Varaha Purana 21.69: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 69
The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share
भगाक्षिसंस्फोटनदक्षकर्मा गृहाण भागं मखतः प्रधानम् । प्रसीद देवेश्वर नीलकण्ठ प्रपाहि नः सर्वगुणोपपन्न ॥ २१.७० ॥
bhagākṣi-saṁsphoṭana-dakṣa-karmā gṛhāṇa bhāgaṁ makhataḥ pradhānam | prasīda deveśvara nīlakaṇṭha prapāhi naḥ sarva-guṇopapanna || 21.70 ||
O Panie, którego skuteczny czyn był wybiciem oczu Bhagi, przyjmij najprzedniejszą część tej ofiary. Bądź łaskawy, o Panie bogów, o Nīlakaṇṭho; chroń nas, Ty, który jesteś obdarzony wszelkimi cnotami.
Pṛthivī (default attribution; explicit speaker not provided in excerpt)
Will the deity accept the foremost sacrificial share and protect us from danger?
anxious, seeking protection and ritual acceptance
Honor the rightful ‘pradhāna-bhāga’ (foremost share) to the presiding deity in yajña to secure protection and order.
Proper offering sustains auspiciousness and protection; neglect/disrespect of the deity’s share invites obstacles and fear (bhaya) in undertakings.
The verse ties divine protection to yajña-order: the deity who once disrupted Dakṣa’s ritual (Bhaga’s eyes) is also the one who must be properly honored for ritual to bear fruit—power that both breaks and restores dharma.
‘Accept the foremost share of the sacrifice’ foregrounds yajña as cosmic maintenance; the mythic ‘opening/striking of Bhaga’s eyes’ signals the deity’s sovereignty over perception and ritual legitimacy.
Ritual efficacy depends on alignment with īśvara; perception (darśana) and protection are ultimately governed by the divine, not merely by mechanical rite.
Yajña is not autonomous; it is fulfilled when the presiding divine reality is acknowledged as supreme protector and recipient.
In any sacred undertaking, begin with īśvara-prāṇidhāna: dedicate the ‘best portion’ (time, attention, resources) to the divine and act without arrogance.
Stuti sequence around 21.21.68–71; thematic link to 21.21.67’s concern with darśana/adarśana via Bhaga’s eyes
FAQs
The verse preserves a Purāṇic style of ritual invocation (stuti) that integrates older sacrificial terminology (makha, bhāga) with later mythic epithets of Śiva (Nīlakaṇṭha), illustrating continuity and reinterpretation of Vedic ritual language in Purāṇic literature.
No geographic site-name appears explicitly in this verse; it is primarily a liturgical address centered on ritual offering and divine protection.
The verse foregrounds a philosophical instruction of humility and responsibility in ritual action: acknowledging a higher moral authority (deveśvara) and seeking protection through orderly offering and restraint rather than coercion.
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