The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share
दक्ष उवाच । गृह्यन्तां द्रुतमस्त्राणि संग्रामोऽत्र विधीयताम् । एवमुक्ते तदा देवैर्विविधायुधधारिभिः । रुद्रस्यानुचरैः सार्धं महद्युद्धं प्रवर्तितम् ॥ २१.४० ॥
dakṣa uvāca | gṛhyantāṁ drutam astrāṇi saṁgrāmo 'tra vidhīyatām | evam ukte tadā devair vividhāyudha-dhāribhiḥ | rudrasyānucaraiḥ sārdhaṁ mahad yuddhaṁ pravartitam || 21.40 ||
ਦਕਸ਼ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ— “ਤੁਰੰਤ ਅਸਤਰ ਲਵੋ; ਇੱਥੇ ਯੁੱਧ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾਵੇ।” ਇਹ ਕਹਿੰਦੇ ਹੀ ਨਾਨਾ ਹਥਿਆਰ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਦੇਵਤੇ ਅਤੇ ਰੁਦ੍ਰ ਦੇ ਅਨੁਚਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਮਹਾਂ ਯੁੱਧ ਛਿੜ ਗਿਆ।
Dakṣa
It preserves a common Purāṇic conflict motif—ritual authority and divine retinues in tension—useful for comparative study across Purāṇas and related Sanskrit narrative traditions.
No specific toponym is stated in this verse; “atra” (“here”) functions as an in-scene deictic reference rather than a named site.
The verse does not present an explicit ethical maxim; it records a command that precipitates violence, serving narratively to mark escalation and the consequences of authoritative injunctions in a contested setting.
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.