Destruction of Daksha's Sacrifice

Vayu said

At that time a chariot appeared from the sky, beautiful, like a thousand suns. A bull was marked on its banner. It had four wheels and was yoked to two jewel-like horses, adorned with jewels and stocked with many divine astras and shastras. Its driver was the same charioteer who had driven Sharva's chariot in the clash with Tripura. On the instruction of Hara, the wielder of the trident, Brahma brought that excellent chariot near. He joined his hands and said: "Illustrious Virabhadra, of fortunate limbs, brave one, Bhagavan with the moon as his ornament commands you to mount this excellent, undecaying chariot. Tryambaka with Ambika is waiting near Raibhya's hermitage. Mighty-armed one, he will watch your intolerable valour." Hearing him, the valiant elephant among the ganas showed favour to the grandfather and climbed onto that supreme chariot. He stood on it with Brahma as charioteer, and Virabhadra's prosperity grew, like that of Rudra, enemy of Tripura. The very strong Bhanukampa picked up a shining, excellent conch like the full moon, put it to his mouth and blew. Its blare was like a swan's call. Hearing it, the digestive fires in the bellies of the devas blazed up in fear. In an instant all the spaces of the sky and the directions were filled with yakshas, vidyadharas, kings of snakes and siddhas who wanted to watch the battle.

Narayana treated the ganas like a herd of bulls and cows. From his Sharnga bow he poured a great shower of arrows like a cloud and gave them pain. Virabhadra saw Vishnu coming, raining hundreds of arrows. He took up his bow and rained thousands of arrows back. He drew that divine terrible bow as if Ishvara were slowly bending Meru. When it was drawn there was a great sound and the earth shook. The illustrious leader of the ganas, fierce in valour, took up a terrible excellent arrow blazing like a poisonous snake. As his hand lifted it from the mouth of the quiver it looked like a serpent about to enter an anthill, like a young snake in the mouth of a huge mighty one. Virabhadra, fierce in valour and angry, struck undecaying Vishnu on the forehead with that thick, fierce arrow. Vishnu, already dishonoured, now struck on the forehead, became angry with the lord of the ganas as a bull is enraged by a lion. With a large cruel arrow like a thunderbolt he pierced the king of the ganas in his serpent-like arm. The immensely strong Virabhadra shot a powerful arrow as bright as ten thousand suns and struck him back on the arm. Vishnu pierced Virabhadra again and Virabhadra pierced Vishnu again. Brahmanas, they kept striking each other with arrows, swiftly shooting powerful shafts. The clash between them was tumultuous and made the hair stand on end. Watching it, loud cries of lament rose from the sky from those who travel there.

Virabhadra took an arrow as bright as the sun with fire at its tip and pierced Vishnu firmly in his broad chest. Struck by it, the blow was fierce, and filled with great faintness he lost his senses and fell to the ground. In a short while Hari recovered his senses and rose, and went on releasing all his divine weapons. The leader of Sharva's army met each weapon from Vishnu's bow with his own terrible arrows. Vishnu's eyes turned red with rage. He took up an arrow with his name inscribed on it, one that had never been turned back, and shot it at Ganeshvara. Raining excellent arrows, the illustrious Virabhadra splintered that supreme arrow into a hundred pieces even as it flew. With many arrows he broke the Sharnga bow in two and struck Garuda's wings with two arrows. He did this in an instant, and it was extraordinary. Then Vishnu by his powers of yoga made many terrible devas from his body, thousands of them holding conches, chakras and maces. The mighty-armed one made a fire from his eyes and, as Shankara did against Tripura, burned them all in an instant. Vishnu grew angrier and at once raised his chakra, wishing to use it against the valiant one.

Ganesha saw him standing before him with the chakra raised. He smiled and, with no great effort, paralysed the hand that held that terrible matchless chakra. Though he wanted to, Vishnu could not release it. He sighed deeply, his raised arm holding the chakra, and stood there numb, motionless as a rock. He was like a lifeless body, like a bull with no horns, like a lion with no teeth. Vishnu was reduced to that state.

