Shiva, angry at Brahma's pride, makes a terrible being and names him Kalabhairava, because even Time will fear him, and Papabhakshana, the eater of sins, and gives him lordship over Kashi for ever: he alone will punish those who sin there, and Chitragupta will write nothing down. Bhairava nips off Brahma's fifth head with a fingernail; the skull sticks to his hand through every holy place until he enters Kashi, where it drops at once, and he dances. Whoever remembers Kapalamochana is freed of sin, and the messengers of Yama fear his devotees.
Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda 31, tr. G. V. Tagare (wisdomlib)
His temple stands in Vishweshwarganj, rebuilt by Baji Rao II in 1817. Only his silver face shows; the rest is draped, and he sits on a dog. Pilgrims believe he gives leave to live in the city, and come to him on arriving and before leaving; a priest touches them with a club of peacock feathers and ties a black thread on the wrist.
Kaal Bhairav Mandir, Varanasi (Wikipedia); Kala Bhairava temple (Cultural Heritage of Varanasi); Kaal Bhairav Temple (Incredible India)
Sources: Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda 31, tr. G. V. Tagare (wisdomlib); Kaal Bhairav Mandir, Varanasi (Wikipedia); Kala Bhairava temple (Cultural Heritage of Varanasi); Kaal Bhairav Temple (Incredible India)
At the Kal Bhairav temple by the Shipra the offering is liquor; the priest tilts a saucer to the god's lips and it disappears, and when Madhya Pradesh closed Ujjain's liquor shops in 2025 the offering went on.
In Kathmandu's Durbar Square a great black Bhairab found by King Pratap Malla's workmen became the court where officials swore their oaths, and at Indra Jatra the mask of white Bhairab pours beer from its mouth to a waiting crowd.
Brahma grows a fifth head, and with it pride or a false word.
In the Kumaoni jagar, singers call a deity into a gathering through song and drum until a medium falls into trance; Bhairav's tales are among those sung.
Brahma and Vishnu quarrel over who is greater; Shiva appears as a column of fire without end; Brahma flies up as a gander and Vishnu digs down as a boar; Vishnu admits failure, Brahma lies with the ketaki as witness and is cursed. Tamil tradition roots the pillar at Tiruvannamalai.
Bhairava, born from Shiva's brow, cuts off Brahma's fifth head; the skull sticks to his hand and the sin of brahmin-killing follows him; he wanders as a beggar, kills Vishnu's gatekeeper, is fed blood from Vishnu's forehead, and is freed when the skull falls at Kashi.
In the late Kalki Purana, Kalki learns from Parashurama, receives a horse, a sword and a talking parrot from Shiva, and through the parrot finds Padmavati of Simhala, whose every suitor turns into a woman; he marries her and the cursed kings become men again.
At Janaka's court in Mithila no king can lift the bow of Shiva that is Sita's bride-price; the young Rama lifts it, strings it and breaks it in two, and wins Sita. Tulsidas sets it at a crowded contest, and brings in Parashurama, furious at the sound.