(“shaving”) In general, mundan refers to any sort of religious haircutting or shaving, such as the head-shaving that is customarily done at particular pilgrimage sites (tirtha).
Hair is offered as a sacrifice to the presiding god in Tirupati, southern India; shaving is also a way of ceremonial cleansing, as in the ceremonies for the deceased.
Mundan is often used as a synonym for the chu dakarana
samskara, a life-cycle ceremony in which a young child's head is shaved to
remove any remaining impurities from birth.
Also see hair.
