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prajapateh—of Prajapati Daksa; dagdha-sirsnah—whose head has been burned to ashes; bhavatu—let there be; aja-mukham—with the face of a goat; sirah—a head; mitrasya—of Mitra; caksusa—through the eyes; ikseta—may see; bhagam—share; svam—his own; barhisah—of the sacrifice; bhagah—Bhaga.

Lord Siva continued: Since the head of Daksa has already been burned to ashes, he will have the head of a goat. The demigod known as Bhaga will be able to see his share of sacrifice through the eyes of Mitra.

SB4.7.4

TEXT 4

pusa tu yajamanasya

dadbhir jaksatu pista-bhuk

devah prakrta-sarvanga

ye ma ucchesanam daduh

SYNONYMS

pusa—Pusa; tu—but; yajamanasya—of the performer of the sacrifice; dadbhih—with the teeth; jaksatu—chew; pista-bhuk—eating flour; devah—the demigods; prakrta—made; sarva-angah—complete; ye—who; me—unto me; ucchesanam—a share of the sacrifice; daduh—gave.

TRANSLATION

The demigod Pusa will be able to chew only through the teeth of his disciples, and if alone, he will have to satisfy himself by eating dough made from chickpea flour. But the demigods who have agreed to give me my share of the sacrifice will recover from all their injuries.

PURPORT

The demigod Pusa became dependent on his disciples for chewing. Otherwise he was allowed to swallow only dough made of chickpea flour. Thus his punishment continued. He could not use his teeth for eating, since he had laughed at Lord Siva, deriding him by showing his teeth. In other words, it was not appropriate for him to have teeth, for he had used them against Lord Siva.

SB4.7.5

TEXT 5

bahubhyam asvinoh pusno

hastabhyam krta-bahavah

bhavantv adhvaryavas canye

basta-smasrur bhrgur bhavet

bahubhyam—with two arms; asvinoh—of Asvini-kumara; pusnah—of Pusa; hastabhyam—with two hands; krta-bahavah—those in need of arms; bhavantu—they will have to; adhvaryavah—the priests; ca—and; anye—others; basta-smasruh—the beard of the goat; bhrguh—Bhrgu; bhavet—he may have.

Those who have had their arms cut off will have to work with the arms of Asvini-kumara, and those whose hands were cut off will have to do their work with the hands of Pusa. The priests will also have to act in that manner. As for Bhrgu, he will have the beard from the goat’s head.

Bhrgu Muni, a great supporter of Daksa, was awarded the beard of the goat’s head which was substituted for the head of Daksa. It appears from the exchange of Daksa’s head that the modern scientific theory that the brain substance is the cause of all intelligent work is not valid. The brain substance of Daksa and that of a goat are different, but Daksa still acted like himself, even though his head was replaced by that of a goat. The conclusion is that it is the particular consciousness of an individual soul which acts. The brain substance is only an instrument which has nothing to do with real intelligence. The real intelligence, mind and consciousness are part of the particular individual soul. It will be found in the verses ahead that after Daksa’s head was replaced by the goat’s head, he was as intelligent as he had previously been. He prayed very nicely to satisfy Lord Siva and Lord Visnu, which is not possible for a goat to do. Therefore it is definitely concluded that the brain substance is not the center of intelligence; it is the consciousness of a particular soul that works intelligently. The whole movement of Krsna consciousness is to purify the consciousness. It doesn’t matter what kind of brain one has because if he simply transfers his consciousness from matter to Krsna, his life becomes successful. It is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita that anyone who takes up Krsna consciousness achieves the highest perfection of life, regardless of whatever abominable condition of life he may have fallen into. Specifically, anyone in Krsna consciousness goes back to Godhead, back to home, on leaving his present material body.

srutva midhustamoditam

paritustatmabhis tata

sadhu sadhv ity athabruvan

maitreyah—the sage Maitreya; uvaca—said; tada—at that time; sarvani—all; bhutani—personalities; srutva—after hearing; midhuh-tama—the best of the benedictors (Lord Siva); uditam—spoken by; paritusta—being satisfied; atmabhih—by heart and soul; tata—my dear Vidura; sadhu sadhu—well done, well done; iti—thus; atha abruvan—as we have said.

The great sage Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, all the personalities present were very much satisfied in heart and soul upon hearing the words of Lord Siva, who is the best among the benedictors.

