SB 4.6.1-2: All the priests and other members of the sacrificial assembly and all the demigods, having been defeated by the soldiers of Lord
Śiva and injured by weapons like tridents and swords, approached Lord
Brahmā with great fear. After offering him obeisances, they began to speak in detail of all the events which had taken place.
SB 4.6.3: Both Lord
Brahmā and
Viṣṇu had already known that such events would occur in the sacrificial arena of
Dakṣa, and knowing beforehand, they did not go to the sacrifice.
SB 4.6.4: When Lord
Brahmā heard everything from the demigods and the members who had attended the sacrifice, he replied: You cannot be happy in executing a sacrifice if you blaspheme a great personality and thereby offend his lotus feet. You cannot have happiness in that way.
SB 4.6.5: You have excluded Lord
Śiva from taking part in the sacrificial results, and therefore you are all offenders at his lotus feet. Still, if you go without mental reservations and surrender unto him and fall down at his lotus feet, he will be very pleased.
SB 4.6.6: Lord
Brahmā also advised them that Lord
Śiva is so powerful that by his anger all the planets and their chief controllers can be destroyed immediately. Also, he said that Lord
Śiva was especially sorry because he had recently lost his dear wife and was also very much afflicted by the unkind words of
Dakṣa. Under the circumstances, Lord
Brahmā suggested, it would behoove them to go at once and beg his pardon.
SB 4.6.7: Lord
Brahmā said that no one, not even himself,
Indra, all the members assembled in the sacrificial arena, or all the sages, could know how powerful Lord
Śiva is. Under the circumstances, who would dare to commit an offense at his lotus feet?.
SB 4.6.8: After thus instructing all the demigods, the Pitās and the lords of the living entities, Lord
Brahmā took them with him and left for the abode of Lord
Śiva, known as the
Kailāsa Hill.
SB 4.6.9: The abode known as
Kailāsa is full of different herbs and vegetables, and it is sanctified by Vedic hymns and mystic
yoga practice. Thus the residents of that abode are demigods by birth and have all mystic powers. Besides them there are other human beings, who are known as Kinnaras and Gandharvas and are accompanied by their beautiful wives, who are known as Apsarās, or angels.
SB 4.6.10:
Kailāsa is full of mountains filled with all kinds of valuable jewels and minerals and surrounded by all varieties of valuable trees and plants. The top of the hill is nicely decorated by various types of deer.
SB 4.6.11: There are many waterfalls, and in the mountains there are many beautiful caves in which the very beautiful wives of the mystics are found.
SB 4.6.12: On
Kailāsa Hill there is always the rhythmical sound of the peacocks' sweet vibrations and the bees' humming. Cuckoos are always singing, and other birds whisper amongst themselves.
SB 4.6.13: There are tall trees with straight branches that appear to call the sweet birds, and when herds of elephants pass through the hills, it appears that the
Kailāsa Hill moves with them. When the waterfalls resound, it appears that
Kailāsa Hill does also.
SB 4.6.14-15: The whole of
Kailāsa Hill is decorated with various kinds of trees, of which the following names may be mentioned:
mandāra,
pārijāta,
sarala,
tamāla,
tāla,
kovidāra,
āsana,
arjuna,
āmra-
jāti (mango),
kadamba,
dhūli-
kadamba,
nāga,
punnāga,
campaka,
pāṭala,
aśoka,
bakula,
kunda and
kurabaka. The entire hill is decorated with such trees, which produce flowers with fragrant aromas.
SB 4.6.16: There are other trees also which decorate the hill, such as the golden lotus flower, the cinnamon tree,
mālatī,
kubja,
mallikā and
mādhavī.
SB 4.6.17:
Kailāsa Hill is also decorated with such trees as
kata, jackfruit, julara, banyan trees, plakṣas, nyagrodhas and trees producing asafoetida. Also there are trees of betel nuts and bhūrja-
patra, as well as rājapūga, blackberries and similar other trees.
SB 4.6.18: There are mango trees,
priyāla,
madhuka and ińguda. Besides these there are other trees, like thin bamboos,
kīcaka and varieties of other bamboo trees, all decorating the tract of
Kailāsa Hill.
