Synonyms
Definition
Itinerant Śaiva practitioners belonging to the Kāpālika order/Tantric adepts following the skull-bearer’s observance (kāpālikavrata).
The Kāpālikas (“skull-bearers”) were antinomian itinerant ascetics worshiping the terrific hypostases of Śiva (e.g., Kapālin, Kapāleśvara/Kapālīśa, Bhairava) and/or the Goddess (e.g., Cāmuṇḍā, Caṇḍā Kāpālinī). They are first mentioned in a handful of sources from the early centuries CE, including Hāla’s Sattasaī (third–fifth century CE; [1], p. 13), the Bṛhatsaṃhitā of Varāhamihira (first half of the sixth century), and, possibly, other Buddhist and Jaina sources from the fourth–fifth century ([2], p. 5 note 17). From the seventh century, references to Kāpālikas become widespread in the Sanskrit and vernacular literature from all over the Indian Subcontinent and beyond (e.g., Java; see below), eventually fading away after the twelfth century. Their name...
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References
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Acri, A. (2018). Kāpālikas. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_99-1
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