| Virabhadra | |
|---|---|
 Virabhadra and Daksha | |
| Other names |
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| Affiliation | Shiva |
| Abode | Mount Kailash |
| Planet | Angaraka (Mars) |
| Mantra |
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| Weapon | Trident, sword, arrow, discus, conch, spear, staff, thunderbolt, two varieties of shields, bow, noose, goad, axe, and club. |
| Day | Tuesday |
| Mount | |
| Texts | Shiva Purana |
| Festivals | |
| Consort | Bhadrakali |
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Virabhadra (Sanskrit:वीरभद्र,romanized: Vīrabhadra,lit. 'auspicious hero'),[1] also renderedVeerabhadra,Veerabathira, andVeerabathiran, is a fierce form of theHindu godShiva.[2] He is created by the wrath of Shiva, when the deity hurls a lock of his matted hair upon the ground, upon hearing of the self-immolation of his consort,Sati, at theDaksha yajna.[3][4][5]
He appears in thePuranas as a vengeful being, attacking the deities who had attended the Daksha yajna withBhadrakali. In the ensuing melee,Bhaga's eyes are plucked out,[6]Agni,Mitra, andChandra are also accosted.[7] The fate ofDaksha himself varies from text to text: Virabhadra either decapitates him,[8] urges him to beg forgiveness from Shiva,[9] or is saved by Vishnu, who defeats Virabhadra.[10][11]
Virabhadra was created byShiva afterSati,Shiva's wife, immolated herself during theDaksha Yajña.
The origin of theDaksha Yajña legend lies in Taittirīya Samhita 2.6.8, whereRudra (later Shiva) was excluded from the sacrifice by the Devas, then Rudra pierced the sacrifice.Pushan lost his teeth andBhaga got blinded. This legend is also mentioned in the Shatapatha Brāhmana of the Shukla Yajurveda and in the Gopatha Brāhmana of the Atharvaveda. The Gopatha Brāhmana version mentionsPrajapati as the one who excluded Rudra from the sacrifice. In post-Vedic literature,DakshaPrajapati excluded Shiva from the Yajña.
According toShaivism, Virabhadra's origins are described as follows: Sati was the youngest daughter ofDaksha. While growing up, she had her heart set on Shiva and worshipped him. During thesvayamvara of Sati, Daksha invited all theDevas and princes except Shiva. Sati cast her garland into the air, calling upon Shiva to receive it, and beheld him to be standing in the midst of the court, with the garland about his neck. Daksha had no choice but to accept the marriage of his daughter to Shiva.[12]
One day, Daksha invited all the deities, as well as all of his children and grandchildren, in order to perform aritual sacrifice, deliberately not inviting Sati and Shiva. Sati's urge to attend the event, due to her affection towards her parents, overpowered the social etiquette of not going to an uninvited ceremony. When Shiva refused to accompany her, Sati insisted on attending the ritual without him. Upon her arrival, Daksha started to humiliate her and her husband, expressing his hatred for Shiva in front of the entire assembly of people. Unable to bear the ignominy, the furious Sati leapt into the sacrificial fire, immolating herself with her yogic abilities. When Shiva heard of these tidings, he tore a clump of his matted hair, from which Virabhadra and Bhadrakali emerged.[13] Shiva instructed Virabhadra to lay waste to the sacrifice, and destroy all of its participants.[14] Veerabhadra is a small element of Shiva. Shiva himself personally did not want to get into a violent mode. So, he took a strand of his hair and created Veerabhadra.
ThePadma Purana identifies Virabhadra as the fierce form ofMangala (Mars). Virabhadra is born when Shiva, due to his anguish regarding the death ofSati, perspires, and his perspiration falls upon the earth. This gives birth to the fierce Virabhadra, who destroys the sacrifice. In the aftermath, Shiva calms him down and makes him Angaraka, the planet Mars.[15]
TheSkanda Purana states that ill-omens immediately started to surface when Shiva's forces started to march upon the Daksha yajna, describing a rain of blood and meteor showers. Finding these phenomena to be foreboding, Daksha sought the protection ofVishnu, who agreed to offer it, while also according blame to the former for his disrespect. The forces consisted of theNavadurga,rakshasas,yakshas,pishachas, a host ofbhutas, thousands ofganas, as well asyoginis andguhyakas. These forces were commanded by the three-eyed Virabhadra, bearing a thousand arms, entwined with great serpents, with his chariot drawn by two thousand horses and a million lions. Indra and the devas were assisted byBhrigu in routing the first wave of gana attacks. Angered, Virabhadra marshalled his forces in a counterattack, and wielding their battle-axes and iron clubs, they started to massacre the devas. The sages begged Vishnu to defend the sacrifice from the attackers, and the deity prepared to fight against Virabhadra. While Virabhadra offered his obeisance to the preserver deity, he accused him of seeking a share of the offerings of the sacrifice, and warned him against staying there. Vishnu laughed, and informed him that he had a duty to shield his devotees, and would leave after he had had his fill of Virabhadra's missiles. Indra chose to challenge Virabhadra, and struck him with hisvajra. In retaliation, Virabhadra attempted to swallow Indra as well as his mount,Airavata. Vishnu intervened, saving Indra, and obstructing the assault of Virabhadra. He also summoned theAshvins, who healed the fallen devas with their medicine. Enraged, Virabhadra confronted Vishnu. The preserver deity employed hisSudarshana Chakra against Virabhadra, which the latter swallowed whole. After retrieving his celestial discus, satisfied that he had turned the tide of the battle, Vishnu returned to his abode.[16] Not satisfied with the carnage, Virabhadra accosted Bhrigu, Pushan, and when he saw the terrified Daksha cowering beneath the altar, he beheaded him, offering his head to the fire as a sacrifice. The disturbedBrahma visited Shiva, and begged him to put an end to the bloodshed. Shiva arrived at the Daksha yajna, conversed with Virabhadra, and restored life to Daksha by placing the head of a deformed animal upon his neck. The resurrected Daksha offered his obeisance to Shiva, which ended the conflict.[17]
Various scriptures, coloured by their traditions, offer variations of the conflict, and Virabhadra's role in the legend. TheKurma Purana has Virabhadra realise that Vishnu and Shiva are the same deity, and proclaim that the world was created byNarayana. In theHarivamsha and Vamana Purana, Vishnu gains the upper hand in his fight against Virabhadra.[18][19]
Veerbhadra is considered gotrapurusha of manyjat clans andVeeraShaiva-lingayat subsects(like lingayat vani).They believe to be originated from Shiva's Jats and therefore worship lord virabhadra as their ancestral god. They believe in having qualities of aKshatriya and neglect discrimination and ego (same was the purpose of virabhadra to killdaksha).[20][21][22][23]
Many temples were created by rulers of veerashiva lingayat faith including the lepakshi veerbhadra temple.The temple was built in 1530 CE (1540 CE is also mentioned) byVirupanna Nayaka and Viranna, both brothers who were Governors under theVijayanagar Empire.According toSkanda Purana, the temple is one of thedivyakshetras, an important pilgrimage site of Lord Shiva.[24]
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