SB 4.6.19-20: There are different kinds of lotus flowers, such as
kumuda,
utpala and
śatapatra. The forest appears to be a decorated garden, and the small lakes are full of various kinds of birds who whisper very sweetly. There are many kinds of other animals also, like deer, monkeys, boars, lions, ṛkṣas, śalyakas, forest cows, forest asses, tigers, small deer, buffalo and many other animals, who are fully enjoying their lives.
SB 4.6.21: There are varieties of deer, such as
karṇāntra,
ekapada,
aśvāsya,
vṛka and
kastūrī, the deer which bears musk. Besides the deer there are many banana trees which decorate the small hillside lakes very nicely.
SB 4.6.22: There is a small lake named
Alakanandā in which
Satī used to take her bath, and that lake is especially auspicious. All the demigods, after seeing the specific beauty of
Kailāsa Hill, were struck with wonder at the great opulence to be found there.
SB 4.6.23: Thus the demigods saw the wonderfully beautiful region known as
Alakā in the forest known as
Saugandhika, which means "full of fragrance." The forest is known as
Saugandhika because of its abundance of lotus flowers.
SB 4.6.24: They also saw the two rivers named
Nandā and
Alakanandā. These two rivers are sanctified by the dust of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Govinda.
SB 4.6.25: My dear
Kṣattā,
Vidura, the celestial damsels come down to those rivers in their airplanes with their husbands, and after sexual enjoyment, they enter the water and enjoy sprinkling their husbands with water.
SB 4.6.26: After the damsels of the heavenly planets bathe in the water, it becomes yellowish and fragrant due to the
kuńkuma from their bodies. Thus the elephants come to bathe there with their wives, the she-elephants, and they also drink the water, although they are not thirsty.
SB 4.6.27: The airplanes of the heavenly denizens are bedecked with pearls, gold and many valuable jewels. The heavenly denizens are compared to clouds in the sky decorated with occasional flashes of electric lightning.
SB 4.6.28: While traveling, the demigods passed over the forest known as
Saugandhika, which is full of varieties of flowers, fruits and desire trees. While passing over the forest, they also saw the regions of Yakṣeśvara.
SB 4.6.29: In that celestial forest there were many birds whose necks were colored reddish and whose sweet sounds mixed with the humming of the bees. The lakes were abundantly decorated with crying swans as well as strong-stemmed lotus flowers.
SB 4.6.30: All these atmospheric influences unsettled the forest elephants who flocked together in the sandalwood forest, and the blowing wind agitated the minds of the damsels there for further sexual enjoyment.
SB 4.6.31: They also saw that the bathing ghāṭas and their staircases were made of
vaidūrya-
maṇi. The water was full of lotus flowers. Passing by such lakes, the demigods reached a place where there was a great banyan tree.
SB 4.6.32: That banyan tree was eight hundred miles high, and its branches spread over six hundred miles around. The tree cast a fine shade which permanently cooled the temperature, yet there was no noise of birds.
SB 4.6.33: The demigods saw Lord
Śiva sitting under that tree, which was competent to give perfection to mystic yogīs and deliver all people. As grave as time eternal, he appeared to have given up all anger.
SB 4.6.34: Lord
Śiva sat there, surrounded by saintly persons like
Kuvera, the master of the Guhyakas, and the four Kumāras, who were already liberated souls. Lord
Śiva was grave and saintly.
SB 4.6.35: The demigods saw Lord
Śiva situated in his perfection as the master of the senses, knowledge, fruitive activities and the path of achieving perfection. He was the friend of the entire world, and by virtue of his full affection for everyone, he was very auspicious.
SB 4.6.36: He was seated on a deerskin and was practicing all forms of austerity. Because his body was smeared with ashes, he looked like an evening cloud. On his hair was the sign of a half-moon, a symbolic representation.
SB 4.6.37: He was seated on a straw mattress and speaking to all present, including the great sage
Nārada, to whom he specifically spoke about the Absolute Truth.
SB 4.6.38: His left leg was placed on his right thigh, and his left hand was placed on his left thigh. In his right hand he held rudrākṣa beads. This sitting posture is called
vīrāsana. He sat in the
vīrāsana posture, and his finger was in the mode of argument.
SB 4.6.39: All the sages and demigods, headed by
Indra, offered their respectful obeisances unto Lord
Śiva with folded hands. Lord
Śiva was dressed in saffron garments and absorbed in trance, thus appearing to be the foremost of all sages.
SB 4.6.40: Lord
Śiva's lotus feet were worshiped by both the demigods and demons, but still, in spite of his exalted position, as soon as he saw that Lord
Brahmā was there among all the other demigods, he immediately stood up and offered him respect by bowing down and touching his lotus feet, just as Vāmanadeva offered His respectful obeisances to
Kaśyapa Muni.
SB 4.6.41: All the sages who were sitting with Lord
Śiva, such as
Nārada and others, also offered their respectful obeisances to Lord
Brahmā. After being so worshiped, Lord
Brahmā, smiling, began to speak to Lord
Śiva.
SB 4.6.42: Lord
Brahmā said: My dear Lord
Śiva, I know that you are the controller of the entire material manifestation, the combination father and mother of the cosmic manifestation, and the Supreme
Brahman beyond the cosmic manifestation as well. I know you in that way.
SB 4.6.43: My dear lord, you create this cosmic manifestation, maintain it, and annihilate it by expansion of your personality, exactly as a spider creates, maintains and winds up its web.
SB 4.6.44: My dear lord, Your Lordship has introduced the system of sacrifices through the agency of
Dakṣa, and thus one may derive the benefits of religious activities and economic development. Under your regulative principles, the institution of the four varṇas and āśramas is respected. The brāhmaṇas therefore vow to follow this system strictly.
SB 4.6.45: O most auspicious lord, you have ordained the heavenly planets, the spiritual
Vaikuṇṭha planets and the impersonal
Brahman sphere as the respective destinations of the performers of auspicious activities. Similarly, for others, who are miscreants, you have destined different kinds of hells which are horrible and ghastly. Yet sometimes it is found that their destinations are just the opposite. It is very difficult to ascertain the cause of this.
SB 4.6.46: My dear Lord, devotees who have fully dedicated their lives unto your lotus feet certainly observe your presence as
Paramātmā in each and every being, and as such they do not differentiate between one living being and another. Such persons treat all living entities equally. They never become overwhelmed by anger like animals, who can see nothing without differentiation.
SB 4.6.47: Persons who observe everything with differentiation, who are simply attached to fruitive activities, who are mean minded, who are always pained to see the flourishing condition of others and who thus give distress to them by uttering harsh and piercing words have already been killed by providence. Thus there is no need for them to be killed again by an exalted personality like you.
SB 4.6.48: My dear lord, if in some places materialists, who are already bewildered by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Godhead, sometimes commit offenses, a saintly person, with compassion, does not take this seriously. Knowing that they commit offenses because they are overpowered by the illusory energy, he does not show his prowess to counteract them.
SB 4.6.49: My dear lord, you are never bewildered by the formidable influence of the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you are omniscient and should be merciful and compassionate toward those who are bewildered by the same illusory energy and are very much attached to fruitive activities.
SB 4.6.50: My dear Lord
Śiva, you are a shareholder of a portion of the sacrifice, and you are the giver of the result. The bad priests did not deliver your share, and therefore you destroyed everything, and the sacrifice remains unfinished. Now you can do the needful and take your rightful share.
SB 4.6.51: My dear lord, by your mercy the performer of the sacrifice (King
Dakṣa) may get back his life,
Bhaga may get back his eyes,
Bhṛgu his mustache, and
Pūṣā his teeth.
SB 4.6.52: O Lord
Śiva, may the demigods and the priests whose limbs have been broken by your soldiers recover from the injuries by your grace.
SB 4.6.53: O destroyer of the sacrifice, please take your portion of the sacrifice and let the sacrifice be completed by your grace.
SB 4.7.1: The sage Maitreya said: O mighty-armed
Vidura, Lord
Śiva, being thus pacified by the words of Lord
Brahmā, spoke as follows in answer to Lord
Brahmā's request.
SB 4.7.2: Lord
Śiva said: My dear father,
Brahmā, I do not mind the offenses created by the demigods. Because these demigods are childish and less intelligent, I do not take a serious view of their offenses, and I have punished them only in order to right them.
SB 4.7.3: Lord
Śiva continued: Since the head of
Dakṣa has already been burned to ashes, he will have the head of a goat. The demigod known as
Bhaga will be able to see his share of sacrifice through the eyes of
Mitra.
