Sacred Symbols

You can read a Malaysian Hindu home before anyone speaks. A string of mango leaves over the door says a festival or a wedding is near; a kolam on the step says someone rose early; a brass lamp in the prayer corner says the day began with worship. None of these needs a book to understand, and most are kept by families rather than learned from texts. This page gathers them, says what each means — and, honestly, whose meaning it is.

A gallery of symbols

Tap each symbol for its meaning, its use, and where you will see it. Community practice Meanings and customs vary between regions, castes, sampradāyas and families; if yours differs, both are authentic.

• 1ॐOmThe sacred syllable written as a sign. On shrines, doorways, jewellery and the first page of a book. More below.
• 2स्वस्तिकSvastika“Well-being.” Drawn at thresholds, on account books and wedding cards. More below.
• 3तिलकTilakaA sacred mark on the forehead showing devotion — and often one’s tradition. On worshippers everywhere.
• 4विभूतिVibhūtiSacred ash, given as prasāda in Shiva and Murugan temples and worn as three lines or a smear.
• 5रुद्राक्षRudrākṣaThe “eye of Rudra”: seeds of a tree, worn and used as japa beads, above all by Śaivas.
• 6तुलसीTulasīHoly basil, sacred to Vishnu, grown in a pot or pillar in the courtyard and offered in worship.
• 7कलशKalaśaA pot of water with mango leaves and a coconut: fullness, and a seat for the deity. At every rite.
• 8दीपLampLight offered to God and lit at dusk; in Tamil homes, the tall brass kuttuviḷakku.
• 9शङ्खConchVishnu’s emblem, blown to begin worship and at festivals and weddings.
• 10घण्टाBellRung during pūjā and ārati to call the mind to attention. In every temple.
• 11पद्मLotusPurity amid the world: the seat of Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī and Brahmā. In art and temple carving.
• 12கோலம்KolamRice-flour patterns at the threshold, drawn at dawn by women of the house. Grand at Deepavali and Pongal.
• 13தோரணம்ToraṇamA string of mango leaves over the door: auspicious welcome for festivals, weddings and housewarmings.
• 14வாழைBananaMeals on banana leaf; whole banana trees tied at the wedding entrance for continuity and fruitfulness.
• 15தாலிTāliThe marriage pendant tied by the groom: the central act of a Tamil wedding.
• 16यज्ञोपवीतSacred threadThe cord worn from upanayana, renewed each year at Āvaṇi Aviṭṭam.

The sections below say more about each.

Om as a sign

The sacred syllable Om is explained on Key Mantras Explained. As a written sign, ॐ is the Devanagari letter o with the mark for a nasal sound above it; in Tamil it is written ஓம். Popular reading Modern teachers often read the shape itself as a diagram of the Māṇḍūkya’s teaching — the three curves for waking, dreaming and deep sleep, the dot for the “fourth,” and the crescent for the veil of illusion between them. That is a meditation on the shape, not its historical origin. You will see Om above shrine doors, on pendants and car stickers, at the top of letters and invitations, and painted on the walls of Malaysian temples.

The svastika

No Hindu symbol is more misunderstood outside Asia. Its story has three chapters:

You will see it drawn in kumkum or turmeric at doorways and on the first page of new account books at Deepavali, on wedding invitations, on vehicles at their blessing, and at the start of many rites.

Marks of the body

Tilaka and pottu. A tilaka is a sacred mark on the forehead. Its sectarian forms — the Vaiṣṇava ūrdhva-puṇḍra or nāmam, the Śaiva tripuṇḍra of three ash lines, the Śākta red dot, and others — are shown in the tiles on The Great Traditions. In everyday Tamil life the commonest mark is simply the poṭṭu (பொட்டு), a dot of kumkum, sandal paste or ash, worn after prayer or a temple visit by women and men alike. The bindi of North India is the same dot, now also worn as fashion. Community practice Many married women wear kumkum in the parting of the hair or a red pottu as a sign of marriage, and a small black dot is often put on babies’ cheeks or foreheads against the evil eye. Traditionally widows gave up the red mark; this custom, which many find painful, is now widely questioned and often set aside.

Vibhūti. Sacred ash, vibhūti — in Tamil tirunīṟu (திருநீறு) — is made by burning cow dung and other materials in a ritual fire. It is the great Śaiva sign: it recalls that everything burns away except the divine, and to wear it is to remember death and grace together. In Shiva and Murugan temples across Malaysia the priest gives ash as prasāda, and devotees apply it to the forehead, throat or arms. The Tamil saint Tiruñāṉacampantar sang a whole hymn on the holy ash, calling it the mantra itself.

Rudrākṣa. The rudrākṣa, “eye of Rudra,” is the dried seed of a tree of the Elaeocarpus genus, grown in the Himalayan foothills, Nepal and Indonesia. Popular tradition Purāṇic lore says the trees sprang from Shiva’s tears. Each bead has natural grooves called “faces” (mukhī), usually from one to twenty-one; the five-faced is by far the commonest, and each number is popularly linked to a deity or a blessing — the one-faced, rarest of all, to Shiva himself. Be cautious: rare beads are widely faked and sold with large claims, including health claims, for which there is no evidence. Śaivas wear rudrākṣa round the neck or wrist and use it as japa beads (see Mantra & Japa).

