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COVER PICTURE

Use of the human calvaria and skull as alms bowls and drinking

vessels by Aghori ascetics in present-day India

Anand N. Bosmia &Christoph J. Griessenauer &

R. Shane Tubbs

# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract

Introduction The purpose of this article is to discuss the use

of the human calvaria and skull as alms bowls and drinkingvessels by a sect of Hindu ascetics in present-day India

known as the Aghoris. The authors attempt to explain the

rationale behind the Aghoris' use of the human calvaria and

skull in this manner.

Methods A review of the literature using standard search

engines was conducted to obtain information about the his-

tory and philosophy of the Aghori ascetics.

Results Multiple academic references confirm the persis-

tence of the practice of using the human calvaria and skull

as alms bowls and drinking vessels among Aghori ascetics in

present-day India. This practice is inspired by the Aghoris'

monistic philosophy, a principle of which is that observanceof social convention deters the individual soul in its journey

towards liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Conclusion Certain anatomical features of the human body

have had religious significance in the past. Multiple academ-

ic references concerning the Aghoris argue that religious

significance continues to be ascribed to certain components

of human anatomy. In the case of the Aghoris, these compo-

nents are the calvaria and skull.

Keywords Calvaria . Skull. Aghori . Hinduism. India

Monistic philosophy, social convention, and taboo

Classical monism in Hindu religious thought holds thatevery soul (jiva) is identical with Brahman, the ultimate

reality that is the transpersonal equivalent to the personal

God of the Abrahamic faith traditions. This school of thought

endorses pantheism, which holds that the universe and ev-

erything included in it constitute God. Category distinc-

tions are illusory, and the unity behind all polarities must be

realized through psychophysical exercise. The ultimate goal

of the ascetic is to abolish his perception of duration and

death by abolishing his perception of duality. The members

of an ascetic order known as the Aghoris demonstrate an

eccentric lifestyle as a result of their quest to attain this

spiritual goal [6].

The Aghoris belong to the Saivite tradition of Hinduism,

which emphasizes veneration of the god Shiva. The term

Aghorimeans not terribleand is an alternative name for

Shiva [2]. However, this name for Shiva denotes a very

frightening portrayal of Shiva, and as devotees of this form

of Shiva, the Aghoris disregard the social conventions and

traditional boundaries of South Asian Hindu society [4]. By

engaging in taboo practices, the Aghori ascetic defies social

convention, which is interpreted as a category distinction and

thus an illusion stemming from spiritual immaturity. Endors-

ing category distinctions is thought to deter the individual

from identifying with Brahman, and thereby prevent the

individual from attaining salvation from human suffering.

Foulston and Abbott [1] eloquently write: The ideology of

the Aghoris completely transposes the opposites of purity

with pollution and morality with immorality in an effort to

fully subdue the ego and to transcend even the order of

dharma (the principle of cosmic order). This form of wor-

shiptakes many forms ranging from the most complex

purification and visualization techniques to the most extreme

sexual and potentially polluting practices. Included among

A. N. Bosmia:R. S. Tubbs

Pediatric Neurosurgery, Childrens Hospital,

Birmingham, AL, USA

C. J. Griessenauer (*)

Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of

Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA

e-mail: cgriessenauer@uabmc.edu

Childs Nerv Syst

DOI 10.1007/s00381-013-2204-7

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their practices is the use of the human calvaria and skull as

alms bowls and drinking vessels.

Anatomy and terminology

The calvaria, or skullcap, consists of a large part of the

frontal bone, most of the two parietal bones, and usuallysmall parts of the temporal and occipital bones [8]. Various

cultures have used the human calvaria and skull as orna-

ments and drinking vessels. Hindu deities, such as Shiva,

have been portrayed carrying containers made of human

skulls [8]. Such use of the human calvaria and skull persists

among the Aghoris. The members of this sect employ the

human calvaria and skull as alms bowls and drinking vessels

as part of their practice of self-abasement (Fig. 1)[3].

In Sanskrit, the calvariae used as drinking vessels are

referred to as kapala and cuppella, which mean cap and

cup, respectively [8]. The term kapalin means skull

bearer, and refers to any ascetic who uses a human skulleither as a decorative ornament or as an alms bowl. The

Kapalikas, an ancient sect of Saivite ascetics, carried human

skulls, and this sect's name appropriately originates from this

term [4]. Furthermore, the term kapal kriya refers to the

religious rite of breaking open the skull of a deceased indi-

vidual whose corpse is on the funeral pyre [6].

Ancient Saivite sects and the Aghoris

The Aghoris are believed to be descended from earlier

Saivite ascetic orders [4]. Organ [5] denotes the Pashupati

as the earliest Saivite sect and discusses this sect at length:

The Pashupati is noted in the Indian epic Mahabharata. The

term pashupati means worshippers of the Lord (pati) of

cattle (pashu). These ascetics considered themselves to be

Shiva's cattle, and believed Shiva would assist them in free-

ing themselves from the bondage of the earthly realm. The

Pashupati were also called the Lakulisha, which means

worshippers of the one who carries a club ( lakula).Organ

writes that one Saivite legend involves Shiva entering the

corpse of an unknown person, picking up a club, and going

forth club in hand to teach the sect's doctrines. This legendexemplifies the morbid imagery associated with Shiva. The

practices of the Pashupati enforced this association. The

Pashupati taught that in order to end affliction stemming

from attachment to the material world, the individual had

to engage in specific rituals. These rituals include smearing

one's body with ashes from cremation grounds, eating ex-

crement and human flesh, using human skulls as drinking

bowls, and engaging in orgiastic sex [5].

