Madhvacaryas Tilaka

tapto 'tra tapta cakrada-mudra dharanam ucyate

tenaiva hari namadi-mudra capy upalaksyate

Austerity means to accept the heat mudras or fire brands of the Lord's weapons - the conch and disc - as well as the Lord's names, His lotus and club. By taking these heat mudras upon one's body, detachment from the bodily concept of life is invoked.

pundram syad urdhva pundram tal

chastre bahu vidham smrtam

hari mandiram tat pada

krty adyati subhanaham

Pundram here means marking the body with sacred clay from such holy places as Dwaraka, Prayag, the banks of the Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Pampa (Tungabhadra), Kaveri or from the sacred Tulasi plant. By marking the body with Vaisnava tilak or urdhva pundra or the forms of the Lord's feet, one marks out the humility that one's body is the temple of Lord Visnu.

Madhva instructed that as well as the vertical lines of gopichand, jointed at the mose like the letter U, a dark red bindu dot, made from the ash of plaintain flowers mixed with turmeric, be placed beneath a line of dhupasesa, which is the thickness of a grain of rice. The dupasesa is made from the burnt wick of the flames offered to the Lord during the arati ceremony.