Daksha

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 23 Jul 2011 10:21 and updated at 23 Jul 2011 10:21

VISHNU PURANA NOUN

vp.1.2	destroyer, and lord of creation and preservation; the ruler of the world; unborn, imperishable, undecaying: I will relate to you that which was originally imparted by the great father of all Brahma(), in answer to the questions of Daksha and other venerable sages, and repeated by them to Purukutsa, a king who reigned on the banks of the Narmada. It was next related by him to Saraswata, and by Saraswata to me 9.
vp.1.7	Creation continued. Production of the mind born sons of Brahma; of the Prajapatis; of Sanandana and others; of Rudra and the eleven Rudras; of the Manu Swayambhuva, and his wife satarupa; of their children. The daughters of Daksha, and their marriage to Dharma and others. The progeny of Disarms and Adharma. The perpetual succession of worlds, and different modes of mundane dissolution.
vp.1.7	Parasara. From Brahma, continuing to meditate, were born mind engendered progeny, with forms and faculties derived from his corporeal nature; embodied spirits, produced from the person of that all wise deity. All these beings, front the gods to inanimate things, appeared as I have related to you 1, being the abode of the three qualities: but as they did not multiply themselves, Brahma created other mind born sons, like himself; namely, Bhrigu, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Angiras, Marichi, Daksha, Atri, and Vasishtha: these are the nine Brahmas (or Brahma rishis) celebrated in the Puranas 2. Sanandana and the other sons of
vp.1.7	graced with loveliness and exalted merit 7. Prasuti he gave to Daksha, after giving akuti to the patriarch Ruchi 8, who espoused her. akuti bore to Ruchi twins, Yajna and Dakshina 9, who afterwards became husband and wife, and had twelve sons, the deities called Yamas 10, in the Manwantara of Swayambhuva.
vp.1.7	The patriarch Daksha had by Prasuti twenty four daughters 11: hear from me their names: Sraddha (faith), Lakshmi (prosperity), Dhriti (steadiness), Tushti (resignation), Pushti (thriving), Medha (intelligence), Kriya (action, devotion), Buddhi (intellect), Lajja (modesty), Vapu (body), Santi (expiation), Siddhi (perfection), Kirtti (fame): these thirteen daughters of Daksha, Dharma (righteousness) took to wife. The other eleven bright eyed and younger daughters of the patriarch were, Khyati (celebrity), Sati (truth), Sambhuti (fitness), Smriti (memory), Priti (affection), Kshama (patience), Sannati (humility), Anasuya (charity), Urjja (energy), with Swaha (offering), and Swadha (oblation). These maidens were respectively wedded to the Munis, Bhrigu, Bhava, Marichi, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Atri, and Vasishtha; to Fire Vahni(), and to the Pitris (progenitors) 12.
vp.1.7	The progeny of Dharma by the daughters of Daksha were as follows: by Sraddha he had Kama (desire); by Lakshmi, Darpa (pride); by Dhriti, Niyama (precept); by Tushti, Santosha (content); by Pushti, Lobha (cupidity); by Medha, Sruta (sacred tradition); by Kriya, Danda, Naya, and Vinaya (correction, polity, and prudence); by Buddhi, Bodha (understanding); by Lajja, Vinaya (good behaviour); by Vapu, Vyavasaya (perseverance). Santi gave birth to Kshema (prosperity); Siddhi to Sukha (enjoyment); and Kirtti to Yasas (reputation 13). These were the sons of Dharma; one of whom, Kama, had Hersha (joy) by his wife Nandi (delight).
vp.1.7	a son Anrita (falsehood), and a daughter Nikriti (immorality): they intermarried, and had two sons, Bhaya (fear) and Naraka (hell); and twins to them, two daughters, Maya (deceit) and Vedana (torture), who became their wives. The son of Bhaya and Maya was the destroyer of living creatures, or Mrityu (death); and Dukha (pain) was the offspring of Naraka and Vedana. The children of Mrityu were Vyadhi (disease), Jara (decay), Soka (sorrow), Trishna (greediness), and Krodha (wrath). These are all called the inflictors of misery, and are characterised as the progeny of Vice Adharma(). They are all without wives, without posterity, without the faculty to procreate; they are the terrific forms of Vishnu, and perpetually operate as causes of the destruction of this world. On the contrary, Daksha and the other Rishis, the elders of mankind, tend perpetually to influence its renovation: whilst the Manus and their sons, the heroes endowed with mighty power, and treading in the path of truth, as constantly contribute to its preservation.