In this verse Lord Siva is described as midhustama, the best of the benedictors. He is also known as Asutosa, which indicates that he is very quickly satisfied and very quickly angered. It is said in Bhagavad-gita that less intelligent persons go to the demigods for material benedictions. In this connection, people generally go to Lord Siva, and because he is always quickly satisfied and gives benedictions to his devotees without consideration, he is called midhustama, or the best of the benedictors. Materialistic persons are always anxious to get material profit, but they are not serious about spiritual profit.

Sometimes, of course, it so happens that Lord Siva becomes the best benedictor in spiritual life. It is said that once a poor brahmana worshiped Lord Siva for a benediction, and Lord Siva advised the devotee to go to see Sanatana Gosvami. The devotee went to Sanatana Gosvami and informed him that Lord Siva had advised him to seek out the best benediction from him (Sanatana). Sanatana had a touchstone with him, which he kept with the garbage. On the request of the poor brahmana, Sanatana Gosvami gave him the touchstone, and the brahmana was very happy to have it. He now could get as much gold as he desired simply by touching the touchstone to iron. But after he left Sanatana, he thought, “If a touchstone is the best benediction, why has Sanatana Gosvami kept it with the garbage?” He therefore returned and asked Sanatana Gosvami, “Sir, if this is the best benediction, why did you keep it with the garbage?” Sanatana Gosvami then informed him, “Actually, this is not the best benediction. But are you prepared to take the best benediction from me?” The brahmana said, “Yes, sir. Lord Siva has sent me to you for the best benediction.” Then Sanatana Gosvami asked him to throw the touchstone in the water nearby and then come back. The poor brahmana did so, and when he returned, Sanatana Gosvami initiated him with the Hare Krsna mantra. Thus by the benediction of Lord Siva the brahmana got the association of the best devotee of Lord Krsna and was thus initiated in the maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

SB4.7.7

TEXT 7

tato midhvamsam amantrya

sunasirah saharsibhih

bhuyas tad deva-yajanam

sa-midhvad-vedhaso yayuh

tatah—thereafter; midhvamsam—Lord Siva; amantrya—inviting; sunasirah—the demigods headed by King Indra; saha rsibhih—with all the great sages, headed by Bhrgu; bhuyah—again; tat—that; deva-yajanam—place where the demigods are worshiped; sa-midhvat—with Lord Siva; vedhasah—with Lord Brahma; yayuh—went.

Thereafter, Bhrgu, the chief of the great sages, invited Lord Siva to come to the sacrificial arena. Thus the demigods, accompanied by the sages, Lord Siva, and Lord Brahma, all went to the place where the great sacrifice was being performed.

The whole sacrifice arranged by King Daksa had been disturbed by Lord Siva. Therefore all the demigods present there, along with Lord Brahma and the great sages, specifically requested Lord Siva to come and revive the sacrificial fire. There is a common phrase, siva-hina-yajna: “Any sacrifice without the presence of Lord Siva is baffled.” Lord Visnu is Yajnesvara, the Supreme Personality in the matter of sacrifice, yet in each yajna it is necessary for all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, to be present.

SB4.7.8

TEXT 8

vidhaya kartsnyena ca tad

yad aha bhagavan bhavah

sandadhuh kasya kayena

savaniya-pasoh sirah

vidhaya—executing; kartsnyena—all in all; ca—also; tat—that; yat—which; aha—was said; bhagavan—the Lord; bhavah—Siva; sandadhuh—executed; kasya—of the living (Daksa); kayena—with the body; savaniya—meant for sacrifice; pasoh—of the animal; sirah—head.

After everything was executed exactly as directed by Lord Siva, Daksa’s body was joined to the head of the animal meant to be killed in the sacrifice.

This time, all the demigods and great sages were very careful not to irritate Lord Siva. Therefore whatever he asked was done. It is specifically said here that Daksa’s body was joined to the head of an animal (a goat).

SB4.7.9

TEXT 9

sandhiyamane sirasi

dakso rudrabhiviksitah

sadyah supta ivottasthau

dadrse cagrato mrdam

sandhiyamane—being executed; sirasi—by the head; daksah—King Daksa; rudra-abhiviksitah—having been seen by Rudra (Lord Siva); sadyah—immediately; supte—sleeping; iva—like; uttasthau—awakened; dadrse—saw; ca—also; agratah—in front; mrdam—Lord Siva.

