Lord Visnu, the middle Deity of the Hindu Trinity, does not seem to have had a very prominent place in the Vedas. But, by the time the Bhagavata cult developed ( through its basic writings like the Narayaniya section of the Mahabharata, the Visnupurana and the Pancaratra Agamas as also the famous Bhagavatam ) Visnu or Narayana had become the most important deity of the Hindu pantheon.

The word Visnu literally means one who has entered into everything. So, Visnu is the Cosmic Spirit , the Absolute, which pervades everything. For purposes of religious worship and meditation. He is described as endowed with a beautiful form, deep blue in colour. He has four arms wearing sankha (conch) and padma (lotus). He wears a jewel, Kaustubha, on His chest. Single-minded devotion is the easiest and the best means to please Him.

The followers of Visnuism can be broadly devided into two groups: the Sadvaisnavas (or Vaisnavas who are followers of Madhavacarya) and the vaisnavas. Both of them accept Lord Visnu as the Supreme Deity and devotion to Him as the chief means of attaining spiritual beautitude. Sankha and cakra as the religious symbols are acceptable to both of them. However, the Srivaisnavas add the Urdhvapundra also.

The sankha or the conch has the form of a multiple spiral evolving from one point into ever-increasing spheres. It thus symbolised the origin of the universe from a single source, viz., God. Being found in water, it symbolises the causal waters from which the universe was evolved and into which it gets dissolved. When blown, it produces a sound, which represents the primeval sound from which creation developed. It is also taken to be the representation of the Cosmic Ego. Its involute curve, can represent, on the plane of the microcosm, or the individual, the egoism which involves him in samsara or transmigatory exsistence.

the cakra or the discus represents the universal mind, the unlimited power that creates and destroys all the spheres and forms of the universe, the nature of which is to revolve or to change. it also represents the lords will to multiply. its six spokes represent the six seasons of the year, hence the changing universe, set on the unchanging axle, the pivot, represented by the magic syllable hrim of the lord. the circle round the wheel is maya, the divine power of illusion. on the microcosmic plane, it can be taken to be a true representation of the individuals mind, which is ever changing like the rotating wheel.

the hindu religious tradition has always insisted upon its followers to wear religious marks appropriate to their faith, on their bodies, especially on the forehead. urdhvapundra is one such mark. the meaning and significance of this symbol is rather obscure to discover. when marked on the forehead of the deity in a temple, it may signify the power of that deity of uplift the votaries. when marked on the forehead of the votary it may remind him of the need to take a spieitually upward path. it it sometimes interpreted that the two lines on the outside represent the ida and the pingala (the two passages for the flow of pranic energy, intertwining the backbone) and the middle line (marked in red or yellow colour) represents the susumna passage (through which the kundalini power flows after awakening), the three together represent the yogic path of spiritual ascent.

so, the total symbol (the urdhvapundra along with the sankha and the cakra) may mean that one who aspires after controlling the mind and subjugating the egoism should take to the propitiation of the deity's merciful power or to the yogic path.

the urdhvapundra is marked as by the vadagalais (the 'northerners') and as by the tengalais (the "southerners').

clay, white or yellow, is used for marking the outer lines and turmeric or sricurna (a kind of red powder) for marking the central line.