The Kāpālika tradition was a Tantric, non-Puranic form of Shaivism which originated in Medieval India between the 4th and 8th century CE.[8] The word is derived from the Sanskrit term kapāla, meaning "skull", and kāpālika can be translated as the "skull-men" or "skull-bearers".[9]
^ abTörzsök, Judit (2020). "Why Are the Skull-Bearers (Kāpālikas) Called Soma?". In Goodall, Dominic; Hatley, Shaman; Isaacson, Harunaga; Raman, Srilata (eds.). Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions: Essays in Honour of Alexis G.J.S. Sanderson. Gonda Indological Studies. Vol. 22. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 33–46. doi:10.1163/9789004432802_004. ISBN978-90-04-43280-2. ISSN1382-3442.