When the animal’s head was fixed on the body of King Daksa, Daksa was immediately brought to consciousness, and as he awakened from sleep, the King saw Lord Siva standing before him.

The example given here is that Daksa got up as if he were awakened from deep sleep. In Sanskrit this is called supta ivottasthau. The meaning is that after a man awakens from sleep, he immediately remembers all the duties which he must execute. Daksa was killed, and his head was taken away and burned to ashes. His body was lying dead, but by the grace of Lord Siva, as soon as the head of a goat was joined to the body, Daksa came back to consciousness again. This indicates that consciousness is also individual. Daksa actually took another body when he took on the head of a goat, but because consciousness is individual, his consciousness remained the same although his bodily condition changed. Thus bodily construction has nothing to do with the development of consciousness. Consciousness is carried with the transmigration of the soul. There are many instances of this in Vedic history, such as the case of Maharaja Bharata. After quitting his body as a king, Maharaja Bharata was transferred to the body of a deer, but he retained the same consciousness. He knew that although formerly he was King Bharata, he had been transferred to the body of a deer because of his absorption in thinking of a deer at the time of his death. In spite of his having the body of a deer, however, his consciousness was as good as it was in the body of King Bharata. The arrangement by the Lord is so nice that if a person’s consciousness is turned into Krsna consciousness, there is no doubt that in his next life he will be a great devotee of Krsna, even if he is offered a different type of body.

SB4.7.10

TEXT 10

tada vrsadhvaja-dvesa-

kalilatma prajapatih

sivavalokad abhavac

charad-dhrada ivamalah

tada—at that time; vrsa-dhvaja—Lord Siva, who rides on a bull; dvesa—envy; kalila-atma—polluted heart; prajapatih—King Daksa; siva—Lord Siva; avalokat—by seeing him; abhavat—became; sarat—in the autumn; hradah—lake; iva—like; amalah—cleansed.

At that time, when Daksa saw Lord Siva, who rides upon a bull, his heart, which was polluted by envy of Lord Siva, was immediately cleansed, just as the water in a lake is cleansed by autumn rains.

Here is an example of why Lord Siva is called auspicious. lf anyone sees Lord Siva with devotion and reverence, his heart is immediately cleansed. King Daksa was polluted by envy of Lord Siva, and yet by seeing him with a little love and devotion, his heart immediately became cleansed. In the rainy season, the reservoirs of water become dirty and muddy, but as soon as the autumn rain comes, all the water immediately becomes clear and transparent. Similarly, although Daksa’s heart was impure because of his having slandered Lord Siva, for which he was severely punished, Daksa now came to consciousness, and just by seeing Lord Siva with veneration and respect, he became immediately purified.

SB4.7.11

TEXT 11

bhava-stavaya krta-dhir

nasaknod anuragatah

autkanthyad baspa-kalaya

samparetam sutam smaran

bhava-stavaya—for praying to Lord Siva; krta-dhih—although decided; na—never; asaknot—was able; anuragatah—by feeling; autkanthyat—because of eagerness; baspa-kalaya—with tears in the eyes; samparetam—dead; sutam—daughter; smaran—remembering.

King Daksa wanted to offer prayers to Lord Siva, but as he remembered the ill-fated death of his daughter Sati, his eyes filled with tears, and in bereavement his voice choked up, and he could not say anything.

SB4.7.12

TEXT 12

krcchrat samstabhya ca manah

prema-vihvalitah sudhih

sasamsa nirvyalikena

bhavenesam prajapatih

SYNONYMS

krcchrat—with great endeavor; samstabhya—pacifying; ca—also; manah—mind; prema-vihvalitah—bewildered by love and affection; su-dhih—one who has come to his real senses; sasamsa—praised; nirvyalikena—without duplicity, or with great love; bhavena—in feeling; isam—to Lord Siva; prajapatih—King Daksa.

TRANSLATION

At this time, King Daksa, afflicted by love and affection, was very much awakened to his real senses. With great endeavor, he pacified his mind, checked his feelings, and with pure consciousness began to offer prayers to Lord Siva.

SB4.7.13

TEXT 13

daksa uvaca

bhuyan anugraha aho bhavata krto me

dandas tvaya mayi bhrto yad api pralabdhah

na brahma-bandhusu ca vam bhagavann avajna

tubhyam hares ca kuta eva dhrta-vratesu

SYNONYMS

daksah—King Daksa; uvaca—said; bhuyan—very great; anugrahah—favor; aho—alas; bhavata—by you; krtah—done; me—upon me; dandah—punishment; tvaya—by you; mayi—unto me; bhrtah—done; yat api—although; pralabdhah—defeated; na—neither; brahma-bandhusu—unto an unqualified brahmana; ca—also; vam—both of you; bhagavan—my lord; avajna—negligence; tubhyam—of you; hareh ca—of Lord Visnu; kutah—where; eva—certainly; dhrta-vratesu—one who is engaged in the performance of sacrifice.

TRANSLATION

King Daksa said: My dear Lord Siva, I committed a great offense against you, but you are so kind that instead of withdrawing your mercy, you have done me a great favor by punishing me. You and Lord Visnu never neglect even useless, unqualified brahmanas. Why, then, should you neglect me, who am engaged in performing sacrifices?

PURPORT

Although Daksa felt defeated, he knew that his punishment was simply the great mercy of Lord Siva. He remembered that Lord Siva and Lord Visnu are never neglectful of the brahmanas, even though the brahmanas are sometimes unqualified. According to Vedic civilization, a descendant of a brahmana family should never be heavily punished. This was exemplified in Arjuna’s treatment of Asvatthama. Asvatthama was the son of a great brahmana, Dronacarya, and in spite of his having committed the great offense of killing all the sleeping sons of the Pandavas, for which he was condemned even by Lord Krsna, Arjuna excused him by not killing him because he happened to be the son of a brahmana. The word brahma-bandhusu used here is significant. Brahma-bandhu means a person who is born of a brahmana father but whose activities are not up to the standard of the brahmanas. Such a person is not a brahmana but a brahma-bandhu. Daksa proved himself to be a brahma-bandhu. He was born of a great brahmana father, Lord Brahma, but his treatment of Lord Siva was not exactly brahminical; therefore he admitted that he was not a perfect brahmana. Lord Siva and Lord Visnu, however, are affectionate even to an imperfect brahmana. Lord Siva punished Daksa not as one does his enemy; rather, he punished Daksa just to bring him to his senses, so that he would know that he had done wrong. Daksa could understand this, and he acknowledged the great mercy of Lord Krsna and Lord Siva towards the fallen brahmanas, including even himself. Although he was fallen, his vow was to execute the sacrifice, as is the duty of brahmanas, and thus he began his prayers to Lord Siva.

SB4.7.14

TEXT 14

vidya-tapo-vrata-dharan mukhatah sma vipran

brahmatma-tattvam avitum prathamam tvam asrak

tad brahmanan parama sarva-vipatsu pasi

palah pasun iva vibho pragrhita-dandah

vidya—learning; tapah—austerities; vrata—vows; dharan—the followers; mukhatah—from the mouth; sma—was; vipran—the brahmanas; brahma—Lord Brahma; atma-tattvam—self-realization; avitum—to disseminate; prathamam—first; tvam—you; asrak—created; tat—therefore; brahmanan—the brahmanas; parama—O great one; sarva—all; vipatsu—in dangers; pasi—you protect; palah—like the protector; pasun—the animals; iva—like; vibho—O great one; pragrhita—taking in hand; dandah—a stick.

My dear great and powerful Lord Siva, you were created first from the mouth of Lord Brahma in order to protect the brahmanas in pursuing education, austerities, vows and self-realization. As protector of the brahmanas, you always protect the regulative principles they follow, just as a cowherd boy keeps a stick in his hand to give protection to the cows.

The specific function of a human being in society, irrespective of his social status, is to practice control of the mind and senses by observing the regulative principles enjoined in the Vedic sastras. Lord Siva is called pasupati because he protects the living entities in their developed consciousness so that they may follow the Vedic system of varna and asrama. The word pasu refers to the animal as well as to the human entity. It is stated here that Lord Siva is always interested in protecting the animals and the animalistic living entities, who are not very advanced in the spiritual sense. It is also stated that the brahmanas are produced from the mouth of the Supreme Lord. We should always remember that Lord Siva is being addressed as the representative of the Supreme Lord, Visnu. ln the Vedic literature it is described that the brahmanas are born from the mouth of the universal form of Visnu, the ksatriyas are born from His arms, the vaisyas from His abdomen or waist, and the sudras from His legs. In the formation of a body, the head is the principal factor. The brahmanas are born from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to accept charity for worship of Visnu and to spread Vedic knowledge. Lord Siva is known as pasupati, the protector of the brahmanas and other living entities. He protects them from the attacks of non-brahmanas, or uncultured persons who are against the self-realization process.

