Kīrtimukha

Kīrtimukha, “the glorious face”, is the fierce face-mask seen above the entrances of Śiva temples throughout Bhārata. He guards the door of Bhagavān Śiva.

He began as a terrifying being born from the anger of Bhagavān Śiva at the insolent demand of the asura king Jalandhara. He had no battle to feed on, so he ate his own body until only his face was left. Bhagavān Śiva was moved and set him at his door as guardian. This account comes from the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa. The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa also tells it.

Origin from Śiva’s wrath

Rāhu came as the messenger of Jalandhara. He brought the insolent demand that Śiva give Pārvatī to the asura king. Then the anger of Śiva arose in a concentrated form. From this anger came a terrifying being with many faces and many arms, of a consuming and dreadful look. The Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa describes him as a being of terrible power, born from the fire of the fury of Mahādeva.

This being was told to eat those who had been killed in battle.

The self-consumption

No battle had yet begun. Nobody had been killed, so the being found nothing to eat.

Driven by the hunger that was his very nature, Kīrtimukha turned on himself. He ate his own feet, his legs, his torso and his arms. He consumed his body bit by bit until only his face remained. A face cannot eat itself, so he stopped. He had eaten everything except the one feature that gave him his name.

Bhagavān Śiva looked at this face. It was still blazing with energy and still fierce. It belonged to one who had eaten a whole body out of obedient hunger. Bhagavān Śiva was moved.

Established at Śiva’s door

Śiva told Kīrtimukha to stay always at his door. The being born of wrath, who had eaten even himself, was given a permanent place as the guardian of the entrance of Śiva. From then on his place is the threshold. He stands above the doorway at every Śiva temple, fierce-faced and watchful.

The face that ate everything, even itself, now guards the line between the outer world and the sacred presence of Mahādeva. Anything impure or inauspicious that comes near meets Kīrtimukha first.

Image and place in temples

Kīrtimukha appears as a face without a body. It is carved above the doorframes (toraṇa) and over the entrances to the main sanctum of Śiva temples across Bhārata. The face usually has an open mouth and wide eyes and looks fierce. Sometimes small hands are shown at the sides of the mouth. Foliage or scrollwork flows from the corners of his mouth. The name comes from kīrti (glory, fame).

The Skanda Purāṇa account

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells the origin in Chapter 17 of the Kārtika Māsa Māhātmya, in the Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa.

Here Nārada first visited Jalandhara. He stirred up the asura’s desire for Pārvatī by describing her beauty as better than anything in the asura’s realm. Jalandhara then sent Rāhu as his messenger to Śiva at Kailāsa. Rāhu already carried the shame of his severed head from the Samudra Manthana (the churning of the ocean).

Rāhu entered Kailāsa. He darkened it with the blackness of his own body, so that the moonlit peak looked like a fortnight without a moon. He then gave Jalandhara’s insolent message: “How can you have such a splendid wife while you are a naked beggar who lives in cremation grounds?”

At this, a terrifying person came out from the middle of the eyebrows of Śiva. He had the face of a lion, a rolling tongue and blazing eyes. His huge body was rough and dry, and his hair stood on end. He was “like another Narasiṃha”. He rushed at Rāhu to devour him. Rāhu fled in terror but was caught. He cried out to Śiva: “O Deveśa (master of the devas), protect me. I am only a messenger and so I am dependent.” Śiva told the being to let Rāhu go, and Rāhu was spared.

The being then asked: “What shall I eat? Hunger afflicts me much. O Deveśa, command me.” Śiva replied: “Eat the flesh of your own hands and feet. Be quick.” The being obeyed. He ate the flesh of his own hands and feet until only his head was left. The head alone could not eat itself.

Śiva saw him reduced to a head and was highly delighted. He spoke in wonder: “You are named Kīrtimukha. Be always present at my doorway. Those who do not worship you first are not dear to me.”

Since then Kīrtimukha stands at the doorway of Śiva temples. Those who do not worship him first at the start find that their worship is fruitless. The name Barbarodbhūta is also linked with the place where Rāhu was released.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 11
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Kārtika Māsa Māhātmya, Chapter 17