Indra and the other gods saw Vishnu in this wretched state. They got ready to fight the lord of the ganas, like bulls trying to fight a lion. They angrily seized weapons and came to the fight. Seeing them in the battle, Virabhadra glanced at them as a hungry lion looks at deer. It was as if the brave one were Rudra's body, surrounded by brave excellent ganas. He laughed loudly and struck them with fear. The performer of a hundred sacrifices held the vajra in his right hand, but as he prepared to hurl it he was reduced to a painted picture. The arms of all the others were made the same, like those of lazy men who can do nothing. In this way the illustrious one brought them all to this position. None of the immortals could stand before him in battle. With limbs paralysed and full of fear, they fled. Afraid in that battle, they could not stand before the brave one's energy. As the gods fled, the brave mighty-armed Virabhadra pierced them with floods of sharp arrows, like a cloud pouring on mountains. His many arms were like clubs and released many blazing weapons, like serpents with flames in their mouths. He loosed many astras and shastras as if the original maker of the universe were releasing them against all beings. As the sun covers the whole earth with its rays, so in an instant he wrapped all the directions in arrows. The arrows of the lord of the ganas were adorned with gold and covered the sky like flashes of lightning. As snakes squeeze the life from frogs, those large arrows took the lives of great numbers of gods. They fell to the ground vomiting blood. Some had severed arms, the faces of others were mangled, others fell with shattered sides, heads cut off and bodies wounded. Many had broken joints, the eyes of some popped out, and they lay dead. Some wanted to burrow into the earth and others to vanish into the sky. Unable to withstand it, they clung to each other. Some entered the earth, others mountain caves, some took refuge in the sky and others in the water. So the brave one mangled the limbs of all the gods. He was like Bhagavan Bhairava devouring all beings. He burned them as the enemy of Tripura had burned Tripura and its fortifications earlier. In this way the whole army of the devas was distressed and terrible to see, their bodies reduced to that pitiable state by Ganeshvara.

A terrible river of blood began to flow from the bodies of the gods and struck terror among beings. The sacrificial ground was soaked in it, like the blood-wet garments of Shyama Koushiki when she killed Shumbha. The terrible battle ended. The earth, terrified and scared, trembled. The great ocean was churned by turbulent waves and eddies. Meteors fell as evil omens. Trees shed their branches. All directions were gloomy and an inauspicious wind blew. Such was the disaster destiny brought on the horse sacrifice. Prajapati Daksha, Brahma's son, was the one performing the sacrifice, Dharma and the others the priests. The one with Garuda on his banner protected it. Indra and the other gods themselves accepted shares. Yet the heads of the sacrificer, the sacrifice and the priests were cut off in an instant. These are the fruits of anything wicked. So one should never undertake a rite that goes against the instructions of the Vedas and leaves Ishvara out. Even if a person performs a hundred highly auspicious sacrifices, without devotion to Maheshvara he gets no fruit from them. Even a person who commits grave sins is freed from all sins if he worships Shiva with devotion. There is no need to ponder this, and no need to say more. Where Shiva is criticized, gifts, austerities, sacrifices and oblations all become futile.

Narayana, the Rudras, the guardians of the worlds and the large numbers of gods fled the battle, badly wounded and pierced by arrows shot from the lord of the ganas' bow. Some could move only with effort, some had dishevelled hair, some huge-bodied ones sat down, some fell, some had mangled faces. Some brave devas perished. Some gods suffered hardship there. They lost garments, ornaments, astras and shastras. Dejected and depressed by that fierce encounter, they dropped their pride, insolence and strength. Ganesha stood in Daksha's wickedly conducted sacrifice and destroyed it with weapons. He was himself unharmed and stood among the lords of the ganas like a lion among bulls.