The sacred thread. The yajñopavīta, or pūṇūl in Tamil, is a cord of three strands given at upanayana (see The Four Stages of Life). It is normally worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm; it is moved to the right shoulder for rites to the ancestors and worn like a garland for some others. It is renewed every year at Upākarma — in Tamil, Āvaṇi Aviṭṭam — when Malaysian temples hold group thread-changing. Classically it was given only to boys of the three upper varṇas, and so it became a visible mark of caste; see Varna & Jati. Reform movements such as the Arya Samaj have given it to women and to people of all backgrounds, and some communities outside the Brahmin fold have long worn it too.

Tāli and maṅgalsūtra. At a Tamil wedding, the central moment is tāli kaṭṭutal: at the auspicious instant, as drums and pipes swell and guests shower grain and flowers, the groom ties the tāli, a gold pendant on a yellow turmeric thread, around the bride’s neck, usually with three knots. Community practice Designs traditionally differ by community and family deity, and many families later move the tāli to a gold chain in a small ceremony. In North and West India the equivalent is the maṅgalsūtra, often of black beads. Customs around it are changing: widows were traditionally required to remove it, which many now question; some women do not wear it daily; and the Tamil Self-Respect movement promoted weddings without it.

Objects of worship

Tulasī. Tulasī, holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), is the most sacred plant of Vaiṣṇava homes, revered as the goddess Tulasī, beloved of Vishnu. Many Tamil and Malaysian homes keep it in a raised pot or a small pillar-shrine in the courtyard, water it daily and circle it in prayer. Its leaves are offered to Vishnu and Krishna, and its wood is made into japa beads. The Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition says that the poet-saint Āṇṭāḷ was found as a baby beneath a tulasī plant in Periyāḻvār’s garden at Srivilliputtur.

The kalaśa. A kalaśa or pūrṇa-kumbha, “full pot,” is a metal or clay pot filled with water, its mouth crowned with mango leaves and a coconut, often wrapped in cloth and thread. It stands for fullness, life and abundance, and in pūjā the deity is invited to be present in it. You will see it at every major rite, in the Navaratri shrine (see Navaratri), at weddings and housewarmings, and in the welcome given to honoured guests at temples. Its grandest form is the temple kumbhābhiṣekam, explained on Agamas & Tantras.

The lamp. To offer light is to offer the deity’s own nature back to it; the meaning of the dīpa and the evening lamp prayer are on Deepavali. Community practice In Tamil homes the lamp of honour is the kuttuviḷakku (குத்துவிளக்கு), a tall brass lamp with several spouts, lit at dusk, at festivals and at the start of every auspicious event. Malaysian Indian functions — from weddings to school prize-givings — often open with dignitaries lighting one. Many families do not blow a lamp out, but extinguish it with a flower or by drawing back the wick.

Conch and bell. The śaṅkha, conch, is held by Vishnu; in the Gītā Krishna blows his conch Pāñcajanya before the battle (1.15). It is blown at the start of worship, at weddings and at festivals, and a rare right-spiralling conch (valampuri in Tamil) is especially prized. The ghaṇṭā, bell, is rung during pūjā and the waving of lamps. Popular explanation Its sound is said to welcome the gods and drive away what is inauspicious — and, more simply, to call the wandering mind back to the shrine.

Lotus, kolam and leaves

The lotus. The padma rises from muddy water and opens clean in the sun, and so it stands for purity untouched by the world. Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī sit on lotuses; Brahmā is born from a lotus springing from Vishnu’s navel; the subtle centres of the yogic body are pictured as lotuses. The Gītā gives the image its ethical meaning:

This is the ideal of karma yoga: to live fully in the world, like the lotus in the pond, without being soaked by it.

Kolam and rangoli. The kolam (கோலம்) is drawn at dawn on the threshold, traditionally by the women of the house, in rice flour around a grid of dots or in free-flowing lines. It welcomes Lakṣmī and guests, marks the home as cared for — and, because it is made of rice, feeds ants and birds, a daily small act of generosity. In the month of Mārkaḻi (December–January) and at Pongal the kolams grow large and coloured. Elsewhere the same art is rangoli (western and northern India), muggu (Andhra) and ālpanā (Bengal). In Malaysia, giant coloured kolams appear in shopping centres at Deepavali; see Deepavali. It is one of the great art forms of Hindu women, passed from mother to daughter and rarely written down.

Mango-leaf toraṇam. A toraṇam (தோரணம்) of fresh mango leaves strung across the doorway announces an auspicious occasion — a festival, a wedding, a housewarming (gṛha-praveśam). The mango is associated with fertility and love, and green leaves at the door are a sign of life and welcome. Community practice At Amman festivals, neem leaves are hung instead, for the Goddess who protects from disease. The leaves are changed when they wither.

Banana leaf and banana trees. Festive meals in Tamil homes, temples and weddings are served on the banana leaf (vāḻai ilai) — as in Malaysia’s famous banana-leaf restaurants — with the tip of the leaf to the diner’s left and rice in the centre; many fold the leaf towards them to say the meal was good. At weddings and temple festivals, whole banana plants heavy with fruit are tied on either side of the entrance. Community explanation Because the banana renews itself from shoots at its own base, it is read as a wish that the family line will continue and flourish.

Check your understanding:

Questions people often ask

Key terms on this page

Sources & further reading

• Diana L. Eck, Darśan: Seeing the Divine Image in India (3rd ed., Columbia University Press, 1998).
• Steven Heller, The Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption? (Allworth Press, 2000).
• Vijaya Nagarajan, Feeding a Thousand Souls: Women, Ritual, and Ecology in India — An Exploration of the Kolam (Oxford University Press, 2019).
• Eknath Easwaran (trans.), The Bhagavad Gita (Nilgiri Press, 2nd ed. 2007).
• Swami Harshananda, Hindu Symbology and Other Essays (Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai).