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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.

MADHAVA TILAK The Madhavas are Vaishnavas. They are known as Brahma Sampradayins. whose founder was Madhavacharya. He was born in 1200 AD. He was a great opponent of Sankaracharya‘s Advaita system of philosophy. He erected and consecrated the image of Lord Krishna at Udipi. Madhavas bear the impress of the symbols of Vishnu upon their breasts and shoulders which are stamped with a hot iron. Their marks on the foreheads consist of two perpendicular lines made with Gopichandana and joined at the root of the nose. They make a straight black line (using charcoal from incense offered to Krishna), which terminates in a round mark made with turmeric. The Madhavas are divided into two classes called the Vyasakutas and the Dasakutas.  Truthfulness, study of scriptures, generosity, kindness, faith and freedom from envy form the moral code of Madhavas. They virtue in thought, word and deed.