forehead marks

[Vasudha Narayanan]

 I am interested in knowing about the origins and meanings of, textual
references, and iconographic attestations to forehead marks in India.  I am
familiar with the interpretations of some Sri
 Vaishnava and Saiva  marks of south India.  I have also heard of the
"bindu" representing the Devi.  I would  like to know more about their
religious/sociological/cosmetic meanings.  I have seen names like tilaka,
bindu/bindi,  nAma, srichurNam, vibhuti, tirunIr, to refer to the shape and
the materials used.  Is there any secondary literature?  Depending on custom
and usage, some women do not wear such marks after the death of their
husbands.  Sri Vaisnava women may and do infact wear the nAma throughout
their lives -- they wear it  as children, on the day of their wedding, and
through widowhood because the primary significance is devotional and not
cosmetic. How did this function historically?  Where there major gender
differences in usage? 
With many thanks, 
Vasudha Narayanan
Professor, Department of Religion
University of Florida