SB 4.7.4: The demigod
Pūṣā will be able to chew only through the teeth of his disciples, and if alone, he will have to satisfy himself by eating dough made from chickpea flour. But the demigods who have agreed to give me my share of the sacrifice will recover from all their injuries.
SB 4.7.5: Those who have had their arms cut off will have to work with the arms of Aśvinī-
kumāra, and those whose hands were cut off will have to do their work with the hands of
Pūṣā. The priests will also have to act in that manner. As for
Bhṛgu, he will have the beard from the goat's head.
SB 4.7.6: The great sage Maitreya said: My dear
Vidura, all the personalities present were very much satisfied in heart and soul upon hearing the words of Lord
Śiva, who is the best among the benedictors.
SB 4.7.7: Thereafter,
Bhṛgu, the chief of the great sages, invited Lord
Śiva to come to the sacrificial arena. Thus the demigods, accompanied by the sages, Lord
Śiva, and Lord
Brahmā, all went to the place where the great sacrifice was being performed.
SB 4.7.8: After everything was executed exactly as directed by Lord
Śiva,
Dakṣa's body was joined to the head of the animal meant to be killed in the sacrifice.
SB 4.7.9: When the animal's head was fixed on the body of King
Dakṣa,
Dakṣa was immediately brought to consciousness, and as he awakened from sleep, the King saw Lord
Śiva standing before him.
SB 4.7.10: At that time, when
Dakṣa saw Lord
Śiva, who rides upon a bull, his heart, which was polluted by envy of Lord
Śiva, was immediately cleansed, just as the water in a lake is cleansed by autumn rains.
SB 4.7.11: King
Dakṣa wanted to offer prayers to Lord
Śiva, but as he remembered the ill-fated death of his daughter
Satī, his eyes filled with tears, and in bereavement his voice choked up, and he could not say anything.
SB 4.7.12: At this time, King
Dakṣa, afflicted by love and affection, was very much awakened to his real senses. With great endeavor, he pacified his mind, checked his feelings, and with pure consciousness began to offer prayers to Lord
Śiva.
SB 4.7.13: King
Dakṣa said: My dear Lord
Śiva, I committed a great offense against you, but you are so kind that instead of withdrawing your mercy, you have done me a great favor by punishing me. You and Lord
Viṣṇu never neglect even useless, unqualified brāhmaṇas. Why, then, should you neglect me, who am engaged in performing sacrifices?
SB 4.7.14: My dear great and powerful Lord
Śiva, you were created first from the mouth of Lord
Brahmā in order to protect the brāhmaṇas in pursuing education, austerities, vows and self-realization. As protector of the brāhmaṇas, you always protect the regulative principles they follow, just as a
cowherd boy keeps a stick in his hand to give protection to the cows.
SB 4.7.15: I did not know your full glories. For this reason, I threw arrows of sharp words at you in the open assembly, although you did not take them into account. I was going down to hell because of my disobedience to you, who are the most respectable personality, but you took compassion upon me and saved me by awarding punishment. I request that you be pleased by your own mercy, since I cannot satisfy you by my words.
SB 4.7.16: The great sage Maitreya said: Thus being pardoned by Lord
Śiva, King
Dakṣa, with the permission of Lord
Brahmā, again began the performance of the
yajña, along with the great learned sages, the priests and others.
SB 4.7.17: Thereafter, in order to resume the activities of sacrifice, the brāhmaṇas first arranged to purify the sacrificial arena of the contamination caused by the touch of
Vīrabhadra and the other ghostly followers of Lord
Śiva. Then they arranged to offer into the fire the oblations known as puroḍāśa.
SB 4.7.18: The great sage Maitreya said to
Vidura: My dear
Vidura, as soon as King
Dakṣa offered the clarified butter with Yajur
Veda mantras in sanctified meditation, Lord
Viṣṇu appeared there in His original form as
Nārāyaṇa.
SB 4.7.19: Lord
Nārāyaṇa was seated on the shoulder of
Stotra, or
Garuḍa, who had big wings. As soon as the Lord appeared, all directions were illuminated, diminishing the luster of
Brahmā and the others present.
