( hi, सामुद्रिक शास्त्र), part of the Vedic tradition, is the study of face reading, aura reading, and whole body analysis. is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

term that translates roughly as "knowledge of body features." Often used in

Vedic astrology Jyotisha or Jyotishya (from Sanskrit ', from ' “light, heavenly body" and ''ish'' - from Isvara or God) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, Indian astrology and more recently Vedic astrology. It is one ...

, as it is related to

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

and

palmistry Palmistry is the Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific practice of fortune-telling through the study of the Hand#Areas, palm. Also known as palm reading, chiromancy, chirology or cheirology, the practice is found all over the world, with numerous cul ...

(), as well as

phrenology Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

() and face reading (

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...

, ). It is also one of the themes incorporated into the ancient Hindu text, the . The tradition assumes that every natural or acquired bodily mark encodes its owner's psychology and destiny. Elevation, depression, elongation, diminution, and other marks become relevant. There are five main types of human elements in terms of the and . Traditional stories in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

thus abound with descriptions of rare auspicious markings found on the bodies of memorable people. Legends about the

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and Krishna

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

the Buddha, and

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

the

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...

conform to this tradition.

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

s, and

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

share the tradition of ; the tradition also has parallels in other unrelated cultures, with

and

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

reading both evoking its principles. William Herbert Sheldon's typology of body forms – ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph (called '

somatotype Somatotype is a highly disputed taxonomy developed in the 1940s by American psychologist William Herbert Sheldon to categorize the human physique according to the relative contribution of three fundamental elements which he termed ''somatotypes' ...

s') – also mimics the practice of .

History

The system of human marks finds a mention in various jyotisha-shastra and dharma-shastra texts, but it emerged as an independent ''

shastra ''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...

'' (field of study) with the composition of various texts collectively called the ''samudrika-shastras'' (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Sāmudrika-śāstras). Many of these texts are undated: the

-language ''Samudrika-tilaka'', one of the earliest important works, was composed in the 12th century CE. Around 600 ''samudrika-shastra'' manuscripts , often anonymous or attributed to legendary authors, are available. The titles of most of these manuscripts are ''Samudrika-lakshana'', ''Samudrika'', ''Samudraka-shastra'', or ''Samudrika-lakshana''. Less common titles include ''Samudrika-nirupana'', ''Samudrika-samkshepa'', and ''Samudrika-vichara''. Most of these manuscripts are anonymous, but others are attributed Samudra, Narayana, Haridasa,

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

(e.g. ''Samudrika-nirupana''),

Vararuchi Vararuci (also transliterated as Vararuchi) () is a name associated with several literary and scientific texts in Sanskrit and also with various legends in several parts of India. This Vararuci is often identified with Kātyāyana. Kātyāyana is ...

(e.g. ''Samudrika-lakshana''), Garga, or Vishnudatta. One

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

manuscript titled ''Samudrika-lakshana'' (''Sāmudrika-lakṣaṇa'') at the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

presents itself as a revealation from the god

Subrahmanya Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

to the sage

Agastya Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...

. A comprehensive study of these manuscripts has not been done, but many of them appear to be extractions, redactions, or consolidations of pre-existing material. Many of the extracts come from the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

('' Bhavishya'', '' Vishnu-dharmottara'', '' Skanda'') and the '' Brhat-samihta''. Several manuscripts included verses from the ''

Gargiya-jyotisha ''Gargiya-jyotisha'' (IAST: ''Gārgīya-jyotiṣa''), also known as ''Garga-samhita'' (IAST: ''Garga-saṃhitā''), is a 1st-century Indian Sanskrit-language astrological treatise attributed to Vrddha Garga, Garga. The oldest extant text of the Indi ...

'', '' Rati-rahasya'', and other Puranas (''

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

'' and ''

Matsya Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...

''). Other works on the topic include ''Samudrika-sara'' by Shankara or Narayana-suri and ''Samudrikadesha'' by Damodara. ''Samudrika-maha-shastra'', an anonymous manuscript from Nepal, dated 17 September 1800, contains 32 chapters in form of a dialogue between the deities

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and

Samudra Samudra (Sanskrit: समुद्र; ) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "gathering together of waters" (''-'' "together" and ''-udra'' "water"). It refers to an ocean, sea or confluence. It also forms the name of Samudradeva, the Hindu g ...

. In

Jain literature Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the c ...

, two notable ''samudrika-shastra'' texts are ''Samudrika-lakshana'' of Jaipur, and ''Samudrika'' by Pandita Padam-sinha of Ajmer. Among localised works originating from western India, the three most important texts are the ''Samudrika-tilaka'', the ''Samudrika-chintamani'', and ''Samudrika''. Durlabha-raja began writing the ''Samudrika-tilaka'' (as ''Nara-lakshana-shastra'') in c. 1160 CE, and his son Jagad-deva completed it in c. 1175 CE; Sri Venkateswar Steam Press published the work under the generic title ''Samudrika-shastra'' in 1954. ''Samudrika-chintamani'' (Sāmudrikacintāmaṇi) of Madhava Shri-grama-kara, written in c. 1700 CE, closely follows the ''Samudrika-tilaka''. ''Samudrika'', also known by the generic titles ''Samudrika-shastra'' or ''Samudrika-lakshana'', is an anonymous work with two versions. The first version is found throughout India, and one manuscript names Mula-deva as its main author, plus Vama-deva as the author of twenty verses. The second version is found in northern India and Nepal, and one manuscript suggests that it is derived from the collection of one Jagan-mohana, composed by Shri-lakshmanacharya Bhatta. ''Samudrika-tantra'' (1847-1848 CE), attributed to the god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, is a localised text from

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

. Over 50 manuscripts of various ''samudrika-shastra'' texts contain a commentary or translation, mostly in non-Sanskrit regional languages such as including

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, Brajbhasha, Newari,

Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region * Rajasthani architecture * Rajasthani art ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, Maru-Gurjura,

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. The oldest manuscript with a commentary is titled ''Samudrika-lakshana'' (1507 CE): it comes from a Jain collection of Rajasthan, and features a Hindi commentary.

History

References

Bibliography

Further reading