Samudrika Shastra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (September 2007)

Samudrika Shastra is hand analysis in the Vedic tradition, a Sanskrit term that translates roughly as "knowledge of body features." This tradition assumes that every natural or acquired bodily mark encodes its owner's psychology and destiny. Elevation, depression, elongation, diminution, and other marks become relevant. Traditional stories in India thus abound with descriptions of rare auspicious markings found on the bodies of memorable people. Legends about the Rama and Krishna Avataras, Gautama the Buddha, and Mahavira the Tirthankara conform to this tradition. Indeed, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains share this ancient Samudrika Shastra tradition. Fragments of it pop up in other cultures as well. Phrenology and face reading evoke its principles. Modern body groupings such as ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph also mimic the ancient Samudrika Shastra's impulse.

Samudrik shastra which is the study of body features seek its main interest in 'hast samudrikam' which is the study of palm lines. Although palmistry is studied and practised in various parts of world but it is nowhere so accurate and scientific as it is in the ancient Hindu literature. There is a similarity between western and Indian palmistry and it owes to the fact that in past(13th century AD to 19th century) palmistry has travelled from India to all the world. The science of ancient Indian palmistry is very scarce today and its knowers pass this knowledge only to the trusted students by training them under their guidance as opposed to the western way of divulging knowledge by books. This system is known as 'guru-shishya parampara'. Unfortunately the knowers and practitioners of ancient Indian palmistry are very scarce today and only a hybrid generation of both western and Indian palmistry exists and is most visible even in India. It much owes to the guarded secrets of 'hast samudrikam'[palmistry] by its scarce knowers.

As the question of accuracy stands in front of us , I would like to clarify that correct prediction of some event and timing of that event makes the accuracy and this is the most important part of Indian palmistry. The ancient esoteric and calculative methods of palm readings give details of accuracy not only about the future of native but also about the present and past(for example native's date and time of birth)and there is a very very important feature of Indian palmistry that is that it gives the accurate prediction of native's family's( blood relatives i.e. parents, siblings and spouse) past present and future also. Above are few of the features that I have listed in short which make Indian palmistry a distinct and outstanding path of astrology( Yes , Indian palmistry is very much part of Indian astrology).

Indian palmistry is one the several marvels that ancient vedic civilisation has given to us and it is also perfect in its purpose like all other branches of vedas.