vp.1.8	Origin of Rudra: his becoming eight Rudras: their wives and children. The posterity of Bhrigu. Account of sri in conjunction with Vishnu. Sacrifice of Daksha.
vp.1.8	It was the Rudra of this description that married Sati, who abandoned her corporeal existence in consequence of the displeasure of Daksha 5. She afterwards was the daughter of Himavan (the snowy mountains) by Mena; and in that character, as the only Uma, the mighty Bhava again married her 6. The divinities Dhata and Vidhata were born to Bhrigu by Khyati, as was a daughter, sri, the wife of Narayana, the god of gods 7.
vp.1.8	"In former times, Daksha commenced a holy sacrifice on the side of Himavan, at the sacred spot Gangadwara, frequented by the Rishis. The gods, desirous of assisting at this solemn rite, came, with Indra at their head, to Mahadeva, and intimated their purpose; and having received his permission, departed in their splendid chariots to Gangadwara, as tradition reports 2. They found Daksha, the best of the devout,
vp.1.8	surrounded by the singers and nymphs of heaven, and by numerous sages, beneath the shade of clustering trees and climbing plants; and all of them, whether dwellers on earth, in air, or in the regions above the skies, approached the patriarch with outward gestures of respect. The adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Maruts, all entitled to partake of the oblations, together with Jishnu, were present. The four classes of Pitris, Ushmapas, Somapas, ajyapas, and Dhumapas, or those who feed upon the flame, the acid juice, the butter, or the smoke of offerings, the Aswins and the progenitors, came along with Brahma. Creatures of every class, born from the womb, the egg, from vapour, or vegetation, came upon their invocation; as did all the gods, with their brides, who in their resplendent vehicles blazed like so many fires. Beholding them thus assembled, the sage Dadhicha was filled with indignation, and observed, The man who worships what ought not to be worshipped, or pays not reverence where veneration is due, is guilty, most assuredly, of heinous sin. Then addressing Daksha, he said to him, Why do you not offer homage to the god who is the lord of life Pasubhartri()? Daksha spake; I have already many Rudras present, armed with tridents, wearing braided hair, and existing in eleven forms: I recognise no other Mahadeva. Dadhicha spake; The invocation that is not addressed to Isa, is, for all, but a solitary (and imperfect) summons. Inasmuch as I behold no other divinity who is
vp.1.8	r to sankara, this sacrifice of Daksha will not be completed. Daksha spake; I offer, in a golden cup, this entire oblation, which has been consecrated by many prayers, as an offering ever due to the unequalled Vishnu, the sovereign lord of all 3.
vp.1.8	"In the meanwhile, the virtuous daughter of the mountain king, observing the departure of the divinities, addressed her lord, the god of living beings, and said Uma spake Whither, oh lord, have the gods, preceded by Indra, this day departed? Tell me truly, oh thou who knowest all truth, for a great doubt perplexes me. Maheswara spake; Illustrious goddess, the excellent patriarch Daksha celebrates the sacrifice of a horse, and thither the gods repair. Devi spake; Why then, most mighty god, dost thou also not proceed to this solemnity? by what hinderance is thy progress thither impeded? Maheswara spake; This is the contrivance, mighty queen, of all the gods, that in all sacrifices no portion should be assigned to me. In consequence of an arrangement formerly devised, the gods allow me, of right, no participation of sacrificial offerings. Devi spake; The lord god lives in all bodily forms, and his might is eminent through his superior faculties; he is unsurpassable, he is unapproachable, in splendour and glory and power. That such as he should be excluded from his share of oblations, fills me with deep sorrow, and a trembling, oh sinless, seizes upon my frame. Shall I now practise bounty, restraint, or penance, so that my lord, who is inconceivable, may obtain a share, a half or a third portion, of the sacrifice 4?
