Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 2
Dakṣa Offends Lord Śiva: Cursing and Countercursing in the Sacrificial Assembly
कस्तं चराचरगुरुं निर्वैरं शान्तविग्रहम् । आत्मारामं कथं द्वेष्टि जगतो दैवतं महत् ॥ २ ॥
kas taṁ carācara-guruṁ nirvairaṁ śānta-vigraham ātmārāmaṁ kathaṁ dveṣṭi jagato daivataṁ mahat
ચરાચર જગતના ગુરુ, નિર્વૈર, શાંત સ્વરૂપ, આત્મારામ અને દેવતાઓમાં મહાન એવા ભગવાન શિવ પ્રત્યે દક્ષ કેવી રીતે દ્વેષ રાખી શકે?
Lord Śiva is described here as carācara-guru, the spiritual master of all animate and inanimate objects. He is sometimes known as Bhūtanātha, which means “the worshipable deity of the dull-headed.” Bhūta is also sometimes taken to indicate the ghosts. Lord Śiva takes charge of reforming persons who are ghosts and demons, not to speak of others, who are godly; therefore he is the spiritual master of everyone, both the dull and demoniac and the highly learned Vaiṣṇavas. It is also stated, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Śambhu, Lord Śiva, is the greatest of all Vaiṣṇavas. On one hand he is the worshipable object of the dull demons, and on the other he is the best of all Vaiṣṇavas, or devotees, and he has a sampradāya called the Rudra sampradāya. Even if he is an enemy or is sometimes angry, such a personality cannot be the object of envy, so Vidura, in astonishment, asked why he was taken as such, especially by Dakṣa. Dakṣa is also not an ordinary person. He is a Prajāpati, in charge of fathering population, and all his daughters are highly elevated, especially Satī. The word satī means “the most chaste.” Whenever there is consideration of chastity, Satī, this wife of Lord Śiva and daughter of Dakṣa, is considered first. Vidura was therefore astonished. “Dakṣa is such a great man,” he thought, “and is the father of Satī. And Lord Śiva is the spiritual master of everyone. How then could there possibly be so much enmity between them that Satī, the most chaste goddess, could give up her body because of their quarrel?”
FAQs
This verse describes Lord Śiva as nirvaira—naturally beyond hostility—showing that hatred toward such a peaceful, self-satisfied divine protector is irrational and born of ignorance.
The verse honors Śiva as a universal spiritual authority—revered across creation—indicating his role as a great teacher and benefactor for all beings, not limited to any one group.
Cultivate inner steadiness through devotion, self-discipline, and remembrance of the Divine; as peace and self-contentment grow, envy and reactive hatred naturally diminish.