Two other predecessors to the contemporary Aghoris were

the Kalamukhas and Kapalikas. The Kapalikas were described

by other ascetic groups and dramatists during the seventh and

eighth centuries, although none of the Kapalikas' own writtenrecords have survived. The Kapalikas are cited as worshipping

and emulating the characteristics of the wrathful form of Shiva

by wearing long and matted hair, smearing their bodies with

ash from cremation grounds, carrying clubs, using human

skulls as bowls, and engaging in behavior considered taboo

within South Asian Hindu society, such as drinking alcohol,

eating meat, using hallucinogenic substances, and enjoying

orgiastic sexuality [4]. By the eleventh century, the most prom-

inent Saivite ascetics were the Kalamukhas, whose name

means black-faced and refers to their habit of wearing a

black mark on the forehead. They were regarded as perverts,

drug addicts, drunkards, and murderersfor their practices [5].

The Aghoris emulate their predecessors by living on cremation

grounds, smearing their bodies with ash, eating decomposed

flesh torn from corpses awaiting cremation, wearing long and

Fig. 1 Aghori male holding (a,

cover figure) and drinking (b)

from the human calvarium.

Image courtesy of Thomas L.

Kelly

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matted hair, and consuming their own excrement, urine, and

vomit [1,2,6].

Despite these historical connections to extinct Saivite sects,

the Aghoris trace the founding of their order to an ascetic named

Kina Ram. The Aghoris claim that Kina Ram was an incarna-

tion of Shiva and died in the second half of the eighteenth

century at an age nearing 150 years. His tomb is located in

Banaras, which is also the site of an ashram he founded. Onlyone or two ascetics reside at this ashram, and each one is thought

to be an avatar of Kina Ram, and thus an avatar of Shiva [ 6].

The religious significance of the human calvaria

and skull

Aghori ascetics eat and drink from bowls made from human

skulls to remind themselves of human mortality [2], yet the

skull has greater significance to an Aghori ascetic. The

Aghoris believe that the skull contains the spirit of the

deceased individual, from whose corpse it was taken, andthe possessor of the skull controls that individual's spirit until

the skull is cremated [7]. Thus, the human skull functions as

an instrument through which an Aghori ascetic purportedly

performs magic. This function is related to the aforemen-

tioned ritual of kapal kriya, as noted by Parry [6]. In this

ritual, the chief mourner releases the pran, orvital breath,

of the deceased by cracking the departed individual's skull

midway through the cremation with a bamboo stave. Death

occurs when the pranexits the skull.

Parry [6] notes that the skull must be obtained ideally

from a cremation ground and belong to an individual who

has died prematurely; that is, an individual who has suffered

an untimely death. For example, the corpse of a young

man who has died from a snake bite is a suitable candidate.

The skulls of individuals who have died prematurely are

believed to store power that the Aghoris can invoke with

the proper incantations for various purposes, such as coun-

tering the effects of poisons. The Aghoris reason that the

skulls from the corpses of those who have died prematurely

are repositories of power because the pran is not released

from the cranium by the rite ofkapal kriya. In contrast, the

pranis released from the skull of an individual who has not

died prematurely; that is, an individual fortunate to have had

agood death.The heat from the funeral pyre is believed to

cause thepranto climb to the top of the skull, from which it

exits when the skull is broken during kapal kriya. Further-

more, skulls from individuals who were of certain profes-

sions are especially valued. For example, the Aghoris believe

the cunning of a trader enables the possessor of a trader's

skull to access greater powers.

Conclusion

The human calvaria and skull have important roles in the

regimen of psychophysical exercises employed by the

Aghoris in present-day India. Their use of these anatomical

structures as alms bowls and drinking vessels, from which

they consume raw human flesh, emetic fluids, fecal matter,

and urine, evidences their willingness to ignore social con-vention. Such behavior is inspired by their monistic philos-

ophy, which instructs them to obliterate the category distinc-

tions of acceptable and forbidden and to transcend the

polarities of propriety and taboo.

For more detailed reading on the Aghoris, the authors

recommend the following references:

Barrett RL. Aghor medicine: pollution, death, and healing

in North India. United States of America: University of

California Press, 2008.

Lorenzen DN. The Kplikas and Klmukhas: two lost

aivite sects. United States of America: University ofCalifornia Press, 1972.

Parry J. 1982. Sacrificial death and the necrophagous

ascetic. In: Bloch M, Parry J (editors). Death and the

regeneration of life. Great Britain: Cambridge Universi-

ty Press. pp 74110.

Parry JP. Death in Banaras. Great Britain: Cambridge

University Press, 1994.

Acknowledgments We would like to acknowledge the photographer

Thomas L. Kelly for his contribution to this article.

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