Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/80

64 the earth, he liked the idea of securing a companion in Brahma for his travels and this he could gain by uttering a petty lie. So Brahma and the Ketaki flower started together on their downward journey and came to Siva after several Yugas. Brahma, of course, had carefully got by heart what he had heard from the Ketaki about the head of Siva. As soon as they reached the earth, Brahma said to Siva:—"Holy Sir! I have seen your head." Siva understood in himself by his superior powers that it was impossible. Still, to prove that Brahma was uttering a lie, he asked him to describe it. Brahma repeated the story that he had heard from the flower and cited the Ketaki as his witness. "Vile wretch," said Siva to the screwpine, "as you have uttered a falsehood before me, may you never be used in my worship." And even to this day the sweet scented screwpine flower, on account of this curse of Siva, is never used in Siva temples for the worship of Siva. And as Brahma lied before Siva he was cursed to go without temples in this earth. So even now Brahma has no temple in the whole of India. Thus in short runs the legend.