SB 4.7.20: His complexion was blackish, His garment yellow like gold, and His helmet as dazzling as the sun. His hair was bluish, the color of black bees, and His face was decorated with earrings. His eight hands held a conchshell, wheel, club, lotus flower, arrow, bow, shield and sword, and they were decorated with golden ornaments such as bangles and bracelets. His whole body resembled a blossoming tree beautifully decorated with various kinds of flowers.
SB 4.7.21: Lord
Viṣṇu looked extraordinarily beautiful because the goddess of fortune and a garland were situated on His chest. His face was beautifully decorated with a smiling attitude which can captivate the entire world, especially the devotees. Fans of white hair appeared on both sides of the Lord like white swans, and the white canopy overhead looked like the moon.
SB 4.7.22: As soon as Lord
Viṣṇu was visible, all the demigods — Lord
Brahmā and Lord
Śiva, the Gandharvas and all present there — immediately offered their respectful obeisances by falling down straight before Him.
SB 4.7.23: In the presence of the glaring effulgence of the bodily luster of
Nārāyaṇa, everyone else's luster faded away, and everyone stopped speaking. Fearful with awe and veneration, all present touched their hands to their heads and prepared to offer their prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Adhokṣaja.
SB 4.7.24: Although the mental scope of even demigods like
Brahmā was unable to comprehend the unlimited glories of the Supreme Lord, they were all able to perceive the transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His grace. Only by such grace could they offer their respectful prayers according to their different capacities.
SB 4.7.25: When Lord
Viṣṇu accepted the oblations offered in the sacrifice,
Dakṣa, the
Prajāpati, began with great pleasure to offer respectful prayers unto Him. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is actually the master of all sacrifices and preceptor of all the Prajāpatis, and He is served even by such personalities as
Nanda and
Sunanda.
SB 4.7.26:
Dakṣa addressed the Supreme Personality of Godhead: My dear Lord, You are transcendental to all speculative positions. You are completely spiritual, devoid of all fear, and You are always in control of the material energy. Even though You appear in the material energy, You are situated transcendentally. You are always free from material contamination because You are completely self-sufficient.
SB 4.7.27: The priests addressed the Lord, saying: O Lord, transcendental to material contamination, by the curse offered by Lord
Śiva's men we have become attached to fruitive activities, and thus we are now fallen and therefore do not know anything about You. On the contrary, we are now involved in the injunctions of the three departments of the Vedic knowledge under the plea of executing rituals in the name of
yajña. We know that You have made arrangements for distributing the respective shares of the demigods.
SB 4.7.28: The members of the assembly addressed the Lord: O exclusive shelter for all who are situated in troubled life, in this formidable fort of conditional existence the time element, like a snake, is always looking for an opportunity to
strike. This world is full of ditches of so-called distress and happiness, and there are many ferocious animals always ready to attack. The fire of lamentation is always blazing, and the mirage of false happiness is always alluring, but one has no shelter from them. Thus foolish persons live in the cycle of birth and death, always overburdened in discharging their so-called duties, and we do not know when they will accept the shelter of Your lotus feet.
SB 4.7.29: Lord
Śiva said: My dear Lord, my mind and consciousness are always fixed on Your lotus feet, which, as the source of all benediction and the fulfillment of all desires, are worshiped by all liberated great sages because Your lotus feet are worthy of worship. With my mind fixed on Your lotus feet, I am no longer disturbed by persons who blaspheme me, claiming that my activities are not purified. I do not mind their accusations, and I excuse them out of compassion, just as You exhibit compassion toward all living entities.
SB 4.7.30:
Śrī Bhṛgu said: My dear Lord, all living entities, beginning from the highest, namely Lord
Brahmā, down to the ordinary ant, are under the influence of the insurmountable spell of illusory energy, and thus they are ignorant of their constitutional position. Everyone believes in the concept of the body, and all are thus submerged in the darkness of illusion. They are actually unable to understand how You live in every living entity as the Supersoul, nor can they understand Your absolute position. But You are the eternal friend and protector of all surrendered souls. Therefore, please be kind toward us and forgive all our offenses.
SB 4.7.31: Lord
Brahmā said: My dear Lord, Your personality and eternal form cannot be understood by any person who is trying to know You through the different processes of acquiring knowledge. Your position is always transcendental to the material creation, whereas the empiric attempt to understand You is material, as are its objectives and instruments.
