As I Know: The Lord of the Mountains – Shiv Purana: 44

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Daksa is unrelenting and organises a grand yajna and invites gods and goddesses and celestial souls and created beings but ignores lord Shiva

Daksa was not reconciled and fury against Shiva continued to let off jealousy and distrust. After an age, Daksa organised yajna on a large scale. He invited all royal sages, holy seers and gods to the yajna. All arrived at his palace. A son of Supreme Brahma did not want to be less important in any case. He invited holy souls and sages namely – Agastya, Kasyapa, Atri, Vamadeva, Bhrigu, Dadhichi, Vyasa, Bhardwaja, Gautama, Paila, Parashara, Garga, Kakusa, Sitta, Sumanta, Trika, Kanka and Vaispayana. Along with several dignified souls, he invited many monks, who arrived with women, sons and relations. They were extremely happy to become part of the grand yajna. In addition to holy men and women, all the gods and goddesses, great and honoured lokapalas (the guardians of heavens and different regions), and various subordinate gods and the generals attended with respective armies.

He did not want to lag behind. Later on, he humbly made a request to Supreme Brahma, an exalted father residing in Satyaloka (the abode of Truth). Vishnu was a special invitee, and so, he arrived to grace the occasion. Daksa was against Shiva, never revered him, and therefore, did not invite. However, he granted royal welcome to all others.

On this occasion, the great artisan Vishvakarma constructed extremely gleaming, large and precious divine palaces for Daksa where Prajapati made arrangements of stay for the most revered divine guests. All holy and mighty guests stayed in wonderful and luxurious palaces and thus, Daksa ensured that guests get appropriate and dignified place.

When all arrangements were complete and all the guests arrived, he organised the grand yajna at Kanakhala (a great place of pilgrimage, a tirtha). Daksa asked men of tapa like Bhrigu to become Ritvija (the chief of pundits). Vishnu was the great adhisthata (the chief of priests, the presiding pundit) He gave the job of protecting yajna to the guardians and therefore, they guarded different gates and entries to the yajna ground. Daksa ensured presence of holy men in the blessed podium of yajna. All monks and sages were excellent pundits of the Vedas. The lord of Fire also assumed thousands of images so that he accepts the sacrificial fuel in the festival of yajna.

At that place, eighty-eight thousands ritvijas (pundits) performed yajna at the same time and sat at the same place that exhibited magnificence and grandeur unrivaled. Sixty-four royal sages were the udgatas (proponents of mantras), ardhvaryus (a priests at the yajna–men, who want an adhvara – sacrifice, the acts give happiness) and Hotas (another kind of priests in yajna, other three are adhisthatas. udgatas Ardhvaryus) of the same number were also present. Celestial sage Narada, other great sages and seven great sages sang hymns of glory separately.

One can imagine the dimensions of yajna when one learns that thousands of gandharavas, vidhyadharas, siddhas, adityas with many followers, and all nagas, who loitered about in various yajnas were honorable invitees to the yajna. A large number of sages having knowledge of ‘the self’, sages of the kings and of gods, also arrived along with relations, friends, ministers and huge armies. In fact, none whoever was of any substance was left uninvited and thus, yajna constituted a gathering of people of divine attributes, including the gods of heavens whom Supreme Brahma and Vishnu led.

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