This ceremony is typically performed between the ages of one and three when the child's original, first hair growth is shaved, frequently leaving only the 'shikha' on the top back of the head. According to the sages, the hair from birth is associated with undesirable traits from past lives. Thus, at the time of the 'mundan', the child is freshly shaved to signify freedom from the past and the beginning of a new life. It is also believed that the shaving of the hair stimulates proper growth of the brain and nerves.