Infant Born with Trident Mark on his Head: Facts

Story:

Newly born child is born with trident mark on his head.

Other Versions

1. An infant is born with marks resembling Hindu symbols in Jharkhand. According to the mother, marks like Om, trident, swastika and third eye of Lord Shiva appear on his forehead. People have been visiting the house of “God’s Child” to seek his blessings. Even the local doctors are not able to explain the cause. These things happen only in India.

2. (Hindi) नवजात के माथे पर बन रहा है त्रिशूल का निशान, डॉक्टर्स भी हैरान

Picture Suggesting Infant Born with Trident Mark on his Head — Infant Born with Trident Mark on his Head

Analysis:

A story in heavy circulation on social media sites and few Hindi news reports in India claims to show that an infant in Jharkhand state of India is born with Trident (Trishul, a Hindu religious symbol) mark on his head. Some versions of the story mentioned that other holy Hindu symbols like Om, Swastika and Third eye of Lord Shiva also appear on his forehead, and that local doctors are baffled to explain the case. As detailed below, the paranormal claims are possibly hoaxes.

About the Story & Claims

Starting since mid-October 2016 few Hindi news media like Aaj Tak website aajtak.intoday.in reported the story that a newly born child in Ramgarh bazar of Dumka district in Jharkhand is born with a Trident mark on his head. Born on 10 August 2016, the grandson of Arun Kunwar is called as miracle ‘God’s Child,’ because the family members claim that other Hindu religious marks like Om, Swastik and Trinetra also appear on the child’s forehead, chest and shoulders, and that the marks change every day. People have been coming to see the miracle child from near and far places to seek blessings, some considering him as an incarnation of Lord Shiva, Durga or Vishnu.

A video of the boy with Trident marks was shared by Being Indian Facebook page and the story garnered millions of views. The YouTube video in this article shows a similar footage from what appears to be the child’s home. The family members say that the child is healthy and does not show any unusual signs. It is also said that local doctors were surprised with the child and could not explain the deep red markings on the child’s body, suggesting study in a big medical institute. They also mentioned one possibility that it could be the result of a disease called Hemangioma, a defect of blood capillaries.

Picture of Newborn with Stork Bite — Newborn with Stork Bite

Actual Facts

As the unusual story became popular on social media, some readers suggested the markings could be newborn birth marks called Nevus Simplex, Stork Bite or Salmon Patch (one such picture in Image Gallery). However, we found some other pictures of the child on website worldtvnews.co.in, a close analysis of all of which appear to confirm that the Hindu symbols on the forehead are simply Tilakas or Tikas that are commonly put on to kids. A close look at the last picture in Image Gallery, taken from the video, suggests that the discontinuous, faded away Trident marking is an artificial red colour tika mark and not the cause of any natural, skin or blood swelling. An artificial tika on children’s forehead usually fades away with time, by the evening/night, and there’s the possibility that someone puts another Hindu symbol tika on the child’s forehead next morning.

Video grab of Picture Suggesting Infant Born with Trident Mark on his Head — Infant Born with Trident Mark on his Head

It has to be noted that the literacy rate in Jharkhand is not so well when compared to other states of India and superstitions of different kind are quite rampant, to an extent that the state Government even enforced laws against superstitious beliefs and black magic. So considering all the aforementioned facts, the related claims that an infant in Jharkhand state of India is born with Hindu Trident symbol on his head are possibly hoaxes; shown in the pictures and videos appear to be the common artificial tika marks that are put on children’s foreheads for beautification.