Kalamukha was an important Shaiva sect from the 10th to the 13th century in the present day Karnataka in India. As per some scholars, the Kalamukha school of Shaivism was an extreme sect who indulged in practices like eating food in a skull and besmearing the body with ashes.
The followers of the sect was known as Mahavratin – men with great vows. They marked their foreheads with black streaks.
The followers of the sect was known as Mahavratin – men with great vows. They marked their foreheads with black streaks.
Kalamukha had its stronghold in parts of present day Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and to some extent in Tamil Nadu.
It is widely believed that the Kalamukhas were replaced by the Virashaivas during the end of the 13th century.