NIMANANDI TILAK

NIMANANDI TILAK

Bairagis, or Vairagis, are a sect of Hindu ascetics, eschewing colour or passion and detached from all worldly allurements. The sect is divided into four different orders, viz. Ramanandi, Visnusvami, Nimanandi and Madhavacharya. Ramanandi and Nimanandi orders are found in Punjab. Nimanandis are followers of the saint Nimanand. They are set to have been living in Bairagipura of Nagpur city for the last 300 years. Nimanandis wear all white ‘tilak’ a two-pronged fork with a black dot on their forehead, the shape signifying the figure of ‘Nar-singh’ - ‘man-lion’, described in Hindu literature to be the incarnation of God.