Samudrika Shastra (), part of the Indian astrology, is the study of face reading, aura reading, and whole body analysis. The

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

term "Samudrika Shastra" translates roughly as "knowledge of body features." It is related to

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

and palmistry (), as well as phrenology () and face reading ( physiognomy, ). It is also one of the themes incorporated into the ancient Hindu text, the '' Garuda Purana''. 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, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

and Krishna Avatars, Gautama the Buddha, and Mahavira the

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

conform to this tradition.

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

s, and Jains share the tradition of Samudrika Shastra; the tradition also has parallels in other unrelated cultures, with phrenology and face reading both evoking its principles. William Herbert Sheldon's typology of body forms – ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph (called ' somatotypes') – also mimics the practice of Samudrika Shastra.

Histories

The system of human marks finds a mention in various jyotisha-shastra and dharma-shastra texts, but it emerged as an independent '' shastra'' (field of study) with the composition of various texts collectively called the ''samudrika-shastras'' ( IAST: 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 (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

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

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

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

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

presents itself as a revelation from the god Subrahmanya to the sage Agastya. 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 ('' Bhavishya'', '' Vishnu-dharmottara'', '' Skanda'') and the '' Brhat-samihta''. Several manuscripts included verses from the '' Gargiya-jyotisha'', '' Rati-rahasya'', and other Puranas (''

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

'' and ''

Matsya Matsya () is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's Dashavatara, ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu (Hinduism), Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be dep ...

''). 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 and Samudra. In Jain literature, 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 (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, 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 Nepa ...

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

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, Brajbhasha, Newari, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Maru-Gurjura, Odia, Tamil, and

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

. 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.

Histories

References

Bibliography

Further reading