva, adorned by sandal paste and kumkum”. Tilaka has been mentioned in Sanskrit plays of Mahakavi Kalidasa and other works like Panchatantra. Sant Tulsidas mentions it in his Ramcharitmanas at the time of the marriage between Lord Ram and Sit?.

Bindi is a simple mark made with the paste of coloured sandalwood, sindoor or turmeric worn on the forehead of married Hindu women. The bindi is most commonly a red dot made with vermilion.

Reasons

It symbolizes female energy and is believed to protect women and their husbands. Bindis are traditionally. In addition, the bindi is a way of accentuating the third eye, the area between the eyebrows where attention is focused during meditation.

According to the science of yoga there are seven energy centers in the body.

1. The lowest one above the anus is called Mooladhar Chakra. It is the center of brutal strength and sex.


2. Above it below the navel is the Swadishthan chakra its the center of learning
   
   
3. Just above the navel is the manipur chakra its the seat of wisdom and emotion


4. The heart center is called Anahat chakra its the seat of love and compassion.


5. In the throat is the Vishudha chakra its the center of communication.


6. Behind the eyebrows in the forehead is the Agya chakra and its the center of power over the universe.


7. Above the crown head is the Sahastradhara chakra or the thousand petals lotus which denotes self realisation.


8. The kundalini or the energy lies below the mooladhar chakra in the form of coiled serpent when we practice yogic life it starts rising and as it croses the seven energy centers it gives power and virtues, when it reaches the last center above the crown head the person becomes self realised and is established in self.

The bindi we put on the agya chakra it draws vibrations of power from the universe and gives virtue and power to the woman to run her household with patience, love, understanding, forgiveness. :-)