vp.1.8	"This being, then, knelt down upon the ground, and raising his hands respectfully to his head, said to Mahadeva, Sovereign of the gods, command what it is that I must do for thee. To which Maheswara replied, Spoil the sacrifice of Daksha. Then the mighty Virabhadra, having heard the pleasure of his lord, bowed down his head to the feet of Prajapati; and starting like a lion loosed from bonds, despoiled the sacrifice of Daksha, knowing that the had been created by the displeasure of Devi. She too in her wrath, as the fearful goddess Rudrakali, accompanied him, with all her train, to witness his deeds. Virabhadra the fierce, abiding in the region of ghosts, is the minister of the anger of
vp.1.8	divine Yajna, the lord of sacrifice, then began to fly up to heaven, in the shape of a deer; and Virabhadra, of immeasurable spirit, apprehending his power, cut off his vast head, after he had mounted into the sky 7. Daksha the patriarch, his sacrifice being destroyed, overcome with terror, and utterly broken in spirit, fell then upon the ground, where his head was spurned by the feet of the cruel Virabhadra 8. The thirty scores of sacred divinities were all presently bound, with a band of fire, by their lion like foe; and they all then addressed him, crying, Oh Rudra, have mercy upon thy servants: oh lord, dismiss thine anger. Thus spake Brahma and the other gods, and the patriarch Daksha; and raising their hands, they said, Declare, mighty being, who thou art. Virabhadra said, I am not a god, nor an aditya; nor am I come hither for enjoyment, nor curious to behold the chiefs of the divinities: know that I am come to destroy the sacrifice of Daksha, and that I am called Virabhadra, the issue of the wrath of Rudra. Bhadrakali also, who has sprung from the anger of Devi, is sent here by the god of gods to destroy this rite. Take refuge, king of kings, with him who is the lord of Uma; for better is the anger of Rudra than the blessings of other gods.
vp.1.8	"Having heard the words of Virabhadra, the righteous Daksha propitiated the mighty god, the holder of the trident, Maheswara. The hearth of sacrifice, deserted by the Brahmans, had been consumed; Yajna had been metamorphosed to an antelope; the fires of Rudra s wrath had been kindled; the attendants, wounded by the tridents of the servants of the god, were groaning with pain; the pieces of the uprooted sacrificial posts were scattered here and there; and the fragments of the meat offerings were carried off by flights of hungry vultures, and herds of howling jackals. Suppressing his vital airs, and taking up a posture of meditation, the many sighted victor of his foes, Daksha fixed his eyes every where upon his thoughts. Then the god of gods appeared from the altar, resplendent as a thousand suns, and smiled upon him, and said, Daksha, thy sacrifice has been destroyed through sacred knowledge: I am well pleased with thee: and then he smiled again, and said, What shall I do for thee; declare, together with the preceptor of the gods.
vp.1.8	"Then Daksha, frightened, alarmed, and agitated, his eyes suffused with tears, raised his hands reverentially to his brow, and said, If, lord, thou art pleased; if I have found favour in thy sight; if I am to be the object of thy benevolence; if thou wilt confer upon me a boon, this is the blessing I solicit, that all these provisions for the solemn sacrifice, which have been collected with much trouble and during a long time, and which have now been eaten, drunk, devoured, burnt, broken, scattered abroad, may not have been prepared in vain. So let it be, replied Hara, the subduer of Indra. And thereupon Daksha knelt down upon the earth, and praised gratefully the author of righteousness, the three eyed god Mahadeva, repeating the eight thousand names of the deity whose emblem is a bull."
vp.1.10	The descendants of the daughters of Daksha married to the Rishis.
vp.1.10	daughters of Daksha 12. He who with faith recapitulates the account, shall never want offspring.
vp.1.15	The world overrun with trees: they are destroyed by the Prachetasas. Soma pacifies them, and gives them Marisha to wife: her story: the daughter of the nymph Pramlocha. Legend of Kandu. Marisha s former history. Daksha the son of the Prachetasas: his different characters: his sons: his daughters: their marriages and progeny: allusion to Prahlada, his descendant.
vp.1.15	WHILST the Prachetasas were thus absorbed in their devotions, the trees spread and overshadowed the unprotected earth, and the people perished: the winds could not blow; the sky was shut out by the forests; and mankind was unable to labour for ten thousand years. When the sages, coming forth from the deep, beheld this, they were angry, and, being incensed, wind and flame issued from their mouths. The strong wind tore up the trees by their roots, and left them sear and dry, and the fierce fire consumed them, and the forests were cleared away. When Soma (the moon), the sovereign of the vegetable world, beheld all except a few of the trees destroyed, he went to the patriarchs, the Prachetasas, and said, "Restrain your indignation, princes, and listen to me. I will form an alliance between you and the trees. Prescient of futurity, I have nourished with my rays this precious maiden, the daughter of the woods. She is called Marisha, and is assuredly the offspring of the trees. She shall be your bride, and the multiplier of the race of Dhruva. From a portion of your lustre and a portion of mine, oh mighty sages, the patriarch Daksha shall be born of her, who, endowed with a part of me, and composed of your vigour, shall be as resplendent as fire, and shall multiply the human race.
