Urdhvaretas

(“[one whose] semen is drawn
upward”) Epithet for someone keeping
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Urdhvapundra
An ascetic with the urdhvapundra mark on his forehead.
It consists of three vertical lines and indicates that he is a devotee of the god Vishnu.
a vow of celibacy, particularly a lifelong
vow. In the Hindu tradition, celibacy is
important not only for removing one
from enjoying the pleasures of the flesh
but because on a more basic level,
semen is considered the concentrated
essence of a man’s vital energies.
Expending semen is necessary for procreation, but otherwise it should be
retained, as a way to conserve one’s vital
forces. In popular belief, when a man
has been celibate for a certain time, the
semen is drawn upward to the brain,
where it nourishes one’s intellectual
and spiritual faculties.