Varaha Purana 21.37: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 37
The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share
Pūrva Bhāga · Yajña Narrative (Ritual Disruption and Asuric Intrusion)
कश्चिदायाति बलवानसुरो ब्रह्मनिर्मितः । यज्ञभागार्थमेतस्मिन् क्रतौ परमदुर्लभम् ॥ २१.३८ ॥
kaścid āyāti balavān asuro brahma-nirmitaḥ | yajña-bhāgārtham etasmin kratau parama-durlabham || 21.38 ||
kashchidAyAti balavAnasuro brahmanirmitaH | yaj~nabhAgArthametasmin kratau paramadurlabham || 21.38 ||
يقتربُ أَسورٌ شديدُ القوّة—يُقال إنّ براهما قد صاغه—طالبًا نصيبًا من قِسمة القربان في هذا اليَجْنَ (yajñabhāga)، وهو أمرٌ بالغُ العُسر نادرُ المنال.
Sandhi Notes
- कश्चिदायाति = कश्चित् + आयाति (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि)
- बलवानसुरो = बलवान् + असुरः (अनुस्वार/नकार-सन्धि)
- ब्रह्मनिर्मितः = ब्रह्म + निर्मितः
- यज्ञभागार्थम् = यज्ञ + भाग + अर्थम्
- परमदुर्लभम् = परम + दुर्लभम्
Varāha
Power (bala) and even exalted origin (brahma-nirmita) do not justify taking what is not rightfully one’s share in sacred order.
In religious, social, or institutional systems, distinguish rightful duty/portion from opportunistic seizure; protect shared sacred resources from coercive claims.
The verse frames yajña as a guarded cosmic economy: ‘bhāga’ signifies rightful participation in ṛta; the asura’s demand represents tamasic appropriation of sacred energy, which the divine (Varāha/Vişṇu principle) must regulate.
Yajña-bhāga as ‘havis’ guarded by the presiding deity; the approaching asura as the ‘obstruction’ (vighna) to the sacrificial flow.
Adhikāra (fitness/entitlement) governs access to sacred fruits; grasping without adhikāra is avidyā-driven appropriation, producing saṃsāric bondage and conflict.
Sacrificial portions (yajña-bhāga) are not to be seized by the unentitled; contesting havis is an adharma that destabilizes the rite.
Upholding rightful distribution sustains cosmic order; usurpation invites conflict, downfall, and loss of merit.
21.21.37 (alarm); 21.21.39-41 (consultation and battle)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic narrative pattern in which ritual order (yajña/kratu) is tested by disruptive figures, preserving a literary record of how sacrifice and entitlement to offerings were conceptualized in Sanskrit tradition.
No specific geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it focuses on the ritual setting (kratu) rather than a site.
The verse foregrounds the theme of rightful participation in communal rites—implying that access to ritual shares (yajña-bhāga) is regulated and not easily obtained without appropriate standing or authorization.
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