Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 53
दक्षस्य रुद्रनिन्दा-निमित्तकथनम् / The Cause of Dakṣa’s Censure of Rudra
यदा गता सती दक्षं विनिंद्य भयविह्वला । तदा तिरोहिता मंत्रा विहतश्च ततो ऽध्वरः
yadā gatā satī dakṣaṃ viniṃdya bhayavihvalā | tadā tirohitā maṃtrā vihataśca tato 'dhvaraḥ
เมื่อพระสตีทรงหวาดหวั่นสั่นสะท้าน เสด็จไปหลังทรงติเตียนทักษะแล้ว มนตราทั้งหลายก็พลันเลือนหาย; นับแต่นั้นพิธีอธวร (ยัญ) ก็ถูกขัดขวางและพินาศ
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: With Satī’s departure from Dakṣa’s sacrificial sphere, the mantras lose efficacy (tirodhāna), and the yajña collapses—showing that ritual divorced from Śiva-bhakti becomes barren.
Significance: Teaches that mantra and yajña require right sambandha (proper relation) to Śiva; otherwise mantra-śakti is veiled and rites fail.
Type: rudram
Shakti Form: Satī
Role: teaching
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
It teaches that ritual power is not merely mechanical: when dharma is violated through arrogance and disrespect toward Śiva and His devotees, mantra-śakti becomes veiled and the sacrifice collapses—showing that devotion and humility are essential for any sacred act to bear fruit.
Dakṣa’s yajña proceeds without honoring Śiva (the supreme Pati). The verse implies that excluding Śiva from worship renders rites fruitless; in Saguna worship, the Liṅga is the focal support for devotion, aligning the sacrificer with Śiva so that mantras and offerings become spiritually efficacious.
Perform japa with reverence—especially the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”)—and undertake worship with humility and purity; without right bhāva (inner disposition), external rites can become spiritually “obstructed,” like the failed adhvara described here.