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Another fierce goddess depicted often wearing the mundamala is ].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Art of Nepal: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection|last=Art|first=|last2=Pal|first2=Pratapaditya|date=|publisher=LACMA in association with University of California Press|year=1985|isbn=9780520054073|location=|pages=S32|language=en|via=}}</ref> Another fierce goddess depicted often wearing the mundamala is ].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Art of Nepal: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection|last=Art|first=|last2=Pal|first2=Pratapaditya|date=|publisher=LACMA in association with University of California Press|year=1985|isbn=9780520054073|location=|pages=S32|language=en|via=}}</ref>


The god ] and his fierce manifestations are often depicted wearing the mundamala; Shiva is covered with ashes and skulls adore him.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series|last=Daniélou|first=Alain|date=|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|year=1991|isbn=9780892813544|location=|pages=218|language=en|via=}}</ref> The god ] and his fierce manifestations are often depicted wearing the mundamala; Shiva is covered with ashes and skulls adore him.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series|last=Daniélou|first=Alain|date=|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|year=1991|isbn=9780892813544|location=|pages=218|language=en|via=}}</ref> ]<nowiki/>s often picture Shiva's family making mundamalas. His son ] helps him or his mother ] handing over a head, while the latter threads them. Another scene depicts the parents making the mundamala, while Kartikeya and his brother ] play nearby.<ref>Storm p. 293</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Iconography of Śiva in Pahāṛī Paintings|last=Panthey|first=Saroj|date=|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1987|isbn=9788170990161|location=|pages=61|language=en|via=}}</ref>


The fifty or fifty-two heads or skulls in the mundamala are described to symbolize the letters of the ] alphabet in Kali's iconography, thus signifying the wearer Kali as ''sabda ]'', Ultimate Reality recognized as Sound and the primal sound of the sacred syllable ].<ref>Kinsley pp. 88-9</ref> Another interpretation links the mundamala symbolizing the heads of foes and demons slain by the wearer goddess in battle.<ref name=":0" /> The mundamala in the context of Chhinnamasta's iconography is said to signify her victory over Time and fear of Death.<ref>Benard p. 105</ref> The fifty or fifty-two heads or skulls in the mundamala are described to symbolize the letters of the ] alphabet in Kali's iconography, thus signifying the wearer Kali as ''sabda ]'', Ultimate Reality recognized as Sound and the primal sound of the sacred syllable ].<ref>Kinsley pp. 88-9</ref> Another interpretation links the mundamala symbolizing the heads of foes and demons slain by the wearer goddess in battle.<ref name=":0" /> The mundamala in the context of Chhinnamasta's iconography is said to signify her victory over Time and fear of Death.<ref>Benard p. 105</ref>

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In Hindu iconography, mundamala (Template:Lang-sa, muṇḍamālā) or kapalamala is a garland of severed human heads and/or skulls.

The mundamala is often found in the iconography of the Mahavidyas, a group of ten fearsome Tantric goddesses. Kali, the foremost Mahavidya, often wears a garland of freshly decapitated heads. The blood from her bleeding garland bathes her nude body. The number of heads in the mundamala is generally described as fifty. Other Mahavidyas like Tara, Chhinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati and Matangi are depicted or at least described wearing mundamalas; the goddess may also hold a severed head or skull (kapala) in her hand. In description of Bhairavi, the heads are said to be so fresh that they vomit blood over her breasts.

Another fierce goddess depicted often wearing the mundamala is Chamunda.

The god Shiva and his fierce manifestations are often depicted wearing the mundamala; Shiva is covered with ashes and skulls adore him. Pahari paintings often picture Shiva's family making mundamalas. His son Kartikeya helps him or his mother Parvati handing over a head, while the latter threads them. Another scene depicts the parents making the mundamala, while Kartikeya and his brother Ganesha play nearby.

The fifty or fifty-two heads or skulls in the mundamala are described to symbolize the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet in Kali's iconography, thus signifying the wearer Kali as sabda Brahman, Ultimate Reality recognized as Sound and the primal sound of the sacred syllable Om. Another interpretation links the mundamala symbolizing the heads of foes and demons slain by the wearer goddess in battle. The mundamala in the context of Chhinnamasta's iconography is said to signify her victory over Time and fear of Death.

In Shiva's iconography, the mundamala represents the continual creation and destruction cycles of human existence.

Notes

  1. Kinsley p. 63
  2. Kinsley pp. 67-8
  3. Kinsley p. 98
  4. ^ Kinsley p. 153
  5. Kinsley p. 167
  6. Kinsley p. 180
  7. Kinsley p. 246
  8. Kinsley p. 171
  9. Art; Pal, Pratapaditya (1985). Art of Nepal: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection. LACMA in association with University of California Press. pp. S32. ISBN 9780520054073.
  10. ^ Daniélou, Alain (1991). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 218. ISBN 9780892813544.
  11. Storm p. 293
  12. Panthey, Saroj (1987). Iconography of Śiva in Pahāṛī Paintings. Mittal Publications. p. 61. ISBN 9788170990161.
  13. Kinsley pp. 88-9
  14. Benard p. 105

References

  • Kinsley, David R. (1997). Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahāvidyās. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-20499-7.
  • Benard, Elisabeth Anne (2000). Chinnamastā: The Aweful Buddhist and Hindu Tantric Goddess. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1748-7.
  • Storm, Mary (2013). Head and Heart: Valour and Self-Sacrifice in the Art of India. New Delhi: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-81246-7.
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