Ketaki Curse
Every question on the site tagged Ketaki Curse, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
The reason Ketaki (Kewra) flowers are prohibited in Shiva worship — the flower bore false witness for Brahma, claiming he had reached the top of the Agni Stambha, and was cursed for it alongside him.
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How did Brahma and Vishnu search for the ends of the pillar, and what happened with the Ketaki flower?
Brahma went upward as a swan and Vishnu downward as a boar to find the pillar's ends first — Vishnu returned honestly admitting failure, but Brahma, unable to reach the top, persuaded a falling Ketaki flower to falsely testify that he had seen it, in exchange for boons.
Why did Kaal Bhairava manifest, and what did he do to Brahma for his falsehood?
After Vishnu worshipped the falsely victorious Brahma with sixteen rituals, Lord Shiva manifested in anger directly from the pillar of fire, and a fearsome being — Kaal Bhairava — appeared from His forehead and severed Brahma's fifth head with his fingernails for speaking untruth, incurring Brahmahatya himself in the act.
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