Rudra went to Mount Mandara. He cut the head into three parts, separated out the hair and wove it into strands so that he might wear it like a sacred thread around his body. He visited holy places, bathed in sacred waters and continued to meditate. Finally, he gave up the sacred thread and shed off all his clothes so that he was completely naked (nagna).

In this state, Rudra arrived at the city of Kashi (Varanasi). As soon as he bathed in the waters of the Ganga in Kashi, Brahma’s served head came unstuck from Rudra’s thumb. Such is the wonderful sanctity of the holy city of Varanasi. Brahma now appeared and announced that the rite that Rudra had observed would thenceforth be known as nagna kapalika vrata. This vrata helps achieve objectives and even cleanses the sin of killing a brahmana.