Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth OrderChapter 5: Frustration of the Sacrifice of Dakṣa

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.5.4

taḿ kiḿ karomīti gṛṇantam āha

baddhāñjaliḿ bhagavān bhūta-nāthaḥ

dakṣaḿ sa-yajñaḿ jahi mad-bhaṭānāḿ

tvam agraṇī rudra bhaṭāḿśako me

SYNONYMS

tamto him (Vīrabhadra); kim — what; karomi — shall I do; iti — thus; gṛṇantam — asking; āha — ordered; baddha-añjalim — with folded hands; bhagavān — the possessor of all opulences (Lord Śiva); bhūta-nāthaḥ — the lord of the ghosts; dakṣamDakṣa; sa-yajñam — along with his sacrifice; jahi — kill; mat-bhaṭānām — of all my associates; tvam — you; agraṇīḥ — the chief; rudraO Rudra; bhaṭaO expert in battle; aḿśakaḥ — born of my body; me — my.

TRANSLATION

When that gigantic demon asked with folded hands, "What shall I do, my lord?" Lord Śiva, who is known as Bhūtanātha, directly ordered, "Because you are born from my body, you are the chief of all my associates. Therefore, kill Dakṣa and his soldiers at the sacrifice."

PURPORT

Here is the beginning of competition between brahma-tejas and śiva-tejas. By brahma-tejas, brahminical strength, Bhṛgu Muni had created the Ṛbhu demigods, who had driven away the soldiers of Lord Śiva stationed in the arena. When Lord Śiva heard that his soldiers had been driven away, he created the tall black demon Vīrabhadra to retaliate. There is sometimes a competition between the mode of goodness and the mode of ignorance. That is the way of material existence. Even when one is situated in the mode of goodness, there is every possibility that his position will be mixed with or attacked by the mode of passion or ignorance. That is the law of material nature. Although pure goodness, or śuddha-sattva, is the basic principle in the spiritual world, pure manifestation of goodness is not possible in this material world. Thus, the struggle for existence between different material qualities is always present. This quarrel between Lord Śiva and Bhṛgu Muni, centering around Prajāpati Dakṣa, is the practical example of such competition between the different qualitative modes of material nature.

<<< >>>

Buy Online Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness