Lord Bhikshatana

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     When Shiva chopped off Brahma's fifth head, Brahma died. But because of his great power and because of all his good deeds, Brahma managed to come back to life. Yet, Brahma is, in a sense, a brahmin, and Shiva had killed him. Killing a brahmin is considered the worst sin of all, and so Shiva had to repent for his sin and become a beggar. Because he had committed the sin of brahmahatya, the skull of Brahma's fifth head was stuck to Shiva's nail and he couldn't get it off. His sin took the form of a scary woman who followed him everywhere. To repent for his sin and to get rid of the creepy woman, he had to wander the earth as a naked beggar and used Brahma's skull as his food bowl. This form of Shiva is known as Bhikshatana and he is followed by scary ghosts and goblins.
     He wandered everywhere in the universe, all over the earth, through the heavens and the underworld, but the only food that would properly satisfy him were blood and flesh. People who served him food became hypnotized the moment they saw him. They followed him everywhere, he comes upon a yagna being conducted by Brahma where he fills the place with skulls because they wouldn't feed him. So, Brahma promised Shiva that all yagnas can only happen when a prayer is said to Shiva.
     Seeing Shiva suffering in this manner, Goddess Shakti decided to help him by giving him some food. She appeared to him to Annapurna, the goddess of food. She served him well, but made him promise that she will only bless humanity with food if he enlightens them with true knowledge. In the Vishwanath temple in Kashi, you see statues of Bhikshatana receiving food from Annapurna.
     While he was wandering the world, he went to the Deodar forest, also known as the Daruka forest. In the forest, the sages were doing yagnas and gained lots of power. They became very arrogant and thought that they were equal to the gods. Shiva knew about this and decided to teach them a lesson.
     So, Bhikshatana entered the forest as a naked and scary beggar with reddish-black skin. Lord Vishnu also accompanied him as a beautiful woman named Mohini, who unlike Bhikshatana, had white skin. Bhikshatana begged for food at the houses of the sages, when their wives appeared, just like everyone else, they became hypnotized and crazy. The sons of the sages saw Bhikshatana's beautiful wife Mohini and completely fell in love with her. The sages were shocked and disgusted them they saw their families following Bhikshatana. They became so angry that they cursed him, but nothing happened to him. Then Bhikshatana counter-cursed the sages to also become beggars like him.
     The sages then conducted a yagna and created a lion, an elephant, a tiger, a snake, and a dwarf. They attacked Bhikshatana, who defeated them all. Finally, he stood on top of the dwarf and began to dance. He ended his dance by lifting his left leg over his right leg. This form of Lord Shiva is known as Nataraja, the lord of dance. The sages were shocked that their curse didn't do anything. They prayed to Brahma and asked them why. Brahma appeared and told them that Bhikshatana was actually and incarnation of Shiva.
     The only two women who didn't become hypnotized were Arundhati, the wife of Vashishta, and Anasuya, the wife of the sage Atri. They instantly recognised Bhikshatana and Mohini and told the sages that they were Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu themselves. They also explained that Shiva was appearing like this because they had become arrogant and to teach them that knowledge was not the only thing that is important in life and that love is also extremely important for the continuation of living creatures. Bhikshatana then returned to the forest in his supreme form. the sages apologised and Bhikshatana taught the sages that they must become beggars like Bhikshatana, since that is what will help them upon the path to moksha. Arundhati and Anasuya told Bhikshatana that if he wanted to get rid of his sin and satisfy his hunger, then he must go to Lord Vishnu.
     Bhikshatana then leaves the forest and continues to wander all across the universe until he reaches Vaikuntha, the heavenly home of Vishnu. Vishnu's messenger, Vishwaksena, was guarding the door and when he saw Bhikshatana , he couldn't recognise that he was Shiva. Hence, he didn't allow Bhikshatana to enter. Bhikshatana told one of his attendants, Kalavega, to fight Vishwaksena, but Vishwaksena killed Kalavega. In anger, Bhikshatana attacked Vishwaksena and killed him, keeping his corpse on his trident, which was now struck to his left hand. This meant that his sin had increased further. This form of Shiva is known as Kankala-murti, the one with the skeleton.
     Kankala-murti entered Vaikuntha and begged for food. So, Vishnu offered him some of his own blood as well as some flesh from Bhikshatana's own forehead. Vishnu then told Bhikshatana to go to the city of Varanasi and pray to Lord Shiva.
     So, Bhikshatana followed Vishnu's advice, since he was very desperate to get rid of that scary woman and to stop being Bhikshatana. When he reached Varanasi, he prayed until Lord Shiva appeared before him. He told Bhikshatana that he will be free from his sin if he goes to Kashi. So, Bhikshatana eventually reached Kashi, and the moment he entered the holy city, the scary woman returned to the underworld. Bhikshatana meditated until the skull fell off from his right hand and the trident fell from his left hand. Vishwaksena corpse vanished and we was revived and returned to Vaikuntha. The place where the skull fell off is called Kapala-mochana, the liberation of the skull. Shiva then bathes in a holy pond and his scary appearance vanishes. Shiva, completely free from his sin, returned to Mt. Kailash to meditate and continue his peaceful life.