Skandapurana 1.3.36: adhyāyaḥ 3

Lomaśa said:
Dākṣāyaṇī went there where the great sacrifice was taking place;
having gone to her father's abode, filled with various wonders,

descending from their own mounts, the gods stood at the door;
and seeing the realm of the gods, the fortunate followers of Nandī,

having seen her mother, father, friends, relations, and kinsmen,
having saluted her father and mother, filled with joy,

the goddess then spoke words appropriate to the occasion:
"Why was the exceedingly auspicious Śambhu not invited by you,

by whom this whole universe, everything moving and unmoving, is purified,
who is the sacrifice, the best among knowers of sacrifice, the limb of the sacrifice, and the sacrificial fee?"

The sacrificial substance, the mantras and all else, the offerings to gods and the offerings to ancestors—which consist of him— / without him, all that is performed will be impure.

Indeed, without Śambhu, O father, how can a sacrifice proceed? / How have these come here, accompanied by Brahmā, O father?

O Bhṛgu, do you not know? O wise Kaśyapa! / O Atri! You, the one distinguished [sage]! O Śakra, what has been done today by you?

O Viṣṇu, you know Mahādeva, the Supreme Lord. / O Brahmā, do you not know the prowess of Mahādeva?

Formerly, having become five-faced, you grew arrogant towards Sadāśiva; / you were made four-faced by him—have you forgotten that wondrous deed?

When the all-pervading lord formerly wandered for alms in the Dāruvana, / this beggar Rudra was cursed by you and your companions then.

Even though Rudra was cursed, how have you forgotten / [him] by a mere part of whom all the moving and unmoving world was filled?

The entire universe indeed became a liṅga at that very moment. / Because of dissolution (laya), all the gods with Indra call it a liṅga.

And from which trident-bearing god all gods arose, / that god, known through the Upaniṣads, cannot be comprehended by you.

Hearing her words, Dakṣa became angry and spoke these words: / “What is the use of your saying so much? There is no business for you here now.

Go, or stay, auspicious one! Why indeed have you come? / Inauspicious indeed is your husband, that un-auspicious one, O slender-waisted lady!

He is of low birth, outside the Veda, the king of ghosts, spirits, and goblins. / Therefore he was not invited for the sacrifice, O fair-spoken lady!

You were given, O shapely lady, by me, a sinner of dull intellect, / to Rudra, who is ignorant of righteous ends, arrogant, and evil-minded.

Therefore, leave your body and remain composed, O lady of pure smile!” / Thus addressed then by Dakṣa, his daughter Satī, revered by the world,

seeing her own father engaged in censure, became exceedingly angry. / Then reflecting, the goddess thought: “How shall I go to my home?

Desiring to see Śaṃkara, what shall I say when questioned by him? / He who censures Mahādeva and he who listens to him being censured— / both of them go to hell for as long as the moon and sun endure.

Therefore I will cast off this body and enter the fire.”

Thus deliberating, speaking the names “Śiva” and “Rudra,” / overwhelmed by humiliation, she entered the fire.

A great wailing filled the ends of the quarters. / All those who had mounted the platforms, covered without interruption with weapons,

struck themselves with their own weapons and cut their own bodies. / Some, taking their own heads in the palms of their hands, eager,

making an offering of their heads quickly, were reduced to ashes. / Thus they all spoke then, and roared most frightfully.

With blows of weapons, the most terrifying ones cut their own limbs; / in that manner they attained destruction together with Dakṣa’s daughter then.

Twenty thousand attendants were there; that was like a wonder. / All those seers, gods headed by Indra, along with the troop of Maruts,

the Viśvedevas, the Aśvins, and the guardians of the quarters then became silent, / and some prayed from all sides to Viṣṇu, the most excellent one.

Such did the sacrifice of that evil-minded Dakṣa, / a mere so-called brahmin, then become; the seers were struck with fear.

In the meantime, O brahmins, all this conduct of Dakṣa / was told by the noble Nārada [to Śiva].

Hearing that speech which came from the mouth of Nārada, the Lord / flew into a great fury, as if leaping up from his seat.

Uprooting a matted lock of hair, Rudra, the cause of the world's destruction, / struck it in fury upon the summit of the mountain.

From that striking arose the highly renowned Vīrabhadra; / likewise Kālī arose, surrounded by millions of spirits.

From the angry exhalation alone of the noble Rudra / arose a hundred fevers and the thirteen malignant fever-types.

Rudra of fierce prowess was addressed by Vīrabhadra: / “What duty is to be done by your servant? Speak quickly, O Lord!”

Thus addressed, the divine Rudra sent him forth at once: / “Go, mighty-armed hero! Destroy Dakṣa’s sacrifice!”

Placing the command of the god of gods, the trident-bearer, upon his head, / licked by Kālikā, surrounded by all spirits, / Vīrabhadra of great splendour set out towards Dakṣa’s sacrifice.

At that very moment, evil omens suddenly occurred: / a harsh wind blew then, filled with gravel;

blood rained from the sky, and the directions were shrouded in darkness; / and many meteors fell by the thousands upon the earth.

The gods and others saw portents of this kind. / Dakṣa too, overcome with fear, took refuge with Viṣṇu:

“Protect, protect, O Mahāviṣṇu! For you are our supreme guru; / you are the sacrifice, O best of gods! Deliver me from fear!”

Being thus entreated by Dakṣa, Madhusūdana spoke: / “Protection must indeed be given to you by me, there is no doubt about this.

