Tilottama Circumambulates the Assembly, Affecting Shiva and Indra
Before departing, Tilottama pays respect by walking around the divine assembly. Her beauty is so absolute that it physically transforms the greatest gods present, proving her power before she even begins her task.
Before leaving on her mission, Tilottama paid homage to Brahma. Following custom, she began to circumambulate the assembled gods and rishis.
The assembly was arranged with formality: Brahma (the illustrious one) faced east, Maheshvara (Shiva) faced south, the other gods faced north, and the rishis faced various directions. As Tilottama began to walk around them, only two managed to maintain their composure: Indra, king of the gods, and the illustrious god Sthanu (another name for Shiva).
But the test was immediate. As Tilottama passed by Shiva's southern side, his desire to see her was so great that a new face, with eyes of curved lashes, emerged from that side of his head. When she moved behind him to the west, another face emerged from the west. When she went to the north, a fourth face emerged. In this way, the great Mahadeva Sthanu came to possess four faces.
For Indra, the effect was different. One thousand large, red-tinted eyes sprouted everywhere on his body — on his back, on his sides — so that he could watch her no matter where she walked. Thus, the slayer of Bala (Indra) came to possess a thousand eyes.
As Tilottama walked, the entire assembly — all the masses of gods and rishis — turned their heads and bodies to follow her path. Every eye in the hall was fixed upon her.
When the one of such rich beauty finally left for her appointed task, the gods and supreme rishis looked at one another. They did not need to see the outcome. Having witnessed her effect on Shiva and Indra, they believed the act was as good as accomplished. After Tilottama departed, Brahma, the one with the welfare of the worlds in his mind, asked all the gods and rishis to leave.