Why Hindu women used to take bath using turmeric, and apply kumkum in forehead?
The word "kumkum" is actually a sanskrit word.
Actually, it refers the 'Saffron powder', but not the kumkum we use.
Vedic Sastra, actually recommend pooja to vedic gods using Saffron (kumkum) powder or it's flower.
Whether we do pooja for Maha-kali, or Sri Krishna, it recommends pooja using Saffron (kumkum).
One day, Kanchi Maha Periyavar Sri Chandrasekara Swamigal (lineage of Adi Sankara Peetam), asked his devotees about this topic...
"Vedic Sastra recommends pooja using Saffron (kumkum).
We can't buy Saffron as it is too costly.
But, any reason why we are using red kumkum instead of actual saffron (kumkum)?", paramacharya asked.
The devotees gathered at that time, remained silent.
Some of them might knew the answer. But everyone preferred to stay silent to listen to his answer which would be very interesting.
Maha Periyavar himself answered...
"As per Vaidya Sastra (Ayurveda), saffron have medical benefits to 'cure skin diseases' and also helps to 'reduce body heat'.
Turmeric also have similar benefits alike Saffron.
In our Vedic Sastra, for every guidelines suggested, there exist alternate guidelines (प्रथिनिति विचारम) as well.
That means, if suggested material is not available, vedic sastra allows nearest equivalent alternate material.
By that alternate guidelines (प्रथिनिति विचारम), it is allowed to use turmeric powder in place of Saffron (kumkum).
Some people used to mix saffron in boiled milk with sugar and drink daily for health.
Saffron is too costly to buy.
So,
To get the same benefit,
Most people use turmeric powder in boiled milk with sugar and drink daily for health.
Similarly,
While doing pooja on MahaKali, Mahalakshmi, Ganesh, Sri Krishna or any Vedic Gods, if saffron is not affordable, it was recommended to use Turmeric powder as alternate.
To make turmeric look alike Saffron (kumkum), we add some red color and give it a name 'kumkum'.
The kumkum which we are using to do pooja on Devi TripuraSundari @ kanchipuram is the red turmeric powder, which is an accepted vedic practice."
Thus Sri Kanchi Maha Periyavar explained the meaning and purpose of kumkum.
Hindu women, those days protected their skin using turmeric bath.
Having Saffron (Kumkum) in forehead was a practice when our country was the richest, before foreign conquest.
Slowly, we started using Red Turmeric as Kumkum.
It's very sad to see Hindu woman despite medical benefits behind, they avoid kumkum
It's very sad to see some use chemical stickers and some walk with nothing in forehaed like other religion community.
Even today, foreigners believe and portray "a hindu women with a kumkum".
But it's very sad that, Hindu woman lost their pride of these traditions which are scientific and traditional.
As Indians, we should not forget what happened From 947AD till 1947AD.
Our country was looted by foreign religious invaders for 1000 continuous years at supreme power.
Temples were looted, destroyed and mosque were built over that.
Millions of Vedic Brahmins were massacred in these 1000 years, as most of them stayed in and around temples.
They became the 1st Targets.
This land which had brahmins who had learnt 1 veda, 2 veda (dwevedi),3 veda (trivedi), 4 veda (chaturvedi) are no more.
Now a days their families still hold these surnames but lost vedic studies.
Today almost 97% of brahmin families have became namesake brahmins holding these pride surnames.
India not just had lost the temples, wealth, but the knowledge of Veda and it's reasons.
When someone reads Mahabaharat today and finds Karna took Naga Astra (a missile which can spread poison) by chanting vedic mantra, no one knows today, what mantra he recited and what procedure he used.
In 1000 years, when vedic brahmins got killed, and vedic scriptures burnt and temples destroyed, we lost all treasures...
We as People of this land, should at least visualize the pain that forefathers in our family had gone thru.
Everyone of us were rich those days.
People in this land never had a reason to beg foreigners those days.
The whole Bharat Land was self-sufficient and lived in their home town with family together.
Imagine the pride we had, those days.
We lost everything in this 1000 years..
Most importantly, Today, we don't even know many Hindu Dharma and Rituals and practice because of the lost we incur due to those 1000 years of invasion.
Today, Most of us, don't even know why woman had kumkum on their forehead.
How shamefully we were driven by foreign invaders.
Hindus must introspect.
Most of the times, Kshatriyas (kings) had to give up their lives, when these foreign invaders tried to attack civilians and temples directly instead fighting with them.
Mohammed Gajini 17 times he tried to destroy and loot golden somnath temple only and killed many civilians.
The people in Saurashtra had no choice than to escape.
They migrated till Tamilnadu to save their lives.
How sad we suffered.. !! Alas !!
When Kshatriya fall down, Brahmins became the poorest of all, as kings were the saviors of their basic needs.
When British around 1800AD smelled the downfall of Islamic rulers, they used their power to finish islam rulers and took over the control of entire India (including today pakistan, bangladesh).
