the cup which is the mundane egg, the wine which is the
essence of creation." His faces (evidently five) are terrible to look at, like those of death, and threaten to swallow the universe.
Kalagni-Rudra " the terrible or fiery Rudra " described in KALAGNI- the Kdsyapa-Silpa, closely resembles Bhairava and is perhaps RUI)R A. only another form of him. 1 He holds the weapons sword and shield, the arrow and the bow and wears a red cloth. The illustration from Durgi (fig. 99) is very likely one of Kalagni-Rudra.
XXIII
Vlrabhadra is one of the many Saiva demi-gods (ganas)- 3 VIRABHADRA. He is said to have sprung from a lock of Siva's hair when, as already stated, Siva heard of the suicide of his wife SatI in her father's sacrificial fire and flew into a rage. From the fire of his anger came into existence this terrible form, as of Death manifest, who destroyed the sacrificial ceremonies of Daksha and slew Daksha himself. The Pdnchardtrdgama describes Vlrabhadra as black in colour, having three eyes and holding in his four arms a sword, arrow, bow and club. He wears a garland of skulls and has sandals on his feet. A yellow garment is tied round his loins. 3 The Silparatna describes him as having eight hands and riding on vetdla (a demon) surrounded by his ganas (followers). From the Brihadlsvara temple at Tanjore comes a sculptured panel (fig. 100) in which a woman, perhaps the wife of Daksha, is seen flying in alarm with upraised hands at seeing her husband decapitated by Vlrabhadra before her very eyes and the severed head thrown into the sacrificial fire-pit. One of the attendant priests with a ladle in his hand is also represented in the act of running away from the scene. A fine figure of Vlrabhadra with the bow and arrow, sword and shield, comes from Mudigondam in the Coimbatore district (fig. lOl). The god is represented standing on a padma- pltha in front. of a prabhd-mandala, " an arch of light ". At the edge of the pedestal on the right side is shown Daksha who was, however, revived by Siva with the head of a sheep substituted for the one that was burnt in the sacrificial fire.
1 The Rudrayatnala-TdKtra includes the name Kalagni-Rudra among the 64 varieties of Bhairava.
2 Kasikhanda. In the lexicon Amarakosa Siva himself is called the destroyer of the sacrifice (Kratudhvamsin).
3 The Karatiagama adds that he has Bhadrakall by his side and is fierce, Daksha with the sheep's head, two eyes and two arms, stands on the right side of Virabhadra.