Your seal on life or God's seal on you?

 Indian palmistry – Samudrika shastra as it is called. There are very few books published on this in the English language.
Indian palmistry has many systems.

The major one is the Samudrik (purported to come from Samudra- Ocean) it may also mean Sa + Mudra i.e. with mudra. Mudras are special gestures made with the palm in Indian classical dances, during Pooja, mantra and Tantra sadhana and also in Yog sadhana. Mudra also means a seal.
So in a way your fate is sealed or you may leave your seal on life.
Like that song in Karma (Hindi movie).
The second is popular in Southern India called the Kartikeya system, named after the warrior son of Lord Shiva.

Then there is the third system followed by Nadi system.

Few of the books published on these different systems that I have come across dealing with the above systems are

1) Bhat’s treatise on Indian school of palmistry.

2) Samudrika Shastra by K.C.Sen (Taraporewala publications)

3) Sariraka shastra by Iyer (Taraporewala publication)

4) Shri R.G.Rao’s books on Nadi system.



The first book was published in 1938. It is a small book and I believe is out of print.

It was written by B. R. Bhat an advocate from Mumbai who was also an editor of the Coimbatore Times.



Samudrik Shastra gives much importance to the various auspicious figures found on the palm; Let me list a few of them.

Trident, wheel, elephant goad, Flag, Swastika, bow, umbrella, Sun, moon, houses, horse, elephant, mountains, lotus, chariot, sword, rosary, conch, fish, pot, arrow, serpent, scorpion, eye, ear ring, creeper, grain of barley, hand held mirror and many more.



People who study this for the first time are at a loss as to how to locate these in the palm, especially those who have studied the western palmistry books. Many are turned off by these description and hence do not take seriously these symbols (it doesn’t look scientific enough - whatever that means).

But there is a new type of palmistry introduced in the west by Judith Hipskind (google it) which is reading of the lines on the knuckles of fingers at the back of the hand (the nail side). She also talks of many such figures found therein and believe me this is latest type of Palmistry. So obviously our ancestors knew what they were talking and it is just that we don’t understand properly.