68:8 As he prays to Śiva presently, it could not well be meant here that Daksha was decapitated, although that is the story in other places. The Linga and Bhágavata both state that Vírabhadra cut off Daksha's head, and threw it into the fire. After the fray therefore, when Śiva restored the dead to life, and the mutilated to their limbs, Daksha's head was not forthcoming: it was therefore replaced by the head of a goat, or, according to the Kásí Khanda, that of a ram. No notice is taken in our text of the conflict elsewhere described between Vírabhadra and Vishńu. In the Linga, the latter is beheaded, and his head is blown by the wind into the fire. The Kúrma, though a Śaiva Puráńa, is less irreverent towards Vishńu, and after describing a contest in which both parties occasionally prevail, makes Brahmá interpose, and separate the combatants. The Kásí Khanda of the Skánda P. describes Vishńu as defeated, and at the mercy of Vírabhadra, who is prohibited by a voice from heaven from destroying his antagonist: whilst in the Hari Vanśa, Vishńu compels Śiva to fly, after taking him by the throat and nearly strangling him. The blackness of Śiva's neck arose from this throttling, and not, as elsewhere described, from his drinking the poison produced at the churning of the ocean.

Next: Chapter IX

Hinduism

« Previous: The Vishnu Purana: Book I: Chapter VIII

Next: The Vishnu Purana: Book I: Chapter IX »