Bhairav was created from Bhagavan Siva’s third eye as He decided to snip the fifth head of Brahma who annoyed the Lord for the sin of temptation with his own daughter. But the sin of removing a head of Brahma construed as ‘Brahma hatya’ (killing a Brahmana that too of the stature of Brahma) haunted Bhairava and he wished to atone the sin by begging alms in the skull of the dropped Head. He reached Vaikuntha and Lakshmi Devi gifted a Vidya or learning called ‘Manorath’ or fulfilment of one’s mental wishes. Lord Siva dropped oegrass (a plant in sea akin to elephant grass) in the skull-bowl and directed Bhairava to Kasi as this sin of Brahmahatya could not enter the Temple but he went to Patalaloka intead. As Bhairava dropped the skull, he got rid of the sin for-ever.The place where the skull fell is regarded as that of ‘Kapala Moksha’ or Salvation of the Skull.
