Samudrika Shastra
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Samudrika Shastra is hand analysis in the Vedic tradition, a Sanskrit term that translates roughly as "knowledge of body features." This tradition assumes that every natural or acquired bodily mark encodes its owner's psychology and destiny. Elevation, depression, elongation, diminution, and other marks become relevant. Traditional stories in India thus abound with descriptions of rare auspicious markings found on the bodies of memorable people. Legends about the Rama and Krishna Avataras, Gautama the Buddha, and Mahavira the Tirthankara conform to this tradition. Indeed, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains share this ancient Samudrika Shastra tradition. Fragments of it pop up in other cultures as well. Phrenology and face reading evoke its principles. Modern body groupings such as ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph also mimic the ancient Samudrika Shastra's impulse.
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