Tala
The length of the face, from hairline to chin, used by image-making texts such as Manasara to measure a figure. A living adult is about nine to ten talas tall.
- Samudrika Shastra
- हिंदी: ताल
What is the rule behind Tala?
A tala is the length of the face, from hairline to chin; image-making texts such as Manasara measure figures in talas and give deities the most. A living adult is about nine to ten face-lengths tall; Vitruvius gave ten.
Source: Manasara; Vitruvius
Where can you learn about Tala?
Related terms
- AngulaThe breadth of a person's own finger, the unit for their height. Brihat Samhita gives 108 angulas as tall, 96 as medium and 84 as short.
- Chhaya (lustre)The lustre or presence a person gives off, of five kinds named after the five elements. It is a reader's impression and never skin colour.
- KalapurushaThe person of time, on whose body Jyotish places the twelve signs, from Aries at the head to Pisces at the feet.
- SaraIn Charaka Samhita, the tissue or quality best developed in a person, of eight kinds from skin to mind (sattva). It belongs to a physician's examination; a Samudrika reader only names it.
- Brihat SamhitaVarahamihira's 6th-century work, the main source of Samudrika, with chapters on the marks of men, the five great men and women. Editions number the chapters differently.
- Lalata rekha (forehead lines)The lines across the forehead, which the texts count and link to fortune. They deepen with age and expression, and lifespan is never read from them.
Guruji, your guide
The short answer
Inside the app, you can ask Guruji about any lesson, in your own language.
What does Tala mean in Samudrika Shastra?
The length of the face, from hairline to chin, used by image-making texts such as Manasara to measure a figure. A living adult is about nine to ten talas tall. A tala is the length of the face, from hairline to chin; image-making texts such as Manasara measure figures in talas and give deities the most. A living adult is about nine to ten face-lengths tall; Vitruvius gave ten.
Your first lesson takes about five minutes
Sign in with your email, choose your language, and start at the beginning. RishiSetu keeps your place.
