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the left side of the chest, and once on the left arm. 
The chank is stamped twice on the right side of the 
chest, in two places on the left arm, and once on the 
left temple. The gatha is stamped in two places on 
the right arm, twice on the chest, and in one spot on 
the forehead. The padma is stamped twice on the 
left arm, and twice on the left side of the chest. 
Narayana is stamped on all places where other mudra 
marks have been made. Sometimes it is difficult to 
put on all the marks after the daily morning bath. 
In such cases, a single mudra mark, containing all the 
five mudras, is made to suffice. Some regard the chakra 
mudra as sufficient on occasions of emergency.” 
So far as I can learn the branding instruments 
which are employed to sear the two chief symbols, chank 
and chakra, by means of heat are usually made of 
copper. In other localities brands of different metals 
appear to be used as Risley (II, 339) states that the 
Ramanuja, a Vaishnavite sect in Bengal, when under- 
going the initiatory rite (¢apta-mudra) are branded 
with the chakra on the right shoulder and the chank 
on the left, by means of a brand made of eight metals 
(ashta-dhatt) gold, silver, copper, brass, tin, lead, iron, 
and zinc. 
Various deviations from the standard ceremonial 
exist in certain districts; among these is that followed 
by the Bedar or Boya caste of the Southern Deccan, a 
caste which largely constituted the old fighting stock of 
this district. Among them the men are branded on the 
shoulders by the priest of a Hanuman shrine with the 
sign of the chank and of the chakra, in the belief that 
this will enable them to go to swarga (heaven). Female 
Bedars who are branded become Basavis (temple women) 
and are dedicated to a male deity and called Gandu 
Basavis or maie Basavis (Thurston, I., 194). 
This branding of temple-girls, or Deéva-dasi as they 
‘are termed in the Tamil country, with symbols of the 
chank and chakra is always an essential feature in the 
ceremonies which mark their dedication to the god of 
their temple, whom thenceforward they serve with dance 
and song. 
Allied to branding is tattooing. The Tandans of 
Malabar, a caste about the level of the Tiyyans, adopt 
this method to show devotion to the deity, and among 