Another feature of this word is that persons who are simply attached to the ritualistic portion of the Vedas and do not understand the situation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not any more advanced than animals. In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is confirmed that even though one performs the rituals of the Vedas, if he does not develop a sense of Krsna consciousness, then all his labor in performing Vedic rituals is considered to be simply a waste of time. Lord Siva’s aim in destroying the Daksa yajna was to punish Daksa because by neglecting him (Lord Siva), Daksa was committing a great offense. Lord Siva’s punishment was just like that of a cowherd boy, who keeps a stick to frighten his animals. It is commonly said that to give protection to animals, a stick is needed because animals cannot reason and argue. Their reasoning and argument is argumentum ad baculum; unless there is a rod, they do not obey. Force is required for the animalistic class of men, whereas those who are advanced are convinced by reasons, arguments and scriptural authority. Persons who are simply attached to Vedic rituals, without further advancement of devotional service, or Krsna consciousness, are almost like animals, and Lord Siva is in charge of giving them protection and sometimes punishing them, as he punished Daksa.

SB4.7.15

TEXT 15

yo ’sau mayavidita-tattva-drsa sabhayam

ksipto durukti-visikhair viganayya tan mam

arvak patantam arhattama-nindayapad

drstyardraya sa bhagavan sva-krtena tusyet

yah—who; asau—that; maya—by me; avidita-tattva—without knowing the actual fact; drsa—by experience; sabhayam—in the assembly; ksiptah—was abused; durukti—unkind words; visikhaih—by the arrows of; viganayya—taking no notice of; tat—that; mam—me; arvak—downwards; patantam—gliding down to hell; arhat-tama—the most respectable; nindaya—by defamation; apat—saved; drstya—seeing; ardraya—out of compassion; sah—that; bhagavan—Your Lordship; sva-krtena—by your own mercy; tusyet—be satisfied.

I did not know your full glories. For this reason, I threw arrows of sharp words at you in the open assembly, although you did not take them into account. I was going down to hell because of my disobedience to you, who are the most respectable personality, but you took compassion upon me and saved me by awarding punishment. I request that you be pleased by your own mercy, since I cannot satisfy you by my words.

As usual, a devotee in an adverse condition of life accepts such a condition to be the mercy of the Lord. Factually, the insulting words used by Daksa against Lord Siva were enough to have him thrown perpetually into a hellish life. But Lord Siva, being kind toward him, awarded him punishment to neutralize the offense. King Daksa realized this and, feeling obliged for Lord Siva’s magnanimous behavior, wanted to show his gratitude. Sometimes a father punishes his child, and when the child is grown up and comes to his senses, he understands that the father’s punishment was not actually punishment but mercy. Similarly, Daksa appreciated that the punishment offered to him by Lord Siva was a manifestation of Lord Siva’s mercy. That is the symptom of a person making progress on the path of Krsna consciousness. It is said that a devotee in Krsna consciousness never takes any miserable condition of life to be condemnation by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He accepts the miserable condition to be the grace of the Lord. He thinks, “I would have been punished or put into a more dangerous condition of life due to my past misdeeds, but the Lord has protected me. Thus I have received only a little punishment as token execution of the law of karma.” Thinking of His grace in that way, a devotee always surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead more and more seriously and is not disturbed by such so-called punishment.

SB4.7.16

TEXT 16

maitreya uvaca

ksamapyaivam sa midhvamsam

brahmana canumantritah

karma santanayam asa

sopadhyayartvig-adibhih

maitreyah—the sage Maitreya; uvaca—said; ksama—forgiveness; apya—receiving; evam—thus; sah—King Daksa; midhvamsam—unto Lord Siva; brahmana—along with Lord Brahma; ca—also; anumantritah—being permitted; karma—the sacrifice; santanayam asa—began again; sa—along with; upadhyaya—learned sages; rtvik—the priests; adibhih—and others.