All World
Gayatri Pariwar

   Samudrik Shastra is the scripture of interpreting the features of the body and foretelling the future based on that. One can tell about the mental and emotional capacity of a person; about his inherent nature and about several incidents that will shape his future based on the clear signs on the body and its other aspects. This science is known as chiromancy or palmistry in English and ‘Sham-e-Kayaptaa’ in Urdu, meaning - ‘the art of reading the lines of the palm’.  There are several branches of this great science, out of which palmistry is the most popular.

There are differences of opinion regarding the origin and development of this science called Samudrik Shastra. It is believed that a rishi named ‘Samudra’ was the proponent of this science. According to a puranic story, once rishi Samudra saw divine marks on the body of Lord Vishnu who was relaxing on Seshanag (cobra coach) and deduced that these marks on the divine body are the reason for the glory of the Lord. He then concluded that anyone with such marks on his / her body will have these special traits in his / her personality. This was the fundamental principle of Samudrik Shastra which, over a period of time, has developed into a science that is known as astrology today. In our country, it is believed that this science comes from an ancient tradition. There is also a belief that this science was taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati. It has spread to various other countries too. Cheiro – a western astrologer was an expert in this science and was quite famous in his times.

In Samudrik Shastra, various parts of the body are observed to foretell the mental state, samskaras (impressions), habits, etc of a person. In this context, face is a very important point of reference. People beget faces of various shapes owing to their karma in the previous lives. In the course of observing the face, the distance between the ears and distance between the forehead and chin are measured. Eyes, lips, nose, cheeks, ears and shoulders are also subtly analyzed.

According to the experts in Samudrik Shastra, the face of a person is influenced by the planets and hence the characteristics of the person are in accordance with the characteristics of the planet. With the effect of Sun, a person has a round face, an attractive chin and a beautiful nose. Such a person has handsome face, thin and red lips, long, deep and black eyes, thick arms, high cheekbones and curly hair. His voice is loud and attractive. He tends to speak fast also. Such people are typically generous, truthful and friendly; think clearly, are good orators and possess very sharp intellect. These people shun blind faith and are easily excited because they do not tolerate injustice. They are self-reliant and indulge in excessive spending. Such people are greatly interested in women and take very good care of their wives and children.

A person influenced by Moon has a round and effulgent face. He is peaceful, cool-natured, handsome and possesses an attractive personality. Since they are kapha-dominant, they are able to keep their anger under check. Their eyes are big and charming. Such people are lovers of beauty, imaginative and see dreams. Hence, they are typically artists or poets. They are lovers of poetry, music and other fine arts. This might also be their profession. Such people are specially liked by women.  

A person under the influence of Mars has a small head, raised forehead, tough cheeks, dry skin, lush and curly hair, long face, red eyes, black and shaggy arms. These people are usually very tall. They are of aggressive and egoistic nature. If someone were to challenge their ego, then they can become violent, too. That is why such people like battle. A survey shows that most of the soldiers in the army are influenced by Mars. These people do not believe in compromise; and try to resolve everything with fight and display of their prowess. Since they are pitta-dominant, their health is shaky. Such people are interested in horse-riding, wrestling and in occult sciences.

Those with a tiger-shaped face are said to be influenced by Mercury. Such people have wide face, big teeth, broad body, thin chin, honey-colored or blue eyes, fair complexion and lustrous hair. Looking at such a body constitution, people tend to think that they are violent in nature, but these people are very satvic and of genial nature and character. These people are extremely industrious, generous, thoughtful, loving, and religious; and take interest in fine arts. These people like to collect artifacts and take great interest in decorating their homes. Their lives are very organized and so is their style of organizing things. Though they are organized and disciplined, they possess a fickle mind. If they overcome this fickleness then they can become great achievers. Such people are usually teachers and give great respect to women. They like green color and hence are nature-lovers. Perfumes are their primary weakness.

A person influenced by Jupiter has a round face, healthy and heavy head, dimpled chin, shapely neck, curly and black hair, high nose, red eyes and fair complexion. They are soft-spoken and hence they excel in winning the hearts of others. They have good leadership skills. They are intelligent, scholarly, ambitious, self-reliant, serious, thoughtful, generous and farsighted. The life of such people is highly disciplined and they cannot tolerate indiscipline. Such people follow extreme restraint in their life style and food habits. This is the reason why other people cannot easily mingle with them. They are held in high esteem by the society. They become popular by virtue of their generosity. By middle age, they lose their hair but this is said to be indicative of their scholarly nature. They are lovers of nature and love to visit sacred rivers.

A person influenced by Venus has a long and prominent face. Attractive eyes are their foremost specialty. Women are attracted towards their beautiful eyes. These people have abundant grace of the Lord of Love (Cupid). Hence they are extremely emotional, romantic, influential and talkative. Since their talkativeness is at par with the women, they are easily attracted towards them. They have handsome and well-built body which is very attractive. They have a beautiful row of teeth, long nose and all the parts of the body are beautifully chiseled. Their voice is so sweet that one is never be tired of listening to them. The magic in the voice is attributed to their attractive personality. They are typically lovers of music and hence inherently emotional.

The influence of Saturn makes the face of a person oval or egg-shaped. They have small eyes, pointed nails, high cheekbones, thin and big lips. All the traits of their physical body point to their suspicious nature. Looking at their positive qualities, they are fearless, good at mathematics and tend to be aloof. They are staunch materialists and lack interest in spirituality. They are stubborn, fickle and are averse to sex. They lack sense of etiquette and dressing. Because of the influence of Saturn, such people are prone to downfall of character.

In addition to the influence of planets, there are faces of other shapes too. They are faces that are square, round, oval, shivaling shaped. There are faces that resemble birds and animals and such people have their own distinct qualities. A square-faced person typically imbibes great human ideals in his life. They are attracted towards materialism and other comforts. Women who have a square face live a happy and contented life. A person who has a face of the shape of a Shivling is well-established, generous, helpful and reticent and possesses good character. Scientists, philosophers, saints and Mahatmas typically have this face. They are also spiritual in nature. They are endowed with godly nature, detachment, devotion, knowledge, intelligence, discrimination and other lofty qualities.

People with round face are emotional and expressive by nature. Hence they can be good poets, singers, actors, physicians or social workers. Women with a round face are of good character, good home-makers and are generous by nature. Round-faced men are good at delegating their responsibilities and possess immense dedication and concentration. They believe in completing work quickly. They are soft-natured and possess an unwavering mind.

Dog-faced people are service-oriented, loyal, courageous and witty. They tend to get their work done even at the expense of other’s inconvenience. Crow-faced people are dark, shameless and possess evil character and are aggressive in nature. Parrot-faced people are unfaithful. They speak sweetly but are not so. They have very good memory and they use this trait for selfish ends. Goat-faced people are interested in materialistic life and are selfish and slave to taste. Monkey-faced people like to live in jungles. They are interested in materialistic pleasures and money. They possess ordinary intellect. Bull-faced people are dutiful, obedient, industrious and extremely humble.

According to Samudrik Shastra, the features of the face have their distinct significance. Though in ordinary sense, all these are taken into account, a person with his own sustained efforts and tapasya can nullify or diminish these negative traits. Ashtavakra who had a body that was bent at several places, and ugly Socrates strived to enhance their noble character because of which they increased their inner beauty and became immortal in history. In extreme contradiction is the case of a beautiful body that is devoid of noble qualities. By continued and determined effort, one can positively transform the entire set of capabilities and qualities of one’s personality. Such a person emerges with a refined personality which is the forte of human life. We should learn to make the best of our lives.