Sati's Death & Virabhadra — Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas
ततश्चतुर्भुजं दृष्ट्वा धर्मराजो गणेश्वरम् तस्थावष्टभुनजो भूत्वा नानायुधधरो ऽव्ययः
tataścaturbhujaṃ dṛṣṭvā dharmarājo gaṇeśvaram tasthāvaṣṭabhunajo bhūtvā nānāyudhadharo 'vyayaḥ
Alors, voyant Gaṇeśvara à quatre bras, Dharmarāja demeura ferme et, devenant à huit bras, l’Impérissable, porta maintes sortes d’armes.
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Dharma is portrayed as unwavering and adaptive: when confronted by intensified force, it does not collapse but manifests greater capacity to uphold order.
Again, it belongs to carita (episodic narrative). While not one of the strict cosmological lakṣaṇas, it supports purāṇic instruction by dramatizing the resilience of dharma.
The escalation from four arms to eight arms symbolizes dharma’s comprehensive jurisdiction—many ‘weapons’ as metaphors for diverse instruments of justice, restraint, and correction; ‘avyaya’ underscores dharma’s indestructibility.