SB 4.7.32: King
Indra said: My dear Lord, Your transcendental form with eight hands and weapons in each of them appears for the welfare of the entire universe, and it is very pleasing to the mind and eyes. In such a form, Your Lordship is always prepared to punish the demons, who are envious of Your devotees.
SB 4.7.33: The wives of the performers of the sacrifice said: My dear Lord, this sacrifice was arranged under the instruction of
Brahmā, but unfortunately Lord
Śiva, being angry at
Dakṣa, devastated the entire scene, and because of his anger the animals meant for sacrifice are lying dead. Therefore the preparations of the
yajña have been lost. Now, by the glance of Your lotus eyes, the sanctity of this sacrificial arena may be again invoked.
SB 4.7.34: The sages prayed: Dear Lord, Your activities are most wonderful, and although You do everything by Your different potencies, You are not at all attached to such activities. You are not even attached to the goddess of fortune, who is worshiped by the great demigods like
Brahmā, who pray to achieve her mercy.
SB 4.7.35: The Siddhas prayed: Like an elephant that has suffered in a forest fire but can forget all its troubles by entering a river, our minds, O Lord, always merge in the nectarean river of Your transcendental pastimes, and they desire never to leave such transcendental bliss, which is as good as the pleasure of merging in the Absolute.
SB 4.7.36: The wife of
Dakṣa prayed as follows: My dear Lord, it is very fortunate that You have appeared in this arena of sacrifice. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, and I request that You be pleased on this occasion. The sacrificial arena is not beautiful without You, just as a body is not beautiful without the head.
SB 4.7.37: The governors of various planets spoke as follows: Dear Lord, we believe only in our direct perception, but under the circumstances we do not know whether we have actually seen You with our material senses. By our material senses we can simply perceive the cosmic manifestation, but You are beyond the five elements. You are the sixth. We see You, therefore, as a creation of the material world.
SB 4.7.38: The great mystics said: Dear Lord, persons who see You as nondifferent from themselves, knowing that You are the Supersoul of all living entities, are certainly very, very dear to You. You are very favorable toward those who engage in devotional service, accepting You as the Lord and themselves as the servants. By Your mercy, You are always inclined in their favor.
SB 4.7.39: We offer our respectful obeisances unto the Supreme, who has created varieties of manifestations and put them under the spell of the three qualities of the material world in order to create, maintain and annihilate them. He Himself is not under the control of the external energy; in His personal feature He is completely devoid of the variegated manifestation of material qualities, and He is under no illusion of false identification.
SB 4.7.40: The personified Vedas said: We offer our respectful obeisances unto You, the Lord, the shelter of the quality of goodness and therefore the source of all religion, austerity and penance, for You are transcendental to all material qualities and no one knows You or Your actual situation.
SB 4.7.41: The fire-god said: My dear Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because by Your favor I am as luminous as blazing fire and I accept the offerings mixed with butter and offered in sacrifice. The five kinds of offerings according to the Yajur
Veda are all Your different energies, and You are worshiped by five kinds of Vedic hymns. Sacrifice means Your Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 4.7.42: The demigods said: Dear Lord, formerly, when there was a devastation, You conserved all the different energies of material manifestation. At that time, all the inhabitants of the higher planets, represented by such liberated souls as
Sanaka, were meditating on You by philosophical speculation. You are therefore the original person, and You rest in the water of devastation on the bed of the
Śeṣa snake. Now, today, You are visible to us, who are all Your servants. Please give us protection.
SB 4.7.43: The Gandharvas said: Dear Lord, all the demigods, including Lord
Śiva, Lord
Brahmā,
Indra and
Marīci and the great sages, are all only differentiated parts and parcels of Your body. You are the Supreme Almighty Great; the whole creation is just like a plaything for You. We always accept You as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we offer our respectful obeisances unto You.
SB 4.7.44: The Vidyādharas said: Dear Lord, this human form of body is meant for attaining the highest perfectional objective, but, impelled by Your external energy, the living entity misidentifies himself with his body and with the material energy, and therefore, influenced by
māyā, he wants to become happy by material enjoyment. He is misled and always attracted by temporary, illusory happiness. But Your transcendental activities are so powerful that if one engages in the hearing and chanting of such topics, he can be delivered from illusion.
