Varaha Purana 21.37: Adhyaya 21, Shloka 37
The Disruption of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice, the Hari-Hara Conflict, and the Establishment of Rudra’s Sacrificial Share
Pūrva Bhāga · Yajña Narrative (Ritual Disruption and Asuric Intrusion)
कश्चिदायाति बलवानसुरो ब्रह्मनिर्मितः । यज्ञभागार्थमेतस्मिन् क्रतौ परमदुर्लभम् ॥ २१.३८ ॥
kaścid āyāti balavān asuro brahma-nirmitaḥ | yajña-bhāgārtham etasmin kratau parama-durlabham || 21.38 ||
kashchidAyAti balavAnasuro brahmanirmitaH | yaj~nabhAgArthametasmin kratau paramadurlabham || 21.38 ||
Một asura nào đó đầy uy lực—được nói là do Phạm Thiên (Brahmā) tạo tác—đang tiến đến, mong giành phần yajnabhāga (phần lễ vật hiến tế) trong nghi lễ này, điều cực kỳ khó đạt được.
Sandhi Notes
- कश्चिदायाति = कश्चित् + आयाति (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि)
- बलवानसुरो = बलवान् + असुरः (अनुस्वार/नकार-सन्धि)
- ब्रह्मनिर्मितः = ब्रह्म + निर्मितः
- यज्ञभागार्थम् = यज्ञ + भाग + अर्थम्
- परमदुर्लभम् = परम + दुर्लभम्
Varāha
Power (bala) and even exalted origin (brahma-nirmita) do not justify taking what is not rightfully one’s share in sacred order.
In religious, social, or institutional systems, distinguish rightful duty/portion from opportunistic seizure; protect shared sacred resources from coercive claims.
The verse frames yajña as a guarded cosmic economy: ‘bhāga’ signifies rightful participation in ṛta; the asura’s demand represents tamasic appropriation of sacred energy, which the divine (Varāha/Vişṇu principle) must regulate.
Yajña-bhāga as ‘havis’ guarded by the presiding deity; the approaching asura as the ‘obstruction’ (vighna) to the sacrificial flow.
Adhikāra (fitness/entitlement) governs access to sacred fruits; grasping without adhikāra is avidyā-driven appropriation, producing saṃsāric bondage and conflict.
Sacrificial portions (yajña-bhāga) are not to be seized by the unentitled; contesting havis is an adharma that destabilizes the rite.
Upholding rightful distribution sustains cosmic order; usurpation invites conflict, downfall, and loss of merit.
21.21.37 (alarm); 21.21.39-41 (consultation and battle)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic narrative pattern in which ritual order (yajña/kratu) is tested by disruptive figures, preserving a literary record of how sacrifice and entitlement to offerings were conceptualized in Sanskrit tradition.
No specific geographic location is named in this verse fragment; it focuses on the ritual setting (kratu) rather than a site.
The verse foregrounds the theme of rightful participation in communal rites—implying that access to ritual shares (yajña-bhāga) is regulated and not easily obtained without appropriate standing or authorization.
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