Lord Brahma is the creator of the universe and everything both living and non-living. He is said to have risen from a lotus that emerged from Vishnu's belly button. Just as an artisan moulds statues, Brahma is the eternal sculptor responsible for the intricacies of all life forms. We are all his children.
Ages ago, the god of love, Manmatha (better known today as Kamadeva), and his wife, Rati, prayed fervently to Brahma for a boon. They wanted a special bow and arrow. So they fasted and meditated for days and days, and finally Brahma appeared.
Manmatha said, 'Dear lord, give me a bow and arrow that will make anyone I shoot it with fall instantly in love with the nearest person.'
Brahma considered the request. 'This boon is perfect!' he thought. 'It will encourage more humans to fall in love and over time, the number of children on this planet will increase and the human race will flourish. But I don't think strong-willed people or those who follow a spiritual path will fall prey to Manmatha's arrow. However, that shouldn't stop me from granting the boon.'
Brahma raised his right hand. 'So be it.'
A bow of sugar cane and an arrow of flowers appeared in front of the delighted Manmatha. He took possession of it and thanked the god with all his heart before going on his way.
Soon, Manmatha wanted to test the bow and arrow. Without thinking too much, he shot the first arrow at Brahma himself!
At that time, Brahma was in the process of creating a beautiful maiden. She was named Shatarupa, a woman with a hundred beautiful forms. Her beauty was nothing like the world had ever seen.
As soon as Brahma finished breathing life into her, the magic of Manmatha's arrow started to take effect.
The lord began gazing at Shatarupa so intensely that it scared her. She hadn't expected her creator to behave in such a manner. So she stepped away from him, turning to his right. Brahma couldn't look away-his eyes followed her. To his surprise, a second head sprang up on his right. Alarmed, Shatarupa ran the other way to his left but a third head appeared in that direction as well. Finally, Shatarupa was right behind Brahma, and lo and behold, another head was formed. Now Brahma had four heads facing all four directions-east, west, north and south. This way he was able to see Shatarupa no matter where she went.
The maiden now had no choice but to turn upward. Unfortunately for her, that didn't stop Brahma. Another head facing the sky sprang up on his first head. And thus Brahma's gaze stayed on Shatarupa.
Shiva, who had been watching the entire incident, was furious. 'It is time for me to step in and help the poor girl,' he thought. 'Brahma is Shatarupa's creator -it is not right for him to fall in love with her like this.’
Shiva cut off Lord Brahma's sky-facing head in one swoop with his trishul and cast a curse on him. 'Henceforth, you will etemally be a four-headed god, and furthermore, you will be worshipped in just one place."
Only after he had removed Brahma's fifth head did Shiva realize that Brahma hadn't been completely responsible for his behaviour. It was Manmatha's arrow of love that had started it all.
So, to soften the curse, Shiva declared, 'Brahma, even though you may not be worshipped the way Vishnu and I are, you will always be revered as a part of the divine Trinity.'
There was no denying that Shiva had sinned by punishing Brahma. As a consequence, he became a wandering ascetic and made his way to Brahma Kapala (better known today as Badrinath in Uttarakhand). Shiva carried Brahma's severed head in his hands and used it as a begging bowl, but strangely the skull would never fill up. No matter how much food went into it, the bowl remained empty. It was only when Shiva made his way to Varanasi and received alms from Annapoorna, the goddess of nourishment and an avatar of Parvati, that the begging bowl finally began to fill up. It is believed that Brahma's fifth head has remained with Shiva ever since.
The place where this incident is said to have taken place is in Pushkar, Rajasthan.