Hindus who got converted into Islam thru Rape, and fear of sword from 947AD till 1800AD also now left alone like beggars, along with existing brave hindus.
Bharat land at that time was covered with 90% True hindus and 10% converts to Islam.
All people during that became extreme poor. The once Richest Nation in the earth where columbus, vascodagama, megasthanese tried to visit India has now became extreme poorest Nation because of loot and destroy of education and killing of vedic brahmins.
The left alone wealth including kohinoor diamond was also taken to Britain.
Christianity was promoted in full swing in all coastal sides.
Churches were built.
On poor hindus, money was spent to make them christians, thereby to make entire country a Christian Nation to gain civilians support.
British Christian absolutely aware that some of the Hindus who had been living as muslims from 947AD were the hard targets and were very hard to get converted to Christianity as Islam was created with a disbelief in Christ as God.
So, at one side british christian rulers while converting some hindus to Christianity and some as psuedu secular hindus,
they noticed that muslims have become major threat to create civil disturbance.
Instead trying to convert those Hindu muslims to Christianity, they tried to attack them with force.
Mughal dynasty was uprooted from Delhi.
All Deccan Sultanate's were decimated.
Finally,
they uprooted Tipu Sultan and shot all his sons and make an end for Islamic Rule which dominated our land for 1000 years with low tax on hindu those converted to Muslim and heavy tax on brave Hindus.
Poor Hindus of some section started to get converted to Christianity.
More than Christian belief and it's god, shaming Hindu Vedic Gods, shaming Vedic Believes like having kumkum in forehead was criticized.
As brahmins were so poor those days and everyone in general being poor, no one had time to check these facts.
More than Dharma, Food and survival became a major issue for civilians.
Christian believers punished Galileo when he predicted that Earth is round, as Christianity believed that "Earth is Flat" during that time as per old testament.
They smartly hided their own facts..
But Shamed all Hindu customs and gods, to create hatred mindset on Hindu Dharma.
On other side, money was given for those who accepted Christianity.
Being poor and no time to retrospect the truth and value we possessed, conversion to Christianity started to flourish..
Those with western mindset, those who don't fight with them were respected by british christian rulers.
Those who don't have western mindset and appeasement to Christian rulers were hanged and jailed.
But 90% of Indians were below poverty that time.
So food and life became very important for many.
For administration, they enticed poor brahmins to study english.
With extreme poverty, few Brahmins started to work as clerk, teacher, advocate from 1850s.
Since they don't fight, British trusted brahmin community for their admin work.
Due to this, vedic brahmin families slowly got deviated and started to leave vedic studies and took western studies which can give them jobs to live.
Bhagat Singh was hanged,
Va Vu Chidambaram pillai was jailed more than a decade and tortured who was a richest businessman (vaishya) and purchased ship on his own to do his business without paying tax to christian rulers,
Brahmins like Mangal Pandey, Chandrasekhar asad protested the british conquest,
Bharathi, the greatest poet and freedom fighter, died as poor like an orphan,
Vanchinathan killed himself after shooting a district collector
and many tried their best to get rid of this foreign religious rulers.
British shamed other communities as slaves.
They shamed them, tortured them.
The people who were considered as Sudra (employee category people) were the most affected from 947AD.
They became helpless.
British Christians treated them as slaves and gave jobs to few of them as policemen to attack their own Freedom fighters.
Due to extreme poverty, not just Sudra (employee category people), even brahmin community joined Army and ended up attacking their own people.
Mangal Pandey, a brahmin joined British Army himself..
Later revolted in 1857 which started the India Independence movement with british.
Our Land was filled with confusion.
Some Brahmins became a slave of western mindsets.
Some became freedom fighters and lost their lives.
Some Vaishya (business) became a slave of western mindsets.
Some became freedom fighters and lost their wealth.
Some Sudra (employee) became a slave of western mindsets and became servant and policemen.
Some became freedom fighters and lost their lives.
By the time, British Christians took over the control of this entire land, almost all existing kings were no longer kshatriya (protector)..
most of them surrendered their land and accepted royalty from them.
Some kings who are real kshatriya (protector) like marudhu pandiya, veera pandiya all were captured and hanged in public by christian british rulers.
Hindus who were living as muslim civilians at core hated the british rule.
Yet some poor muslims took jobs for their earnings.
At 1857AD, when british rulers asked to bite the bullet which is coated with pig's meat, muslim civilians revolted.
When muslims and hindus revolted together, entire British govt faced a civil disturbance and huge life threat as many were working in british army as well.
Rest is history...
By 1947, after 2 consecutive world wars (thanks to hitler) Britain got hit badly. Reviving Economy at Britain became prime focus for them.
Finally they decided to leave this poorest country India, in the hands of British mindset and pseudo secular leader Nehru (Brahmin) who had his studies in British soil and with no Vedic background instead holding the prefix "Pandit".
It's time for Hindus now to introspect Hindu Dharma.
Ladies must start apply Kumkum and understand the Vedic Reasons and Medicinal (Ayurveda) reasons.