vp.1.15	Soma having concluded, the Prachetasas took Marisha, as he had enjoined them, righteously to wife, relinquishing their indignation against the trees: and upon her they begot the eminent patriarch Daksha, who had (in a former life) been born as the son of Brahma 5. This great sage, for the furtherance of creation, and the increase of mankind, created progeny. Obeying the command of Brahma, he made movable and immovable things, bipeds and quadrupeds; and subsequently, by his will, gave birth to females, ten of whom he bestowed on Dharma, thirteen on Kasyapa, and twenty seven, who regulate the course of time, on the moon 6. Of these, the gods, the Titans, the snake gods, cattle, and birds, the singers and dancers of the courts of heaven, the spirits of evil, and other beings, were born. From that period forwards living creatures
vp.1.15	were engendered by sexual intercourse: before the time of Daksha they were variously propagated, by the will, by sight, by touch, and by the influence of religious austerities practised by devout sages and holy saints.
vp.1.15	Maitreya. Daksha, as I have formerly heard, was born from the right thumb of Brahma: tell me, great Muni, how he was regenerate as the son of the Prachetasas. Considerable perplexity also arises in my mind, how he, who, as the son of Marisha, was the grandson of Soma, could be also his father in law.
vp.1.15	Parasara. Birth and death are constant in all creatures: Rishis and sages, possessing divine vision, are not perplexed by this. Daksha and the other eminent Munis are present in every age, and in the interval of destruction cease to be 7: of this the wise man entertains no doubt. Amongst them of old there was neither senior nor junior; rigorous penance and acquired power were the sole causes of any difference of degree amongst these more than human beings.
vp.1.15	Parasara. In what manner Daksha created living creatures, as commanded by Brahma, you shall hear. In the first place he willed into existence the deities, the Rishis, the quiristers of heaven, the Titans, and the snake gods. Finding that his will born progeny did not multiply themselves, he determined, in order to secure their increase, to establish sexual intercourse as the means of multiplication. For this purpose he espoused Asikni, the daughter of the patriarch Virana 8, a damsel addicted to devout practices, the eminent supportress of the world. By her the great father of mankind begot five thousand mighty sons, through whom he expected the world should be peopled. Narada, the divine Rishi, observing them desirous to multiply posterity, approached them, and addressed them in a friendly tone: "Illustrious Haryaswas, it is evident that your intention is to beget posterity; but first consider this: why should you, who, like fools, know not the middle, the height, and depth of the world 9, propagate offspring? When your intellect is no more obstructed by interval, height, or depth, then how, fools, shall ye not all behold the term of the universe?" Having heard the words of Narada, the sons of Daksha dispersed themselves through the regions, and to the present day have not returned; as rivers that lose themselves in the ocean come back no more.
vp.1.15	The Haryaswas having disappeared, the patriarch Daksha begot by the daughter of Virana a thousand other sons. They, who were named Savalaswas, were desirous of engendering posterity, but were dissuaded by Narada in a similar manner. They said to one another, "What the Muni has observed is perfectly just. We must follow the path that our
vp.1.15	brothers have travelled, and when we have ascertained the extent of the universe, we will multiply our race." Accordingly they scattered themselves through the regions, and, like rivers flowing into the sea, they returned not again. Henceforth brother seeking for brother disappears, through ignorance of the products of the first principle of things. Daksha the patriarch, on finding that all these his sons had vanished, was incensed, and denounced an imprecation upon Narada 10.
