Skanda Purana 6.1.2

Sanatkumāra said:
Formerly, when the single ocean had arrived and mobile and immobile things were destroyed,
there was no fire, no wind, no sun, no earth, no directions, no sky; // 1
no lunar mansions, no light, no heaven, no moon, and likewise no planets;
no gods, asuras, or gandharvas, no piśācas, serpents, or rākṣasas; // 2
neither lakes nor mountains, neither rivers nor oceans.
Everything was enveloped in darkness; nothing could be discerned. // 3
Then Mahākāla alone, for the sake of bestowing grace upon the worlds,
the Lord stood beholding all places throughout the quarters of the sky. // 4
For the sake of creation, that Mahākāla took Desire present in his hand;
upon the index finger of his right hand, he churned it without drying up. // 5
Becoming an embryo, a bubble, swollen by that momentum,
there arose a golden egg, exceedingly firm and perfectly spherical. // 6
Struck by his hand, it split into two great halves:
the lower portion is remembered as the earth; the upper as heaven endowed with stars. // 7
In the middle there then arose Brahmā, five-faced and four-armed.
Maheśvara, having approved of him, immediately directed him: // 8
"Perform diverse creation, O mighty-armed one, by my grace!"
Having spoken thus, the god vanished somewhere; Brahmā did not depart. // 9
Though urged to create, Brahmā meditated upon the god;
and while being contemplated by Brahmā for the sake of knowledge, the lord Bhava, // 5.1.2.10
beheld through the austerity of Brahmā, bestowed the Veda with its six limbs.
Even having obtained the Veda, he was unable for a long time to perform creation. // 11
He stood again in austerity to worship Bhava.
When he did not see the god, he then praised him with devotion: // 12
Brahmā said:
"Homage to Śiva, whose mind is pure sattva, whose blazing splendor transcends the three guṇas,
the maker of the six-limbed Veda and of me, the eye for perceiving the supreme nature! // 13
Homage to you who partake of rajas in the act of creation, who preside over sattva in the preservation of the universe,
who are magnified by tamas as the cause of destruction, to Śiva, the bestower of the bliss of liberation! // 14
Homage indeed to Śiva, who is beyond the primordial nature of all beings, whose form is the Supreme Self,
the producer of the intellect, ego, and mind of humans, the maintainer, whose form is the twenty-sixth principle! // 15
By whose forms as the elements, water, fire, ether, wind, moon, sun, and self this universe is pervaded—
homage to him, past, future, and present! // 16
Whatever splendors are here, whatever worlds, beings, future things, and causes
arise in creation and dissolve at destruction into whose Self, to him I bow!" // 17
Sanatkumāra said:
When Brahmā was thus praising him, O Vyāsa, the supreme Lord
spoke while remaining invisible: "O Brahmā, ask for a boon!" // 18
In his mind he chose Bhava as his son, out of pride.
Knowing what was in his mind, the Supreme Lord spoke to him: // 19
"Since you desire me in your mind as a son, O four-faced one,
therefore, for a certain reason, I shall cut off your head. // 5.1.2.20
Since that which should not be asked was asked, an amśā of mine, Nīlalohita,
will become Rudra your son, and he will destroy your splendor. // 21
Moreover, since I have been remembered with devotion by you with the feeling of being a father,
and since you made an inquiry into me as possessing the form of the supreme Brahman, // 22
therefore your name will be renowned in this world as 'Brahmā';
by that also you possess grandfathership, and hence you are indeed the Grandfather." // 23
Having thus received a curse and a boon, he undertook the creation of sons.
As he offered oblations into the fire born of his own splendor, sweat came forth upon him. // 24
As he wiped his forehead with a hand holding sacrificial twigs,
a single drop of blood fell from his sweat into the fire. // 25
That indeed became Nīlalohita, and he was Rudra by the command of Bhava.
Thereupon, having approached, the son emerged from his presence, // 26
five-faced, ten-armed, bearing a trident, bow, sword, and spear,
with fifteen eyes, fierce, having a snake as a sacred thread, // 27
bearing matted hair with the moon, wearing a garment of lion-skin.
Seeing him thus born, Brahmā then gave him a name: // 28
"You are named Nīlalohita, Bhava, Rudra, and the wielder of the Pināka."
Then creation proceeded from the creator, the Grandfather of the worlds. // 29
At first he generated seven mind-born [sons], Sanaka and others, then others:
Marīci, Dakṣa, and others, and Manu and others, the creators of offspring. // 5.1.2.30
Having made eight classes of gods, animals of five kinds,
and humans of one kind, he thus brought forth creation. // 31
The creation, beginning with the gods, having arisen, set aside even Brahmā,
and having bowed, they worshipped only Nīlalohita. // 32
Then Brahmā said to Rudra: "I have been rendered unworshipped by you;
you are worthy of worship by your own splendor, therefore go to the Himālaya." // 33
Nīlalohita said to him: "Indeed, I was not honored by you."
Then that Rudra departed to where the Lord Bhava was. // 34
Then Brahmā became foolish, puffed up with rajas;
he scorched the creation with his splendor, thinking: "It was made by me! // 35
There is no god equal to me, by whom creation has been expanded,
with gods, asuras, and gandharvas, filled with domestic animals, birds, and wild beasts." // 36

Thus deluded, that five-faced Virañci became arrogant.

His eastern face, having a pleasant sound, was the promoter of the Sāmaveda; // 37

his second face was the promoter of the Ṛgveda;

Another [face] bore the Yajurveda, and the fourth was named Atharva[veda].

