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 ||
दक्ष उवाच— “द्रुतम् अस्त्राणि गृह्यन्ताम्; अत्र संग्रामो विधीयताम्।” एवमुक्ते देवैः नानायुधधारिभिः रुद्रस्यानुचरैः सह महद्युद्धं प्रवर्तितम्।
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.
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