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Ashikha (Sanskrit:शिखा,romanized: śikhā) is a tuft of hair kept at the back of the head by aHindu followingtonsure.[1] Though traditionally considered to be an essential mark of a Hindu,[2] today it is primarily worn amongBrahmins,temple priests, andascetics.[3]
Śikhā literally means "crest" or "tuft" inSanskrit.[4] The hairstyle is referred to as thekuḍumi (குடுமி) inTamil,juṭṭu/śikhe (ಜುಟ್ಟು/ಶಿಖೆ) inKannada,choṭi (चोटी) inHindi andRajasthani,ṭiki (টিকি) inBengali,ṭīk (টীক) inMaithili,churki (चुरकी) inBhojpuri,kuḍumi (കുടുമി) inMalayalam,chôĩ (ଚଇଁ) inOdia,shẽḍi (शेंडी) in Marathi ,Pilaka (పిలక) inTelugu[5] andṭuppi (टुप्पी) inNepali.[6][7]
Theshikha signifies a one-pointed (ekanta) focus on a spiritual goal, and devotion to God. It is also an indication of cleanliness, as well as personal sacrifice to God. According toSmriti texts, it is mandatory for all Hindus to wear ashikha,[8] especially for thetwice-born (initiated by the sacred thread called theyajnopavita).[9] A man not keeping a tuft is regarded not to gain the fullmerit of religious ceremonies. Atonement is prescribed for removing the tuft with the performance of a penance called thetaptakṛcchra vrata.[10]
It is prescribed to be worn at the centre of the head because this is believed to be the region of the body that the deityBrahma is regarded to spiritually reside and a fountain of light is said to originate. According to the school ofTantra, theshikha is said to represent the orifice thehuman spirit enters the body during birth and leaves after death, and hence is also considered to be the focal point of the spirit. A devotee who wears the tuft is considered to be able to face any event in life with composure in this tradition.[11] TheManusmriti prescribes wearing the tuft when bathing, offering alms, offering oblations to the fire, and during prayer.[12]
Theshikha is regarded to have gained prominence during the composition of theSutra texts. TheKatyayana Grhya Sutra states that on the occasion of a sacrifice, all hair and beard with the exception of theshikha is to be shaved. TheGobhila Grhya Sutra states that theshikha of a boy is to be arranged in accordance with the customs of his family.[13]
Traditionally, Hindu men shave off all their hair as a child in asamskāra or ritual known as thechudakarana.[14] A lock of hair is left at the crown (sahasrara).[15] Unlike most other eastern cultures where acoming-of-age ceremony removed childhood locks of hair similar to the shikha, in India, this prepubescent hairstyle is left to grow throughout the man's life, though usually only the most religious men will continue this hairstyle.[citation needed]
The arrangement of the tuft is offered various descriptions, differing among scholars and communities. TheYajnavalkya Smriti, for example, prescribes maintaining a tuft according to one'sgotra (clan):[16]
The persons belonging to Vasishtha Gotra should keep the tuft towards the right part of the hair; those of Atri and Kashyapa, on both sides; of Bhrigu, shaven; of Angiras, five-tufts, for the sake of auspiciousness; others according to the custom of their family.
The same text also quotes theGrhya Sutras:[17]
Having combed the hair in silence, he arranges the locks which are left over, according to the fashion of his ancestral Rishi or according to what family he belongs.
In his autobiography,Mohandas K. Gandhi writes about his encounter with anSwami Shraddhanand:[18]
He was pained to miss the shikha (tuft of hair) on my head and the sacred thread about my neck and said: 'It pains me to see you, a believing Hindu, going without a sacred thread and the shikha. These are the two external symbols of Hinduism and every Hindu ought to wear them.' ... [T]he shikha was considered obligatory by elders. On the eve of my going to England, however, I got rid of the shikha, lest when I was bareheaded it should expose me to ridicule and make me look, as I then thought, a barbarian in the eyes of the Englishmen. In fact this cowardly feeling carried me so far that in South Africa I got my cousin Chhaganlal Gandhi, who was religiously wearing the shikha, to do away with it. I feared that it might come in the way of his public work and so, even at the risk of paining him, I made him get rid of it.
— The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Part V
Chanakya is regarded to have undone hisshikha after being insulted by KingDhana Nanda of theNanda dynasty, vowing to leave it undone until he achieved the destruction of the dynasty.[19]
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