A Sacrifice! A YAJNA! In Devaloka!
Who can describe the grandeur!
Crowds and crowds of Siddhas; Sanaka and other sons of Brahma; Prajaapatis; Gods; Sages; Knowers; Seers of Brahman; Brahma himself!
A festival mood prevailed.
Discussions on various topics were in vogue.
Rudra arrived there with his dear spouse Bhavaani.
His Bhuta Ganas [ghost-clan] were there.
Nandi was there.
All stood up with respect.
Acclaiming their good fortune, they all saluted him and praised him with hymns.
At the same time Daksha Prajaapati arrived there with his followers.
Brahma welcomed his son and offered him a seat of honor.
All the Sages and Gods turned their attention towards Daksha.
They all reverently saluted him except Maheshwara!
Daksha felt insulted.
After all he was the father-in-law!
And after marriage the son-in-law had not developed any close relationship with him or his family!
He seemed to be always engaged in love-sports!
Now this Rudra had not even the good manners to get up and salute the Great Daksha Prajaapati, the Creator of so many souls!
His eyes turned red. He glared at Rudra.
‘Humph! What a form! So ugly! Surrounded by ghosts and spirits! Living like a mad person in the cremation ground! Shameless! Acting as he likes! Drinking exotic wines and always in stupor! Always enjoying love sports! A wicked God! Doing always sinful acts! No respect for Brahmins! Arrogant!
Vain-headed! And this fool did not salute me, the greatest being honored by one and all! Who does he think he is? I, a Brahmin getting insulted like this!’
Daksha spoke in many words what he thought about Rudra! After he had exhausted all the words available
in blaming the Great Lord he cursed in anger.
“O you wicked God!
I am boycotting you from all the Sacrifices!
You will not belong to any caste!
You do not have any family to speak of!
You do not even have a house of your own!
Your body does not even have a color to speak of!
You will not get any portion from the Gods in all the Sacrifices!”
Brghu and other Sages also condemned Rudra.
Nandi, the divine vehicle of Shiva could not keep quite!
He eulogized the greatness of his Master and called Daksha a wretched Brahmin.
Daksha was freely throwing curses.
He told them that all the followers of Rudra will be out of Vedas!
Nandi, the son of Shilaada, felt that Daksha was going beyond limits.
He spoke in anger.
“You fool! Why do you curse one and all?
What harm did the Shiva-Ganas do?
How dare you and Brghu and others insult the Highest God?
By the Power of Rudra I curse you all!
May you all never comprehend the Truth of the Vedas even though you may discuss the topics endlessly!
May you not believe in anything other than the Vedas!
May you all perish only desiring the pleasures of the Heaven!
Being filled with desires and anger may you all beg for your food!
Shamelessly you will accept food from one and all!
You will make even Shudras [low-caste] perform Sacrifices!
You all will never become wealthy!
Being helpful to undeserving people, you will even go to hells or wander about as
Brahma-raakshasaas [Brahmin ghosts]!
Since you all Brahmins insulted Shiva thinking him to be an ordinary person, you people will never understand the Higher Truths!
You all will never attain Knowledge!
You Brahmins will just marry and produce children!
You will be able to only recite the words in Vedas, but will never know the real meaning imported by them! You Brahmins will use Vedas only to earn a meager amount of wealth!
This Daksha who insulted My Master and acted in this heinous manner will be bereft of all happiness!
He will forget the path of virtue!
He will wander around with the head of a goat!
It serves you right for acting like a goat!”
The crowd looked on stunned! Nobody moved!
Curses flowed from here to there, there to here!
Nobody wanted to interfere and get the noose on their own head.
Reason seemed to have left the assembly!
Anger reigned supreme!
Shivering from head to toe all stood silently.
Who can stop this warfare of curses? Who else but the Supreme Shiva, the Doer of Good!
He spoke. He consoled Nandi.
He said that ‘he was not affected by any curse.
Only the Brahmins now suffered the curse of Nandi!
Daksha’s curse had no power to hurt him as he was above all this!
Vedas were filled with magically empowered words! Vedas were the Essence of Self!
Let his curse not affect those who seek Self-Knowledge through Vedas!’
Shiva spoke:
“I am the Sacrifice!
I am the Work performed in the Sacrifice!
I am all the limbs of the Sacrifice!
I am the Essence of the Sacrifice!
I am the one engaged in the Sacrifice!
I am the one outside the Sacrifice too!
O Nandi!
Analyze calmly.
Who am I?
Who are you?
Who are all these?
Am I not everything and everybody?
Be rid of your anger.
Be interested in the welfare of the world.
Analyze the Truth!”
Nandi kept quite.
Shiva returned to His Kailaasa abode.
Daksha’s anger increased like the fire by the pouring of ghee.
‘What an act to be put up by this wicked Rudra! First of all he disrespected the Prajaapati!
And got his wretched follower to offer curses on the Brahmins! In the end he gives an incomprehensible lecture and walks away like a great hero! He can fool all by the pretension of virtue; but not him, the Great Daksha!’ Daksha went back, his heart burning in revenge. His only mission in life now was to see that nobody worshipped this wicked Rudra! He talked insulting words about Shiva in all the assemblies. He was blindly walking towards his own destruction! But he did not see the endless pit he was falling into! He was
blind, completely blind!
This is Devaloka!
Powers! Arrogance! Vanity!