Where the unworthy of worship are worshipped, and the one worthy of worship is not worshipped, / three things prevail there: famine […], by you who are ignorant of righteousness; / and through disrespect to the Lord, everything will come to naught.

Where the unworthy of worship are worshipped, and the one worthy of worship is not worshipped, / three things prevail there: famine, death, and fear.

Therefore, by every effort the bull-bannered lord should be honored. / Because Maheśa was not honored, a great danger has confronted you.

Right now, none of us have the power [to stop it]; / on account of your misconduct alone, no deliberation is to be made here.”

Hearing that speech of Viṣṇu, Dakṣa became filled with anxiety. / His face drained of color, he remained silent, standing on the ground.

The mighty-armed Vīrabhadra, impelled indeed by Rudra, / and Kālī, Kātyāyanī, Īśānā, Cāmuṇḍā, the crusher of Muṇḍa,

And Bhadrakālī, Bhadrā, Tvaritā, and Vaiṣṇavī, / accompanied by the nine Durgās and the rest, and a great host of spirits,

śākinīs, ḍākinīs, bhūtas, pramathas, and guhyakas, / and likewise the circle of sixty-four yoginīs,

suddenly set out for that sacrifice enclosure of great splendor, / together with Vīrabhadra, all possessing the prowess of Hara, / having ten arms, three eyes, matted hair, and Rudra's ornaments.

These attendants of Śaṃkara all possessed the very form of Rudra; / they had five faces, blue throats, and all held weapons in their hands.

Surrounded by umbrellas and chowries, all having the prowess of Hara, / with ten arms, three eyes, matted hair, and Rudra's ornaments,

all bearing the crescent moon, and all endowed with mighty energy, / all mounted upon bulls, and all adorned with his dress and ornaments.

Endowed with a thousand arms, surrounded by serpent kings, three-eyed, of terrible strength, causing dread— / accompanied by these, the great-souled Vīrabhadra then marched to the sacrifice.

His chariot was drawn by a thousand teams of draught animals, / of double measure, drawn indeed by a million lions.

Likewise, many armored lions served as flank-guards, / as did thousands of tigers, sea monsters, fish, and elephants, / and various kinds of parasols and chowries as well,

carried fiercely on heads everywhere on every side. / Then came the great sounds of kettledrums, conchs of various tones, / paṭaha drums, gomukhas, and various horns.

Then these solid and wind instruments were played; / all were intent on sweet melodies, and all were players of the mṛdaṅga drum.

Engaged in manifold dances, they were in front of Vīrabhadra. / With the roaring sound of battle musical instruments, those of boundless energy roared.

By that great roar, the three worlds were made to resound. / Thus all the hosts arrived, urged on by Rudra,

striking out to destroy the sacrificial enclosure of Dakṣa. / The sky was covered with dust, and the directions were enveloped in darkness.

The earth with its seven continents trembled together with its mountains and forests. / Beholding then that great wonder bringing about the destruction of the worlds,

the gods, Daityas, and night-roaming demons all rose up at once. / Indeed, they saw that dreadful army of Rudra approaching.

Some came over the earth, some came in the sky, / while others arrived covering the cardinal and intermediate directions.

All were endless, imperishable, heroic, equal to Rudra in battle. / Seeing that army constituted thus and surrounded by Rudras, / all said in amazement, "Let us go now, weapons in hand!"

Indra mounted his elephant, the Wind mounted a deer, / Yama mounted a buffalo, equipped with the staff of Yama,

Kubera mounted the Puṣpaka, the Noose-bearer [Varuṇa mounted] a makara, / Agni mounted a goat, and Nirṛti mounted a corpse.

Likewise, the other hosts of gods, yakṣas, cāraṇas, and guhyakas, / mounting their respective vehicles, were ready to resist.

Beholding the preparations of his own people, Dakṣa, with a tearful face, / then fell flat on the ground like a staff and addressed them all:

"Only by your strength was this great sacrifice commenced by me. / You are the authority for the accomplishment of this noble rite, O ones of immense splendor!

O Viṣṇu, you are the protector of the rite in person and of sacrifices, / and you are devoted to the sacred law, the womb of the Vedas, and the brahmins, O Mādhava.

Therefore, protection must be provided for this sacrifice, O great lord!" / Hearing the words of Dakṣa, the Slayer of Madhu said:

"Protection must be provided by me in the safeguarding of sacred duty. / What you have said is indeed true, but a transgression of it

has been committed today concerning your sacrifice, because of what you said of Sadāśiva. / At Naimiṣa, in that sacred field of the gods, why did you not remember then?

This Rudra of great splendor, Sadāśiva whose form is the sacrifice itself, / has been excluded from the sacrifice, O fool, and that was ill-counseled of you.

And who here is able to protect you from the anger of Rudra? / I do not see anyone, O brahmin, who will protect you, foolish of mind.

What is action and what is non-action—that you do not see, O evil-minded one! / Action alone will never be efficacious at all times.

Know this: action joined with the Lord becomes effective. / For there can be no other bestower [of the fruit] of action without the Lord.

And to those who are devoted to the Lord, tranquil, with their minds fixed on him, / Sadāśiva gives the fruit of their action.

Relying on action alone, people dedicated to a godless view / go to hell, even through hundreds of millions of sacrifices.

Bound again by bonds consisting of action birth after birth, / those whose form is mere ritual action are roasted in the hells."

Thus ends the third chapter, named 'Description of the Appearance of Vīrabhadra', in the Kedārakhaṇḍa of the first [part], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the Skandamahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.