Shloka 51
Adhyāya 283: Varṇa-vṛtti, Nyāya-ārjana, and the Decline-and-Restoration of Dharma (वर्णवृत्तिः न्यायार्जनं च)
ऊचुः प्राउज्जलय: सर्वे कथ्यतां को भवानिति | तब ब्रह्मा आदि देवता तथा प्रजापति दक्ष--ये सब के-सब हाथ जोड़कर बोले --देवदेव! कहिये, आप कौन हैं?” || ५० है ।।
Vīrabhadra uvāca: Nāhaṃ rudro na vā devī naiva bhoktum ihāgataḥ.
Brahmā cùng hết thảy chư thiên, và Dakṣa—bậc Prajāpati—đều chắp tay thưa: “Ôi Đấng của các thần! Xin cho biết ngài là ai?” Vīrabhadra đáp: “Ta chẳng phải Rudra, cũng chẳng phải Nữ Thần; ta cũng không đến đây để hưởng phần tế lễ hay tìm thú vui.”
वीरभद्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes non-self-interested action: the speaker denies coming for enjoyment or reward, pointing to a principle that true duty or divine mission is not driven by personal consumption but by a larger moral-cosmic necessity.
Vīrabhadra responds to questioning about his identity and purpose. He refuses to be reduced to familiar divine labels (Rudra/Devī) and clarifies that his presence is not for receiving offerings or pleasures, setting a grave tone for the events connected with enforcing order around sacrificial and ethical transgression.