Out of curiosity, the great Lord Brahmā lifted the newly born being and placed him upon his shoulder. At that very moment, a remarkable event occurred: a fifth head emerged, and it began to speak. From this fifth head came words naming Rudra as Kapālin, Rudra, Babhru, Bhava, Kairāta, and Suvrata—thus, these would become the many names by which Rudra would be known in the future. But then, the wise Rudra, using the nail of his left thumb, struck at the prājāpatya head of Brahmā. With that single act, the prājāpatya head was severed, and the three-eyed one, Rudra, stood there holding it. Troubled by what he had done, Rudra asked, “How will this sin of mine be destroyed? Tell me, O virtuous one.” Brahmā replied, “By performing the proper observance, joined with discipline, through your own power, you will be freed from this sin.” Thus instructed by Brahmā, who is beyond all manifestation, Rudra stood firm and split the severed head into three parts. He fashioned a sacred thread from hair, and from the great bones he made rosary beads. Another piece of the head he broke off and placed within his matted locks. Wishing to be purified, Rudra continually bathed in the holy fords throughout the blessed land with its seven continents. He journeyed first to the Sarasvatī, then to the confluence with the Yamunā, and onward to the sacred rivers Vitastā, Candrabhāgā, Gomatī, and Sindhu. From there, he traveled to Nepāla and the great shrine of Rudra, then to Maheśvara, and ultimately reached the holy city of Gayā. In this way, O bearer of beings, he swiftly traversed the entire universe, seeking purification. Rudra wore only a simple loincloth; naked, he became a skull-bearing ascetic, the severed skull ever in his hand. When even that garment fell away, he remained a naked ascetic, still bearing the skull. For two years, Hara wandered from one holy ford to another, trying to cast off the skull, but it would not leave his hand. Again, for another two years, he wandered throughout the universe, bathing at sacred fords, but the skull remained. No matter how he tried, the skull would not fall. For yet another year, Rudra remained on the Himalaya mountain, and then for two more years, the supreme lord Vṛṣākapi continued his wandering. At last, in the twelfth year, while on the mountain, the lord of gods bathed in the sacred Gaṅgā. There, in that very place, a holy ford came to be known as Kapālamocana—the “liberation from the skull”—an unsurpassed place of sanctity. Rudra then went to the sacred site of Hari and Hara and, after bathing at the divine ford called Trijaleśvara, he bowed in reverence. Twelve years had passed, and with the hosts of boundary-guardians, the holy site called Kapālamocana arose, a place renowned for removing sin. There, at last, Rudra was freed from the sin of killing a Brahmin and attained purity. It is said that anyone, even one burdened with the gravest sin, who bathes there with devotion, becomes purified. The gods assembled and spoke to Rudra: “O Rudra, wide-eyed, established upon the world’s path—O Rudra, with uneven eyes, who wandered with the skull in your hand, fierce in your penance—what you have done upon the highest Himalayan peak has now brought you purity at this holy site. Here, bodily purity is attained. Those gods who place you first and worship you according to the prescribed rites—know that the vows they perform, O god, are those you yourself have established, O son.” Thus, the tale of Rudra’s wandering and purification became a blessing for all beings.