FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.5.1

मैत्रेय उवाच भवो भवान्या निधनं प्रजापते- रसत्कृताया अवगम्य नारदात् । स्वपार्षदसैन्यं च तदध्वरर्भुभि- र्विद्रावितं क्रोधमपारमादधे ॥ १ ॥
maitreya uvāca
[maitreya uvaacha]
bhavo bhavānyā nidhanaṁ prajāpater
[bhavo bhavaanyaa nidhanam prajaapater]
asat-kṛtāyā avagamya nāradāt
[asat-kritaayaa avagamya naaradaat]
sva-pārṣada-sainyaṁ ca tad-adhvararbhubhir
[sva-paarshada-sainyam cha tad-adhvararbhubhir]
vidrāvitaṁ krodham apāram ādadhe
[vidraavitam krodham apaaram aadadhe]
maitreyaḥ uvāca — Maitreya said bhavaḥ — Lord Śiva bhavānyāḥ — of Satī nidhanam — the death prajāpateḥ — because of Prajāpati Dakṣa asat-kṛtāyāḥ — having been insulted avagamya — hearing about nāradāt — from Nārada sva-pārṣada-sainyam — the soldiers of his own associates ca — and tat-adhvara — (produced from) his (Dakṣa’s) sacrifice ṛbhubhiḥ — by the Ṛbhus vidrāvitam — were driven away krodham — anger apāram — unbounded ādadhe — showed.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
maitreya uvāca
maitreyaḥ uvāca
Maitreya said
bhavo bhavānyā nidhanaṁ prajāpater
bhavaḥ
Lord Śiva
bhavānyāḥ
of Satī
nidhanam
the death
prajāpateḥ
because of Prajāpati Dakṣa
asat-kṛtāyā avagamya nāradāt
asat-kṛtāyāḥ
having been insulted
avagamya
hearing about
nāradāt
from Nārada
sva-pārṣada-sainyaṁ ca tad-adhvararbhubhir
sva-pārṣada-sainyam
the soldiers of his own associates
ca
and
tat-adhvara
(produced from) his (Dakṣa’s) sacrifice
ṛbhubhiḥ
by the Ṛbhus
vidrāvitaṁ krodham apāram ādadhe
vidrāvitam
were driven away
krodham
anger
apāram
unbounded
ādadhe
showed.
Maitreya said: When Lord Śiva heard from Nārada that Satī, his wife, was now dead because of Prajāpati Dakṣa’s insult to her and that his soldiers had been driven away by the Ṛbhu demigods, he became greatly angry.

Lord Śiva understood that Satī, being the youngest daughter of Dakṣa, could present the case of Lord Śiva’s purity of purpose and would thus be able to mitigate the misunderstanding between Dakṣa and himself. But such a compromise was not attained, and Satī was deliberately insulted by her father by not being received properly when she visited his house without being invited. Satī herself could have killed her father, Dakṣa, because she is the personified material energy and has immense power to kill and create within this material universe. In the Brahma-saṁhitā her strength is described: she is capable of creating and dissolving many universes. But although she is so powerful, she acts under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, as His shadow. It would not have been difficult for Satī to punish her father, but she thought that since she was his daughter, it was not proper for her to kill him. Thus she decided to give up her own body, which she had obtained from his, and Dakṣa did not even check her.

When Satī passed away, giving up her body, the news was conveyed by Nārada to Lord Śiva. Nārada always carries the news of such events because he knows their import. When Lord Śiva heard that his chaste wife, Satī, was dead, he naturally became exceedingly angry. He also understood that Bhṛgu Muni had created the Ṛbhudeva demigods by uttering the mantras of the Yajur Veda and that these demigods had driven away all of his soldiers who were present in the arena of sacrifice. Therefore he wanted to reply to this insult, and thus he decided to kill Dakṣa because he was the cause of the death of Satī.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Maitreya said: Hearing from Nārada about that Satī had died because of the insults to her by Dakṣa, and that soldiers had been driven away the Ṛbhus who arose from the sacrifice, Śiva became angry. In the Fifth Chapter, Śiva, hearing about the death of his wife, cuts off the head of Dakṣa and kills him by transforming his hair into Vīrabhadra. Śiva heard the Satī had died because of the insults of Dakṣa (prajāpateḥ).The Ṛbhus had appeared at the sacrifice (tad-adhvararbhubhih).
Śiva learned of Satī's death from Nārada and became greatly angry — even the most peaceful being has limits. When you harm what the gentle love, you transform their gentleness. Don't bank on someone's patience being infinite.
Reflection Questions
  • Whom have I tested past the limits of their peace, mistaking patience for endless tolerance?
  • Where am I treating someone's gentleness as license to keep wounding what they love?
📝 My note

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