O Lord! You alone are worshipped in sacrifices with various sorts of gifts. You alone are the doer of everything. Hence you have not been invited.
Or, O Lord, I have been deluded by Your subtle Maya. For that reason, too, You have not been invited by me.
O Lord of deities! Be pleased with me. You alone are my refuge! You are the goal and the foundation. It is my opinion that no one else is so.
Brahma said:
After eulogizing the great Lord thus, the highly intelligent Daksha stopped. The delighted Lord spoke to Daksha once again.
The Lord said:
O Daksha of good holy rites! I am delighted with this hymn of Yours. Of what avail is much talk? You will come to My presence.
After uttering the words of consolation, the omniscient Lord of the three worlds spoke the following words, succinctly put in good sentences.
Lord Siva said:
O Daksha! You should not feel sad by this destruction of the sacrifice. O sinless one! I am the destroyer of sacrifices, and you have seen this before.
O one of good holy rites! Accept this boon from me. Put on a happy and pleasant face and listen to me attentively.
O Patriarch! By virtue of my favour, you will derive the fruit of a thousand-horse and a hundred-Vaajapeya sacrifice.
The holy rite of Paasupata has been prescribed by me. The Veda and its six ancillaries are to be appreciated in the context of the schools of philosophy such as Samkhya,
Yoga, etc. A penance too difficult to be performed even by deities and demons should also be undertaken. Thus, during the course of twelve years, this holy rite has been
prepared. It is subtle, and no intelligent man shall censure it.
In some respects, it may conform to the disciplined life of the four castes and the four stages; and, in some respects, it may not. But its aim is the liberation of the individual
soul from bondage.
This holy rite of Pasupata has been prescribed by me, o Daksha, for people of all stages of life. It releases one from all sins. If this holy rite is performed well, the benefit is
splendid. O highly blessed one, may it befall you! May this mental ailment be eschewed?
Brahma said:
After saying so to Daksha of unmeasured splendour, the Lord of deities vanished along with his wife and attendants.
O sages conversant with holy rites! After acquiring His share as mentioned before, the Lord classified (ailments, fever etc) into various divisions, in the company of Uma.
It is for peace among all living beings that He classified thus. O Brahmins! Listen. For Naagas (elephants), it is the scorching of the tuft; for the mountains, it is bitumen.
It is Neelikaa (for water). For the serpents, it is slough. For the cow, it is khoraka (limping); for earth, it is the barren soil.
O sages conversant with virtue! For dogs, it is the obstruction of the vision; for horses, it is the entanglement with the cavity. For peacocks, it is the splitting of their tuft-like
flower on the head.
Redness in the eye is the affliction of a cuckoo. Split is the affliction among noble persons.
Hikkikaa (coughing) is the affliction of a parrot. O Brahmins! For lions, fatigue is the affliction.
O sages conversant with virtue! Such are the afflictions among living beings. They occur at the time of birth, death and in the intervening period.
What is called affliction is the refulgence of the great Lord; it is very terrible. The Supreme Lord should be bowed to, and honoured by all living beings.
He who reads this narrative about the origin of affliction with great attention and without any wretchedness of mind shall be liberated from ailments. He will be gay and
joyous. He will get the benefit of his wishes.
He who repeats the hymn of Daksha or he who listens to it will never have any thing inauspicious. He will have a long life.
Just as Lord Siva is the most excellent among deities, so also this hymn of Daksha is the most excellent among all hymns.
With great devotion this hymn should be repeated assiduously by those who seek fame, heavenly pleasures, divine riches, glory, victory, knowledge and other things of a
similar nature.
He who is sick, he who is miserable, he who is in a wretched state, or who is employed in a dangerous task by the ruler is liberated from danger and fear. From the
Supreme Lord he derives happiness, and with this body itself he becomes the lord of the Ganas.
In the abode where the Lord is eulogized, neither Yakshas nor Pisachas, nor Nagas nor Vinayakas will create any obstacle.
A woman who listens to this hymn with devotion and is sanctified by the Lord shall be honoured in her parental abode as well as in the abode of her husband.
The holy rites of that person, who listens to this or narrates this frequently, shall fructify without any hindrance.
By repeating this hymn, whatever one desires mentally or utters orally shall be realized.
The devotee of the Lord shall maintain holy observances with complete control of his sense-organs. According to his capacity, he shall offer oblations to the Lord, to His
consort Parvati and their son Karttikeya, and Nandisvara. Thereafter, he shall repeat the names in due order. Such a devotee will attain his desired objects. He shall enjoy
his cherished pleasures.
After death, he will go to heaven where he will be surrounded by thousands of beautiful women (angels).
If a person though endowed with all desires or defiled by all sins reads this hymn of Daksha, he will be liberated from sins. On death, he will attain identity with the Ganas.
He will be honoured by deities and demons. He enjoys a trip in an aerial chariot yoked to a bull. He will be a follower of Rudra and stay in the region of Siva till the
dissolution of the universe.
This has been mentioned by lord Vyasa, the son of Parasara. No one knows this, nor should it be narrated to any one or every one. By listening to this secret, vaisyas,
sudras and women who are of sinful origin will attain to the world of Rudra.
There is no doubt that the Brahmin who narrates this on auspicious days attains to the world of Rudra.
