Destruction of the Sacrifice

Vayu said

He saw the great sacrifice, decked with colourful flags and covers, and the very energetic gods led by Vishnu. Darbha grass lay in straight rows and the fire was well kindled. The golden sacrificial vessels shone, adorned. Rishis skilled in conducting sacrifices were following the proper rites, and by the Vedic rules the many ceremonies were done correctly. There were thousands of divine women and crowds of excellent apsaras, with the sound of veenas and flutes together with chanting of the brahman. The powerful Virabhadra saw Daksha's sacrifice and roared like a lion with a sound like a rumbling cloud. The earth was filled with tumult. It came from the ganeshvaras and was louder than the sea. All the dwellers of heaven were terrified at the roar and ran in all directions, their garments and ornaments in disarray. "Has great Meru been shattered? What is this? Has the earth split? What is this?" the gods cried loudly. Hearing it, some gave up their lives in fear, as great elephants do in the forest when they hear lions roar. The mountains shattered and the earth shook. The wind whirled and churned the home of the sea monsters. The fire did not blaze and the sun did not shine. The planets, nakshatras and stars lost their light.

At that moment the illustrious Virabhadra reached the dazzling arena with Bhadra and the ganas. Daksha saw him and was afraid, but pretended not to be, and stood firm. He spoke angry words: "Who are you, and what do you want?" Hearing the evil-souled Daksha, the very energetic Virabhadra answered in a voice that thundered like a cloud. He glanced at Daksha, the devas and the priests and seemed to smile. Fearless, he spoke fitting words of deep import. Virabhadra said: "All of us are followers of the infinitely energetic Sharva. We have come wanting our shares, so give them to us. If no share was planned for us in this sacrifice, tell us the reason. Otherwise let the immortals fight me." Addressed so by the lord of the ganas, the devas, with Daksha leading, said: "The mantras are the proof. We are not the ones who decided." The mantras broke in: "Gods, delusion has taken your wits. That is why you have not given the first share of the sacrifice to Maheshvara." Though the mantras said this, all the devas were foolish. They did not give Virabhadra a share and wished to shut him out. The true words of the mantras were like medicine, and when they were ignored the mantras left and went to Brahma's eternal world.

Then the leader of the ganas spoke to the devas with Vishnu at their head: "Proud of your strength, you have not accepted the mantras as proof. We have been dishonoured at this sacrifice arranged by the devas. So I will take your lives and your insolence." With this, the illustrious one looked angrily at the large sacrificial arena and burned it, as Hara had burned Tripura in earlier times.

The ganeshvaras, bodies big as mountains, pulled up the sacrificial posts and tied them with ropes around the necks of the priests. The colourful vessels were broken, ground to powder and thrown into the water. They seized the other sacrificial articles and hurled them into the flow of the Ganga. There were heaps of divine food and drink as large as mountains, rivers of milk and streams of amrita, curd made soft mud, and there were meats of better and lesser kinds, fragrant dishes, tasty drinks, lehya and choshya. The brave ones ate, smeared their mouths and flung the rest away. Born from Virabhadra's limbs, they struck the insolent, weaker gods, with the guardians of the worlds in the lead, using vajras, chakras, great tridents, spears, nooses, broad swords, clubs, swords, bricks, slings and axes. "Cut! Mangle! Hurl away quickly! Kill! Shatter! Take away! Strike! Uproot! Bring down!" Such proud and cruel words were heard, striking fear. Everywhere the ganeshas roared as is fitting in battle. Some rolled their eyes, some gnashed their teeth and bit their lips and palates. They dragged out the stores of austerity from the hermitage and killed them. The sacrificial ladles were seized and flung into fire or water, pots broken, ornamented altars shattered. The bulls among the ganas sang, roared and laughed again and again, drank red wine and danced. The lords of the ganas were like lords of bulls, elephants or deer, many and unmatched, and with Indra they crushed the immortals.

They did things that raised the hair on the body. Some roared and some struck, some ran about and some talked on and on, some danced and some laughed, some leapt and some crushed with their strength. Some wanted to seize the water-laden clouds. Others leapt up wanting to seize the sun. Some wished to blow along with the wind, others were terrible and struck. Some hurled their supreme weapons and traveled through the sky like mountain peaks. Others whirled the devas away as the son of Vinata acts against great serpents. Some uprooted houses, others the latticed windows and altars. The pramathas, dark as clouds, threw these into the water. They tore out door frames and shattered halls and windows by their strength. Everything in the arena was destroyed and became like a sentence with no meaning. As the houses were pulled down many women shrieked: "Alas! Protector! Father! Son! Brother! Mother! Uncle!"