Clad in old, tattered rags, my head shaven, I stood before the Goddess, bearing a staff topped with a skull and holding another skull in my hand. My body was adorned with ornaments fashioned from skulls, a sight both strange and unsettling. When the Brahmins saw me thus, in the guise of a wandering mendicant, anger welled up within them. They mocked me repeatedly, their voices harsh: “Go away, sinner, go away!” they cried. For, as sung in the Vedas, those without skulls are considered pure, and my appearance seemed to violate this sacred principle. I addressed those Brahmins, saying, “Listen, O best of the twice-born! Compassion must always be shown by the virtuous to all embodied beings. I am a Brahmin ascetic, my body smeared with sacred ashes. I worship Mahadeva, the Lord of the universe, ceaselessly. I have undertaken the renowned ritual to destroy sin, O twice-born ones.” Upon hearing my words, the eminent Brahmins declared, “A Brahmin adorned with skulls is especially condemned.” The sacrifice was grand; the Adityas and Vasus assembled, joined by Brahma, Vishnu, Indra with his thousand eyes, Varuna, and Vayu. Garuda came, as did the mountains and serpents, all summoned to the ritual. Great Brahmin sages and pure divine sages were also present. Still, they questioned me, saying, “Knowing it to be impure, how can you speak thus?” When addressed in this way, I spoke again, but at that very moment, O Devi, I was struck harshly. Laughing, I cast aside the altar covered with darbha grass. When I left, the skull was thrown outside the pavilion. This event repeated itself countless times—hundreds of thousands, tens of millions, and crores. Then all the wise ones said, “This is not the act of anyone else.” Afterwards, the Brahmins praised me with various hymns, each offering their own. Out of compassion for them, I was pleased. The Brahmins then spoke, admitting that their act of killing was due to ignorance. They pleaded, “O Lord, grant us your favor for the destruction of the sin of killing a Brahmin.” At that time, in the presence of the twice-born, you spoke these words: “There was a primordial linga, concealed by the reversal of time. O best of Brahmins, I too once committed the sin of killing a Brahmin myself. From that, the unbearable sin of Brahmin-killing arose in me. Burning with its weight, I was enveloped by it, seeking relief. I traveled to all the sacred places, but the sin would not leave me. Then, a divine voice, bodiless, spoke: ‘O Lord, you have created the holy Mahakalavana; you do not know how this field destroys great sins. In that field, the great linga is present near the form of the elephant.’ Having heard this excellent statement, I hurried there. At that moment, O Brahmins, the skull fell from my hand to the ground. Let the Brahmins behold that deity, known as Kapaleshvara. At that time, they saw the linga, surrounded by many skulls. Therefore, it is renowned on earth as Kapaleshvara.