SB 4.7.45: The brāhmaṇas said: Dear Lord, You are sacrifice personified. You are the offering of clarified butter, You are the fire, You are the chanting of Vedic hymns by which the sacrifice is conducted, You are the fuel, You are the flame, You are the
kuśa grass, and You are the sacrificial pots. You are the priests who perform the
yajña, You are the demigods headed by
Indra, and You are the sacrificial animal. Everything that is sacrificed is You or Your energy.
SB 4.7.46: Dear Lord, O personified Vedic knowledge, in the past millennium, long, long ago, when You appeared as the great boar incarnation, You picked up the world from the water, as an elephant picks up a lotus flower from a lake. When You vibrated transcendental sound in that gigantic form of a boar, the sound was accepted as a sacrificial hymn, and great sages like
Sanaka meditated upon it and offered prayers for Your glorification.
SB 4.7.47: Dear Lord, we were awaiting Your audience because we have been unable to perform the yajñas according to the Vedic rituals. We pray unto You, therefore, to be pleased with us. Simply by chanting Your holy name, one can surpass all obstacles. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You in Your presence.
SB 4.7.48:
Śrī Maitreya said: After Lord
Viṣṇu was glorified by all present,
Dakṣa, his consciousness purified, arranged to begin again the
yajña which had been devastated by the followers of Lord
Śiva.
SB 4.7.49: Maitreya continued: My dear sinless
Vidura, Lord
Viṣṇu is actually the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. Yet because of His being the Supersoul of all living entities, He was satisfied simply with His share of the sacrificial offerings. He therefore addressed
Dakṣa in a pleasing attitude.
SB 4.7.50: Lord
Viṣṇu replied:
Brahmā, Lord
Śiva and I are the supreme cause of the material manifestation. I am the Supersoul, the self sufficient witness. But impersonally there is no difference between
Brahmā, Lord
Śiva and Me.
SB 4.7.51: The Lord continued: My dear
Dakṣa Dvija, I am the original Personality of Godhead, but in order to create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation, I act through My material energy, and according to the different grades of activity, My representations are differently named.
SB 4.7.52: The Lord continued: One who is not in proper knowledge thinks that demigods like
Brahmā and
Śiva are independent, or he even thinks that the living entities are independent.
SB 4.7.53: A person with average intelligence does not think the head and other parts of the body to be separate. Similarly, My devotee does not differentiate
Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, from any thing or any living entity.
SB 4.7.54: The Lord continued: One who does not consider
Brahmā,
Viṣṇu,
Śiva or the living entities in general to be separate from the Supreme, and who knows
Brahman, actually realizes peace; others do not.
SB 4.7.55: The sage Maitreya said: Thus
Dakṣa, the head of all Prajāpatis, having been nicely instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, worshiped Lord
Viṣṇu. After worshiping Him by performing the prescribed sacrificial ceremonies,
Dakṣa separately worshiped Lord
Brahmā and Lord
Śiva.
SB 4.7.56: With all respect,
Dakṣa worshiped Lord
Śiva with his share of the remnants of the
yajña. After finishing the ritualistic sacrificial activities, he satisfied all the other demigods and the other people assembled there. Then, after finishing all these duties with the priests, he took a bath and was fully satisfied.
SB 4.7.57: Thus worshiping the Supreme Lord
Viṣṇu by the ritualistic performance of sacrifice,
Dakṣa was completely situated on the religious path. Moreover, all the demigods who had assembled at the sacrifice blessed him that he might increase his piety, and then they left.
SB 4.7.58: Maitreya said: I have heard that after giving up the body she had received from
Dakṣa,
Dākṣāyaṇī (his daughter) took her birth in the kingdom of the Himalayas. She was born as the daughter of Menā. I heard this from authoritative sources.
SB 4.7.59:
Ambikā [goddess
Durgā], who was known as Dākṣāyiṇī [
Satī], again accepted Lord
Śiva as her husband, just as different energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead act during the course of a new creation.
SB 4.7.60: Maitreya said: My dear
Vidura, I heard this story of the
Dakṣa yajña, which was devastated by Lord
Śiva, from
Uddhava, a great devotee and a disciple of
Bṛhaspati.
SB 4.7.61: The great sage Maitreya concluded: If one hears and again narrates, with faith and devotion, this story of the
Dakṣa yajña as it was conducted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Viṣṇu, then certainly one is cleared of all contamination of material existence, O son of
Kuru.
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