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Wonder-struck, he took at last the weapons of sacrifice and easily severed the head of Daksha even as it were the head of a beast of sacrifice. Loud were the lamentations at the place of sacrifice when Virbhadra with his followers left it for Kailasa. The Devas after this signal defeat went to Brahma. Brahma and Vishnu knew what was to happen at Daksha’s sacrifice, so they had kept themselves aloof. When the Devas had related their mishap, Brahma explained to them that they had done wrong in not allowing Siva to participate in the Yajna offering. There was no help now but to appease the Astral Lord, Who could destroy the Universe at His will. So saying Brahma himself went with the Devas to Kailasa the abode of Siva. He found there higher beings than men perfected by birth, herbs, Tapas, Mantra or Yoga and Yakshas, Kinnaras, Gandhar- vas and Apsarasas. The river Nanda (Ganga) traced its course round Kailasa. High up on the mount was the abode called Alaka and the garden called Saugandhika (sweet-scented). On two sides of Alaka were the two rivers Nanda and Alakanand4a, sanctified by the dust of Vishnu’s feet. Alaka is the abode of Kubera, the Yaksha king. The Kinnaras occupied the Saugandhika garden. Near it was a large fig tree (Vata) 800 miles (100 Yojanas) high, the branches spreading over 600 miles. Below that tree, the Devas found Siva in deep meditation for the good of the Universe. Brahma asked Him to pardon Daksha and his followers who had slighted Him by withholding Yajna offer- ings. "Through thy favour let the Yajna be completed now. Let Dak- sha get back his life. Let the eyes of Bhagadeva, the head of Bhrigu, the teeth of Pishan, be restored. Let the Devas and the sacrificial Rishis be relieved of all pain in their broken limbs. Since now, the remnants of Yajna offerings are all Thine. Take Thy offerings, and let the sacrifice be completed this day." Siva replied with a smile thus:—"Daksha is a mere child. I do not even think of him as an offender. But I have to set right those that are led astray by Maya. Daksha’s head is burnt up. So let him have the head of a goat. Bhagadeva shall find his Yajna offerings through 88 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana the eyes of Mitra. Pishan shall have pishta (crushed or ground up things) for his offerings. In company with other Devas, however, he shall have the use of the sacrificer’s teeth. Let the broken limbs of the Devas be rehabilitated. But those that have lost their limbs shall use the arms of Asvinikumara and the hands of Ptshan. So let it be with the Rishis too. Bhrigu shall have the beard of a goat." The Devas thanked Siva for His great kindness and invited Him to the sacrifice. Brahma accompanied Siva. Daksha regained life and looked on Siva with reverence. He acquired wisdom and became pu- rified in mind. The sacrifice was duly performed. Daksha sat in med- itation and, lo! Vishnu appeared on the back of Garuda. All rose up and saluted Him. Spontaneous prayers broke forth from one and all. Vishnu participated in the Yajna offerings. Ad- dressing Daksha He said:—"Only ignorant people see the difference between Me and Siva. I, Siva and Brahma are Three in One. For the creation, preservation and dissolution of the Universe, We assume three different Names. We, as the triune Atma, pervade all beings. Wise men therefore look upon all others as their own selves." Such is the story of Sati’s death. She took birth again as the daughter of Himalaya and became wedded once more—the union with Siva this time was permanent. THOUGHTS ON THE ABOVE. Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are the three aspects of the Second Purusha. Brahma brings into manifestation the Prajapatis, and the Praja- patis bring into manifestation the individuals and life forms. The other Prajapatis mostly represent the principles that enter into the constitution of life-forms, while Daksha represents the combination of principles forming a life unit. Daksha had sixteen daughters—thirteen he gave in marriage to Dharma, one to Agni, one to the Pitris and one to Siva. Agni or the god of Fire is the Rupa or form-giving Deva. Fire is used in sacrifice, because it changes the form of things offered and makes them acceptable to the gods by change of form. If Agni represents Ripa Devas or Devas with forms, Dharma might represent Artiipa Devas or Devas without forms. Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 89 The Pitris, of whom four classes are only mentioned (Agnishvat- vas, Barhishads, Saumyas and Ajyapas), are also divided into two classes,— one with fire and one without fire. The attendants of Siva were dwellers of the astral or Bhuvar plane. For the sake of convenient reference we shall call the dwellers of Svarga Loka Devas and the dwellers of Bhuvar Loka, Astrals. The dif- ferent classes of Devas and Astrals are described in the 20th. chapter of the 4th. Skandha. The Devas and Astrals were brought into man- ifestation by Daksha, whose position in creation was next to that of Brahma. Therefore all stood up to receive him at the sacrifice except Brahma. Siva first appeared as Kumara Nila Lohita or Rudra. And all beings thereafter got the potentiality of dissolution, phenomenal change, death and decay. But in the first stage of life process, phe- nomenal change, decay or dissolution was not in requisition, as Mon- ads went on in their downward journey, not by dissolution, but by evolution. They remained what they were, and they acquired in ad- dition a more material form. As the material form became prominent the Deva form and the astral form became suppressed. Consciousness in Deva form manifests itself as mind, in the astral form as animal desire and sense perception. In the mineral form it can hardly shew itself. Siva works out the decay and dissolution of mineral matter, so that the astral element may once more assert itself and there may be sense perception in the mineral metamorphosed into the vegetable. The process is carried further in the animal kingdom, and the animals get a constitution in which Kama or animal desire can manifest itself. The animals evolve themselves by death. Death frees them from the trammels of one set of experience, and carries them onwards till the human body is reached. The work of dissolution proceeds in various ways. Our sleep is partial dissolution. It is brought on by the astral attendants of Siva. Dissolution is caused by Tamas. Tamas begets inaction, and inac- tion causes death and decay. There is no phenomenal change without dissolution, death or decay. There are so many material tendencies in us that they require re- jection. Siva gives us the power of rejection, as Vishnu, the power of 90 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana preservation—preservation of all that is good in us. Death makes the man, where moral teachings fail, The Consort of Siva is the Energy through Whom He guides the life process of Monads or Jivas. In the first stage of life process She is called Sati or the Lasting. For the body of the Jiva was lasting during the period of evolution. But Her mis- sion was to act on the Monad itself, to cause the material tendency in it by means of Tamas. In the second stage, She is the Energy of dissolution, death and phenomenal change. In the third stage, she is over and above that the Energy of rejection (of all that is evil in us.) She is the kind mother, who has been nourishing all Jivas in their course of evolution. When the Mineral form was reached by the primal elemental Jiva, the creative process had done its work and the process of dissolution was to assert itself. There was to be a revolution in the life process. Sati gave up her own nature and became re-born in another char- acter in the Mineral Kingdom. The creative process was materially changed. Daksha lost his original head, and he acquired the head of a goat. The goat symbolises sexual connection. All this happened during the reign of Prachina-Barhis. The Prachetas brothers were his sons. Daksha reappeared as the son of the Prachetas brothers. The Adityas or gods of preservation who formed Daksha were Pishava and Bhaga. They were the preserving deities of the first stage of life process. When the next stage came in, they lost their activity. This explains the breaking of teeth and the uprooting of eyes of two of the Adityas. The subjoined Table of correspondences taken from the 11th. Chapter of the Twelfth Skandha shews that Paishana and Bhaga correspond to the months of Pausha (December) and Magha (January) when the rays of the sun are the least powerful. These Adityas preserve Jivas in their downward course. Ptishana was a favorite god of the Aryan shepherd. 91 Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. 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