vp.1.15	The daughters of Daksha who were married to Kasyapa were Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhavasa, Ida, Khasa, Kadru, and Muni 19; whose progeny I will describe to you. There were twelve celebrated deities in a former Manwantara, called Tushitas 20, who, upon the approach of the present period, or in the reign of the last Manu, Chakshusha, assembled, and said to one another, "Come, let us quickly enter into the womb of Aditi, that we may be born in the next Manwantara, for thereby we shall again enjoy the rank of gods:" and accordingly they were born the sons of Kasyapa, the son of Marichi, by Aditi, the daughter of Daksha; thence named the twelve adityas; whose appellations were respectively, Vishnu, sakra, aryaman, Dhuti, Twashtri, Pushan, Vivaswat, Savitri, Mitra, Varuna, Ansa, and Bhaga 21. These, who in the Chakshusha Manwantara were the gods called Tushitas, were called the twelve adityas in the Manwantara of Vaivaswata.
vp.1.18	these things I have nothing to object; they find a ready assent in my mind: but when you say, Why should I depend upon the eternal? who can give assent to this as right? the words are void of meaning." Having said thus much, he was silent a while, being restrained by respect to their sacred functions; but he was unable to repress his smiles, and again said, "What need is there of the eternal? excellent! What need of the eternal? admirable! most worthy of you who are my venerable preceptors! Hear what need there is of the eternal, if to hearken will not give you pain. The fourfold objects of men are said to be virtue, desire, wealth, final emancipation. Is he who is the source of all these of no avail? Virtue was derived from the eternal by Daksha, Marichi, and other patriarchs; wealth has been obtained front him by others; and by others, the enjoyment of their desires: whilst those who, through true. wisdom and holy contemplation, have come to know his essence, have been released from their bondage, and have attained freedom from existence for ever. The glorification of Hari, attainable by unity, is the root of all riches, dignity, renown, wisdom, progeny, righteousness, and liberation. Virtue, wealth, desire, and even final freedom, Brahmans, are fruits bestowed by him. How then can it be said, What need is there of the eternal? But enough of this: what occasion is there to say more? You are my venerable preceptors, and, speak ye good or evil, it is not for my weak
vp.1.22	WHEN Prithu was installed in the government of the earth, the great father of the spheres established sovereignties in other parts of the creation. Soma was appointed monarch of the stars and planets, of Brahmans and of plants, of sacrifices and of penance. Vaisravana was made king over kings; and Varuna, over the waters. Vishnu was the chief of the adityas; Pavaka, of the Vasus; Daksha, of the patriarchs; Vasava, of the winds. To Prahlada was assigned dominion over the Daityas and Danavas; and Yama, the king of justice, was appointed the monarch of the Manes Pitris(). Airavata was made the king of elephants; Garuda, of birds; Indra, of the gods. Uchchaisravas was the chief of horses; Vrishabha, of kine. sesha became the snake king; the lion, the monarch of the beasts; and the sovereign of the trees was the holy fig tree 1. Having thus fixed the limits of each authority, the great progenitor Brahma stationed rulers for the protection of the different quarters of the world: he made Sudhanwan, the son of the patriarch Viraja, the regent of the east; Sankhapada, the son of the patriarch Kardama, of the south; the immortal Ketumat, the son of Rajas, regent of the west; and Hiranyaroman, the son of the patriarch Parjanya, regent of the north 2. By these the whole earth, with its seven continents and its
vp.1.22	Brahma, Daksha, time, and all creatures are the four energies of Hari, which are the causes of creation. Vishnu, Manu and the rest, time, and all creatures are the four energies of Vishnu, which are the causes of duration. Rudra, the destroying fire, time, and all creatures
vp.3.2	The ninth Manu will be Daksha savarni 8. The Paras, Marichigarbhas, and Sudharmas will be the three classes of divinities, each consisting of twelve; their powerful chief will be the Indra Adbhuta. Savana, Dyutimat, Bhavya, Vasu, Medhatithi, Jyotishman, and Satya will be the seven Rishis. Dhritaketu, Driptiketu, Panchahasta, Mahamaya, Prithusrava, and others, will be the sons of the Manu.
vp.4.1	Before the evolution of the mundane egg, existed Brahma, who was Hiranyagarbha, the form of that supreme Brahma which consists of Vishnu as identical with the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas; the primeval, uncreated cause of all worlds. From the right thumb of Brahma was born the patriarch Daksha 3; his daughter was Aditi, who was the mother of the sun. The Manu Vaivaswata was the son of the celestial luminary; and his sons were Ikshwaku, Nriga, Dhrishta, saryati, Narishyanta, Pransu, Nabhaga, Nedishta, Karusha, and Prishadhra 4.

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