Kirtimukha is described in the Skanda Purana, where Shiva ordered it to be represented at the lintel of the sanctum. It is thus prescribed in famous manuals of architecture such as the Manasara.
Kirti is derived from the Sanskrit root krit, meaning ‘celebrating, praising’. Mukha means ‘face’. Kirti in Sanskrit also means ‘temple’.
The motif is often found on the lintels of the gates, at the corners of the pillars, surmounting the pinnacle of a temple tower or in the iconography of a deity. It is present in all forms of Asian art, in India it is already described above, let’s look at its interpretations in other countries:
1) China : it is a dragon form with a python’s body and a demon head, known as taotie (‘Monster of Greed’).
2) In Tibetan Buddhism, the Kirtimukha are the Buddha’s guardians.
3) In Java, Sumatra and Cambodia, it is called Kāla or sometimes Banaspati (‘King of the Woods’). The Kāla with the Makara-Torana sprouting from it is found in Java and Sumatra as the Kalamakara Torana.
4) In Bali, the motif is today called Bhoma and has has the same function as the Javanese Kāla as a guardian spirit of the temple.
5) In Javanese mysticism, Kāla is the cause of the solar and lunar eclipses and is the consort of Durga.
The motif is especially present in Shiva temples. It is placed at the entrance doors so as to attract the attention of the devotees. Sometimes it is to be found on the pillars and the corners of the ceilings of the roofs or on the head-dresses of the images of deities.