Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 33

दक्षयज्ञदर्शनम् — The Vision of Dakṣa’s Great Sacrifice

and the Onset of Vīrabhadra’s Terror

Devanagari script

यत्रतत्र गणेशानां जज्ञिरे समरोचिताः । विवृत्तनयनाः केचिद्दष्टदंष्ट्रोष्ठतालवः

Transliteration

yatratatra gaṇeśānāṃ jajñire samarocitāḥ | vivṛttanayanāḥ keciddaṣṭadaṃṣṭroṣṭhatālavaḥ

Translation

Ici et là, des troupes de Gaṇeśas surgirent, prêtes pour le combat. Certains avaient les yeux exorbités et dilatés ; d'autres montraient des crocs, les lèvres et le palais tordus par une colère farouche.

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; relative adverb (सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; correlative adverb (तदर्थक-अव्यय)

• gaṇeśānām: of the Gaṇeśas
• gaṇeśānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• jajñire: were born/arose
• jajñire: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• samara-ucitāḥ: fit for battle
• samara-ucitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samara (प्रातिपदिक) + ucita (कृदन्त; √uc/वच्? here adjectival 'ucita' from √ucit/उचित as past participial adjective)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—तत्पुरुष (समराय उचिताः)

• vivṛtta-nayanāḥ: having wide-open eyes
• vivṛtta-nayanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vivṛtta (कृदन्त; √vṛt/वृत् with vi-; past participle) + nayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); बहुव्रीहि—विवृत्ते नयने यस्य ते

• kecit: some (of them)
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• daṣṭa-daṃṣṭra-oṣṭha-tālavaḥ: with bitten/torn fangs, lips, and palates
• daṣṭa-daṃṣṭra-oṣṭha-tālavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daṣṭa (कृदन्त; √daś/दंश् ‘to bite’, past participle) + daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक) + oṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + tālu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); बहुव्रीहि—दष्टाः दंष्ट्रा ओष्ठाः तालवः यस्य ते (bitten/torn fangs, lips, and palates)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Vīrabhadra

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Gaṇa-sṛṣṭi within the Dakṣa-yajña destruction: ‘gaṇeśāḥ’ (lords among gaṇas) manifest spontaneously ‘here and there’ as Śiva’s punitive host multiplies.

Significance: Teaches Śiva’s omnipresent agency: when dharma is violated, corrective forces arise unexpectedly; for devotees, it affirms protection (rakṣaṇa) through Śiva’s retinue.

Characters & Entities

• Ganesha

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It portrays the irresistible emergence of divine forces aligned with Pati (Śiva): when dharma requires protection, Shiva’s gaṇas manifest spontaneously, showing that grace and guardianship arise from the Lord’s will beyond human limitation.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

The fierce, describable forms of the gaṇas emphasize Saguna Shiva’s accessible power—his tangible guardianship for devotees—while implying that these forms proceed from the deeper, transcendent Lord who is ultimately beyond form.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is protective japa of the Panchakshara mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with Shaiva discipline—Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrāksha—cultivating inner steadiness when confronting fear and conflict.