Powers of Godhood!
Powers of Penance!
Powers to Curse!
Curses! Curses! Curses!
Daksha’s arrogance resulted in reducing the Brahmins from the state of Knowledge of Brahman to mere Reciting of Vedas! Food, wealth, heavenly pleasures, narrow-mindedness; these qualities became the symbols of Brahmins. Unless anyone really aspired for Self-Knowledge he did not comprehend the Truth about the Vedas. Vedic Mantras were used by these ignorant Brahmins to fool people and earn some meager amount of wealth! All because one Prajaapati disrespected Rudra!
Daksha was fuming.
His campaign against the worship of Rudra did not succeed as he expected.
People who were already devoted to Rudra did not waver in their minds. Some others had realized their mistake in disrespecting Shiva and had corrected their ways. Some powerless Sages who had a lot to gain
by Daksha’s favor just agreed with him on everything. Daksha felt he had to do something himself.
A wonderful idea flashed in his mind.
A Sacrifice!
He will arrange for a Grand Sacrifice and insult Shiva by not inviting him. That would teach that arrogant idiot of Shiva to learn some manners. Parameshvara indeed! Whom does he rule? Ogres and spirits!
Yes! He himself looks like an ogre with that horrible third-eye on his forehead! What did his foolish daughter see in him to offer herself to that fool who dances in the crematory lands! Fie on her and her wayward husband!
Daksha was fuming.
Daksha arranged for the greatest Sacrifice ever-known in the history of Deva-Loka. All Sages were invited. Agastya, Kaashyapa, Vaamadeva, Dadheechi, Vyaasa, Bharadvaja, Gotama, Paila, Paraashara, Garga, Bhargava, Kakhubha, Sira, Sumantu, Trika, Kanka, Vaishampaayana, and many other Sages, Gods were all invited. All were deluded.
Brahma also arrived with his followers. Even Vishnu was brought with honor to bless the Sacrifice.
And charity? Beautiful palaces built by Vishva-karma were given as gifts.
Brahma was requested to conduct the Sacrifice. He knew the Tri-Vedic ceremonies.
But, did he know Shiva? Why did he fail to advise Daksha?
Vishnu silently observed the proceedings. He seemed to know the results of an improper Sacrifice. He was just a neutral witness to everything that happened. He kept his mind absorbed in the essence of Shiva.
The Gods of the Quarters stood with fierce-looking weapons at the door-way.
The Deity of the Sacrifice YAJNA appeared there pleasing the eyes of everyone.
All the Great Sages themselves uttered the Vedic Hymns.
AGNI had taken countless forms to accept the HAVIS.
Eighty eight thousand RITVIJAS were offering ghee into the fires.
Forty eight thousand UDGAATHAS were singing Saama Veda.
And countless ADVARYUS, HOTRS; all Four categories of Vedic Masters who were necessary in the performance of any Sacrifice; Naarada and other Sages equal to him; Seven Sages; all were engaged in reciting the Vedas.
GANDHARVAS, VIDHYADHARAS, SIDDHAS, SUN, and other Great Gods, even ‘beings’ who roamed Naga-Loka were there.
All Divine Sages, Royal Sages, Brahmin Sages were there with their families, ministers and armies.
VASUS were also participating.
Daksha himself shone like a moon among stars.
Only RUDRA was left out.
Daksha maintained that RUDRA was a KAPAALI, a beggar with a bowl. So RUDRA did not deserve to be in the Sacrifice. And, Daakshaayini, his own daughter…?
No! Being the wife of a KAPAALI she also did not deserve an invitation.
All were absorbed in the Performance of the Sacrifice.
Sage DADHICHI felt a thorn in his mind. He missed the Presence of SHIVA. He spoke out his mind.
He was of the opinion that if the auspicious form of SHIVA was not there, it will lead to inauspicious happenings. He instructed Daksha to send some honored guests and bring SHIVA to the Sacrifice.
Daksha retorted angrily.
“What do you mean? Bring Shiva here? Why? What for?
Vishnu, the ‘Greatest God’ is here! Brahma is here making this place into a Satya-Loka.
Sages like you are there!
The Performance of the YAJNA is going on faultlessly. What need do we have of that worthless being?
I was a fool to listen to Brahma’s words and give my daughter off to him!
He has no parents. He lives with spirits and demons. He thinks too much of himself. Like a fool, he remains silent always. Envy reigns in his heart. What will that beggar do in this Great Sacrifice of mine?
Do not force me to get angry. You people are enough to bless this YAJNA!”
DADHICHI held onto his opinion. He spoke with determination.
“Listen all of you! Without the Presence of Shiva, this YAJNA is not at all a YAJNA! Destruction awaits this unrighteous YAJNA!” He left the Sacrificial grounds and walked out! Only DADHICHI knew the Principle of Shiva! He would rather have Shiva than the palaces offered by Daksha! Some other Sages and Gods, who were the devotees of Shiva, used the opportunity to get out of that place after throwing some curses.
Daksha did not bother. He just called them fools and continued the Sacrificial duties.
How would an ignorant child know the power of the fire, when it is trying to touch it!
Fire burns! Only when you touch it foolishly!
Like an ‘ignorant child’, Daksha had his revenge! He had insulted Shiva!
An ant had insulted the elephant by not inviting the elephant to its party!
Little did the elephant know the elephant-foot which was descending down on its head.
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