Shloka 30

Adhyāya 283: Varṇa-vṛtti, Nyāya-ārjana, and the Decline-and-Restoration of Dharma (वर्णवृत्तिः न्यायार्जनं च)

Devanagari script

तमुवाचाक्षिप मखं दक्षस्येति महेश्वर: । ततो वक्‍त्राद्‌ विमुक्तेन सिंहेनेकेन लीलया

Transliteration

tam uvācākṣipa makhaṃ dakṣasyeti maheśvaraḥ | tato vaktrād vimuktena siṃhenekena līlayā

Translation

大自在天对它说道：“去倾覆达刹的祭祀！”随即，一头从他口中放出的雄狮，轻而易举、如同戏作一般，便奉命而行。

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उवाच: said/spoke
• उवाच: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• आक्षिप: throw down / cast away
• आक्षिप: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-क्षिप्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मखम्: sacrifice (rite)
• मखम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मख
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• दक्षस्य: of Daksha
• दक्षस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• महेश्वरः: Maheshvara (Shiva)
• महेश्वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: then/from thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• वक्त्रात्: from (his) mouth/face
• वक्त्रात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• विमुक्तेन: released/let loose (by)
• विमुक्तेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-मुच्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• सिंहेन: by a lion
• सिंहेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• एकेन: by one/single
• एकेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• लीलया: playfully/with ease
• लीलया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लीला
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

दक्ष उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Daksha
• Maheshvara (Shiva)
• makha (sacrifice/yajña)
• lion (siṃha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual power and social prestige cannot substitute for humility and reverence; when sacrifice becomes an expression of ego or exclusion, it loses its dharmic grounding and invites correction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Maheshvara orders that Daksha’s sacrifice be overthrown, and a lion—released from his mouth—acts as the instrument of that disruption, emphasizing divine authority over merely formal ritual.