🎨Aripana (Sacred Floor Diagrams) Tradition
Tantric and Vedic geometric floor diagrams drawn with Pithar (rice paste) using fingers before every Maithil ritual, vrat, and sanskar.
History & Origins
Rooted in ancient Tantric mandalas and Vedic altars of Videha, Aripana art has been passed down orally from mother to daughter without preliminary sketching.
Key Motifs & Symbols
✦ Ashtadal Kamal (8-Petaled Lotus)✦ Dashapaat✦ Swastika✦ Gauri-Peeth✦ Kojagara Makhana-Paan
Traditional Color Palette
🎨 White Pithar (Wet Rice Paste)🎨 Sindoor (Vermilion Dots)🎨 Haldi (Turmeric Accents)
Process & Technique
The courtyard or puja floor is purified with clay/cow-dung wash, after which women dip their ring and middle fingers into liquid rice paste (Pithar) to draw continuous sacred geometry.
Cultural Significance
In Mithila, no deity is invoked nor any Sanskar (Mundan, Upanayan, Vivah, Madhushravani, Kojagara) performed without first sanctifying the ground with its specific Aripana.
