kapala means A cup made from a human skull and used in tantric rituals. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “kapala” is a great word
A ritual cup fashioned from the upper dome of a human cranium, employed in Tantric Buddhist and Hindu practice. From Tibetan ཀ་པ་ལ (ka pa la), from Sanskrit कपाल (kapāla, "skull, forehead, bowl"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- ("head"). Unlike a "chalice"—a ceremonial cup of sanctified metal—or a "cranium"—a sterile anatomical term—the kapala is a deliberate transfiguration of mortality into a sacred vessel. It is the polished bone held steady in a lama’s hand; the libation of wine or blood darkening its inner curve; the stark, unadorned reminder serving as the very instrument for transcending it—a paradox made concrete, where what contains the void becomes the means to fill it.
Etymology
From Tibetan ཀ་པ་ལ (ka pa la), from Sanskrit कपाल (kapāla), meaning "skull", "forehead", "kapala", ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“head”). Doublet of copra.
noun
- A cup made from a human skull and used in tantric rituals.
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