And along with their auxiliary and secondary branches, histories, / secret doctrines, and summaries,

he recites the Vedas with his fifth, upper-facing mouth.

Because of the splendor of that mouth of wondrous radiance, all the gods and asuras

did not shine, like a lamp at sunrise.

Even with their sons, they became agitated and bewildered in mind,

unable to approach, nor to look upon it for long, nor to retreat from that splendor.

Considering themselves as if overwhelmed, free from hatred,

all those gods deliberated for their own welfare:

“Let us go for refuge to the god [Śiva], stripped of radiance as we are by the brahma-splendor;

yet we do not know the place where he abides.

We shall see that terrible one here through devotion, not by any other means.”

Having thus deliberated, those gods, with joined palms,

then composed a hymn of praise to the Great Lord with the highest excellence of tone:

The gods said:

“Homage to you, Lord of the gods of gods! O Maheśvara, homage, homage!

Fools that we are, we do not comprehend your supreme, matchless greatness,

by union with which you are the supreme Brahman, eternal among beings,

the foundation of all beings, the cause in the creation of all.

And you bear the moon, the sun, and fire abiding within your eyes.

Merely by chanting your name creatures are freed from misfortune.

Characterized by earth, water, fire, moon, sun, space, and wind

are your forms, O Mahādeva, and by them this [all] is entirely pervaded.

The world, being spun around by you through the states of rajas, sattva, and tamas,

does not recognize you, O Lord of all, since you assume all forms.

The delusion that deludes the rulers of the gods, beginning with Brahmā,

you create, unbearable, at each recurring cycle of the ages.”

Sanatkumāra said:

Having granted visible darśana out of compassion for the gods,

with a gracious countenance and bowed down to by the gods,

dwelling together with the gods, the Great Lord,

thus being praised by celestial seers, ancestors, and humans,

remaining invisible, said this: “O gods, speak as you desire!”

The gods said:

“O Sthāṇu, we pray always for your direct darśana.

May a boon also be granted to us by you out of compassion.

Whatever great energy, splendor, and valor we had,

all that has been swallowed by Brahmā through the splendor of his fifth mouth.

All our radiances have perished; O Lord, through your grace,

O Maheśvara, act in such a way that it is restored as before.”

Sanatkumāra said:

Having appeared visibly, Śarva then indeed set forth;

he went to that place where he [Brahmā] was, the embodiment of passion and egoism.

The gods, praising the Lord of gods, surrounded him and sat down.

Brahmā, enveloped in darkness, did not recognize that the god had arrived.

Delighting the world with the splendor of tens of millions of suns,

the Self of all, the creator of all, the sustainer of all was then seen.

Rudra, overpowering with his splendor the Grandfather

who was seated in the whole circle of the gods, stood before him, intoxicated with that [splendor].

And Brahmā’s mouth, overwhelmed by Rudra's splendor, did not shine,

just like the moon, though shedding bright rays at night, [does not shine] at sunrise.

Then, seeing his son, the eternal god Rudra, proud,

he greeted him with just his hand and spoke these smiling words;

Virūpākṣa replied to that Brahmā, as if laughing.

Since, enveloped in his own splendor, he did not know the supreme god,

therefore the Lord bearing the crescent moon let out a loud roar of laughter.

While all the gods were watching and listening, he uttered words.

Having confounded the Grandfather with that sound of boisterous laughter,

he, a mass of splendor resembling the moon, whose eyes are the moon, sun, and fire,

[severed] the fifth head of Brahmā with the tip of the nail of his left thumb.

severed it as a man would [sever] the core of a plantain tree with his fingernails.

And the Grandfather did not realize that his face was being cut off. // 66

Stupefied therefore by the fiery splendor of Rudra, he did not bow down.

His severed head then rested thereafter in Rudra's hand. // 67

Together with the gods he saw the terrible [head], blazing exceedingly with fright.

Held by the fingernails at the end of Maheśvara's hand, the face shone // 68

like a second moon standing in the midst of the planetary circle.

Lifting it up with that skull, the moon-crested god danced, // 69

like Mount Kailāsa with the sun resting upon its summit.

Then, when the face was severed, the gods, delighted and thriving,

praised the god of gods, the bull-bannered bearer of the skull, with various hymns. // 5.1.2.70

The gods said:

Praise always to the skull-bearer, to Mahākāla, the conch-possessor, // 71

who is endowed with sovereignty and knowledge, the bestower of all enjoyments,

praise to the destroyer of arrogance, and to the one who comprises all gods! // 72

You are the maker of the dissolution of Time, and therefore indeed you are Mahākāla.

You pacify the sorrow of devotees, bringing an end to suffering; therefore you are pleasing. // 73

You also quickly bestow peace upon devotees; therefore you are remembered as Śaṃkara.

Since you have cut off the head of Brahmā and also bear the skull, // 74

for that reason, O God, you are Kapālin; indeed you have been praised, be gracious to us!

Thus praised, Śaṃkara, his mind serene, raised up the gods; // 75

that Lord, an ocean of compassion, vanished right there.

Whose matted hair is illuminated by the rays of the crescent moon, where the celestial Gaṅgā melts into ripples of water to be gathered,

holding the white skull in a wreath at Rudra's side, he who conquered Brahmā, powerful and endowed with vast splendor, triumphs! // 76

Thus ends the second chapter, titled 'The Description of the Severing of the Head of Brahmā,' in the Avantīkṣetramāhātmya of the Fifth Avantīkhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses. // 2