Śaiva traditions name three impurities that veil the soul’s divine nature: āṇava mala, the sense of being small and limited; māyīya mala, the perception of difference; and kārma mala, the sense of being a doer bound by action. Grace and practice remove them, revealing the soul as Śiva.
Mala
Impurity: in Śaiva thought, the three limitations that bind the soul: smallness, difference and action.
Also: Mala, three impurities