Mundamala

A Mundamala (Sanskrit: मुण्डमाला, Muṇḍamālā) is a garland of severed human heads or skulls. In Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism, the mundamala symbolizes liberation, courage, and detachment. The garland signifies the wearer's triumph over fear and death.

Typically composed of fifty or fifty-one skulls, the mundamala often represents the fifty or fifty-one letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, thereby linking it to sound, mantra, and creation itself. The skulls can also symbolize the impermanence of life and the ultimately illusory nature of the ego.

Deities frequently depicted wearing a mundamala include Kali, Shiva, Chinnamasta, and other wrathful or powerful figures. The garland is not intended as a morbid decoration but rather as a potent symbol of transformation and transcendence.

The practice of wearing or depicting deities with a mundamala is associated with tantric traditions and esoteric practices within Hinduism and Buddhism. The garland acts as a reminder of the cycle of death and rebirth and the ultimate goal of liberation from this cycle. It represents the annihilation of the ego and the realization of true self. The skulls are not necessarily intended to be literal representations of violence, but rather symbolic representations of conquered obstacles and negative qualities.