Shloka 36
Dakṣa’s Sacrifice Restored: Śiva’s Mercy and Nārāyaṇa’s Appearance
यजमान्युवाच स्वागतं ते प्रसीदेश तुभ्यं नम: श्रीनिवास श्रिया कान्तया त्राहि न: । त्वामृतेऽधीश नाङ्गैर्मख: शोभते शीर्षहीन: कबन्धो यथा पुरुष: ॥ ३६ ॥
yajamāny uvāca svāgataṁ te prasīdeśa tubhyaṁ namaḥ śrīnivāsa śriyā kāntayā trāhi naḥ tvām ṛte ’dhīśa nāṅgair makhaḥ śobhate śīrṣa-hīnaḥ ka-bandho yathā puruṣaḥ
Dakṣa’s wife prayed: Welcome, O Lord; it is our great fortune that You have come to this sacrificial arena. I bow to You, Śrīnivāsa—please be pleased and protect us along with Śrī-Lakṣmī. O Supreme Master, without You the yajña has no beauty, like a body without a head.
Another name of Lord Viṣṇu is Yajñeśvara. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that all activities should be performed as viṣṇu-yajña, for the pleasure of Lord Viṣṇu. Unless we please Him, whatever we do is the cause of our bondage in the material world. This is confirmed herein by the wife of Dakṣa: “Without Your presence, the grandeur of this sacrificial ceremony is useless, just as a body without the head, however decorated it may be, is useless.” The comparison is equally applicable to the social body. Material civilization is very proud of being advanced, but it is actually the useless trunk of a body without a head. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without an understanding of Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, any advancement in a civilization, no matter how sophisticated, is of no value. There is a statement in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11):
FAQs
This verse says that even if a yajña has all its ritual “limbs,” without Vishnu it cannot truly shine—like a headless body—because Vishnu is the ultimate enjoyer and purpose of sacrifice.
After the disruption of Daksha’s sacrifice and the ensuing reconciliation, Daksha recognizes Vishnu’s supremacy and seeks His grace and protection, admitting that ritual alone is powerless without the Lord.
External performance (ritual, status, productivity) becomes meaningful when centered on the Divine; devotion, humility, and remembering the Lord give “head” and direction to one’s actions.