Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 5
दक्षयज्ञदर्शनम् — The Vision of Dakṣa’s Great Sacrifice
and the Onset of Vīrabhadra’s Terror
दृष्ट्वा दक्षाध्वरे वीरो वीरभद्रः प्रतापवान् । सिंहनादं तदा चक्रे गंभीरो जलदो यथा
dṛṣṭvā dakṣādhvare vīro vīrabhadraḥ pratāpavān | siṃhanādaṃ tadā cakre gaṃbhīro jalado yathā
Voyant le sacrifice de Dakṣa, le vaillant Vīrabhadra, puissant et rayonnant de force, poussa alors un rugissement de lion, grave et retentissant comme un nuage d’orage.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Vīrabhadra
Sthala Purana: At Dakṣa’s adhvara, Śiva’s gaṇa-leader Vīrabhadra manifests to destroy the sacrificial arrogance and restore dharma; the roar signals the onset of saṃhāra within the ritual arena itself.
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Durgā
Role: destructive
Cosmic Event: Rudra-śakti irruption into a śrauta yajña—mythic inversion where the sacrificial order is subjected to Śiva’s higher cosmic order.
FAQs
Vīrabhadra’s thunderous roar signals the collapse of ego-driven ritualism (yajña performed with pride) and the reassertion of Pati (Śiva) as the supreme inner Lord; in Shaiva Siddhānta terms, it warns that karma-kāṇḍa without devotion and right understanding cannot liberate the bound soul (paśu).
Vīrabhadra embodies Śiva’s saguna, protective and corrective power acting in the world; it complements Liṅga-worship by showing that true worship is not mere outer performance but reverent recognition of Śiva’s presence as the indwelling reality behind all rites.
Cultivate humility and Śiva-bhakti alongside any ritual: recite the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with steadiness, and adopt a simple Śaiva discipline (bhasma/tripuṇḍra and Rudrākṣa if initiated), remembering that devotion and surrender must govern all sacred actions.