Vamana Purana — Sati's Death & Virabhadra, Shloka 31
Sati’s Death and the Assault on Daksha’s Sacrifice: Virabhadra versus the Devas
ततो वरास्त्रैर्गणनायकेन जितः स धर्मः तरसा प्रसह्य पराङ्मुखो ऽभूद्विमना मुनीन्द्र स वीरभद्रः प्रविवेश यज्ञम् / 4.30 यज्ञावाटं प्रविष्टं तं वीरभद्रं गणेश्वरम् दृष्ट्वा तु सहसा देवा उत्तस्थुः सायुधा मुने
tato varāstrairgaṇanāyakena jitaḥ sa dharmaḥ tarasā prasahya parāṅmukho 'bhūdvimanā munīndra sa vīrabhadraḥ praviveśa yajñam / 4.30 yajñāvāṭaṃ praviṣṭaṃ taṃ vīrabhadraṃ gaṇeśvaram dṛṣṭvā tu sahasā devā uttasthuḥ sāyudhā mune
そのときダルマは、ガナの首領の放つ最上の武器に打ち負かされ、迅速に力ずくで制圧されて、背を向け意気消沈した、ああ牟尼の王よ。かのヴィーラバドラは祭祀（ヤジュニャ）へと入り込んだ。祭場の囲いに入ったガナの主ヴィーラバドラを見て、神々はたちまち武器を執って立ち上がった、ああ牟尼よ。
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FAQs
Ritual (yajña) is not merely external performance; it must be aligned with dharma in the deeper sense—humility, right intention, and reverence toward the divine. The personified ‘Dharma’ being subdued signals that when ritual becomes prideful or exclusionary, its claimed righteousness collapses and is corrected by higher divine agency.
Primarily within Vamśānucarita/Carita-style narrative (accounts of divine and cosmic events) rather than sarga/pratisarga. It is an episode of devas and Śiva’s manifestation affecting cosmic order, used to teach dharma through story.
Vīrabhadra entering the yajña symbolizes the intrusion of transcendent truth into a closed, self-justifying ritual system. The Devas rising ‘armed’ reflects how even divine powers can become defensive when confronted with a force that represents uncompromising justice (Śiva’s corrective fury).