Pañca-muṣṭi

The Sanskrit term for ‘five handfuls’ refers to the traditional gesture of the initiation ritual – dīkṣā – in which the future mendicant pulls out his or her own hair in ‘five handfuls’. Nowadays, new monks and nuns symbolically pull out a single hair while the rest of their hair is shaved off. The shaven heads of Jain ascetics indicate their status.

Synonyms:
Five handfuls
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