churki

[pfilliozat at magic.fr]

In present times, it is a common observation that wearing the "sikhA is
ridiculed in schools and universities. But it was prominent in the fashion
of sages in the seventh century. It was a symbol of true knowledge. BAna
Bhatta imagines it as an instrument to punish false knowledge. See his
description of BhairavAcArya in Harshacarita III:
jaTIkRtaikade"salambamAnarudrAkSa"sankhaguTikena Urdhvabaddhena
"sikhApA"sena badhnantam iva vidyAvalepadurvidagdhAn upari saMcarataH
siddhAn,
"with the noose of his "sikhA, jutting upwards, from the matted part of
which beads, shells and rudrAkSas were hanging, BhairavAcArya seemed to
bind the Siddhas roaming overhead, whose intelligence was vitiated by pride
in their crafts."

Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat