Indra is occasionally described as being in a state of hostility towards Tvastri and his son Visvarupa, and ultimately caused the death of both. This Visvarupa had three heads, called respectively, the Soma-drinker the Wine-drinker, and the Food-eater. On one occasion he declared in public that the sacrifices should be shared by the gods only; but in private he said the asuras (demons) should share them too. And as it is customary to keep promises that are privately made, Indra was afraid that the asuras, obtaining a share of the sacrifices, would be so strengthened as to be able to overthrow his kingdom; he therefore cut off the heads of Visvarupa with his thunderbolt. The three heads were turned into birds: the Soma-drinker became a Kapinjala (a Francoline partridge), for Soma was of a brown colour the Wine-drinker became a Kalavinka (sparrow), because when men are intoxicated they make a noise like a sparrow; the Food-eater became a Tittiri (partridge), which consequently has a great variety of colour, for its body appears to be sprinkled with glut-and honey. Tvastri, enraged because Indra had slain his son, made a libation to the gods, but did not invite Indra to it. Indra, noticing this slight, by force took the vessel containing the Soma juice, and drank it. But he drank more than was good for him. Tvastri, being angry, at once broke off the sacrifice, and used the few drops of

[paragraph continues] Soma left to give effect to a curse. He employed the right formula for accomplishing the death of Indra, but unfortunately laid stress upon the wrong word. So, instead of slaying Indra, he was himself slain by him. [**]

In the Puranas, Tvastri appears under the name of Visvakarma. In the "Vishnu Purana" he is styled "the author of a thousand arts, the mechanist of the gods, the fabricator of ornaments, the chief of artists, the constructor of the self-moving chariots of the deities, by whose skill men obtain subsistence." Though not named as an Aditya in the Vedas, he is generally reckoned as one in the Puranas. In other places he is called a son of Brahma. In pictures he is represented as a white man with three eyes. In his right hand he carries a club. He wears a crown, and is adorned with a necklace and bracelets of gold. He is worshipped once, twice, thrice, or four times each year, according to the devotion of his worshippers. Nowadays, no images of him are set up; each man worships the implements of his trade, as representatives. The carpenter bows down to his hammer, saw, etc.; the bricklayer to his trowel; the peasant to his plough; the student to his books; the clerk to his pen. When the worship is over, the day is spent in feasting and enjoyment.