Text 13]
The Sacrifice Performed by Dakṣa
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TEXT 13
दक्ष उवाच
भूयाननुग्रह अहो भवता कृतो मे 
  दण्डस्त्वया मयि भृतो यदपि प्रलब्धः। 
  न ब्रह्मवन्धुषु च वां भगवन्नवज्ञा 
  तुभ्यं हरेश्च कुत एव धृतव्रतेषु ॥१३॥
dakṣa uvāca
bhūyān anugraha aho bhavatā kṛto me 
  daṇḍas tvayā mayi bhṛto yad api pralabdhaḥ 
  na brahma-bandhuṣu ca vām bhagavann avajñā 
  tubhyam hareś ca kuta eva dhṛta-vrateṣu
dakṣaḥ—King Dakṣa; uvāca—said; bhūyān—very great; anugrahaḥ—favor; aho—alas; bhavatā—by you; kṛtaḥ—done; me—upon me; daṇḍaḥ—punishment; tvayā—by you; mayi—unto me; bhṛtaḥ—done; yat api—although; pralabdhaḥ—defeated; na—neither; brahma-bandhuṣu—unto an unqualified brāhmaṇa; ca—also; vām—both of you; bhagavan—my lord; avajñā—negligence; tubhyam—of you; hareḥ ca—of Lord Viṣṇu; kutaḥ—where; eva—certainly; dhṛta-vrateṣu—one who is engaged in the performance of sacrifice.
TRANSLATION
King Dakṣa said: My dear Lord Śiva, I committed a great offense against you, but you are so kind that instead of withdrawing your mercy, you have done me a great favor by punishing me. Both yourself and Lord Viṣṇu do not neglect even useless unqualified brāhmaṇas. Why, then, should you neglect me, who am engaged in performing sacrifices?
PURPORT
Although Dakṣa felt that he was defeated, he knew that his punishment was simply the great mercy of Lord Śiva. He remembered that Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu are never neglectful of the brāhmaṇas, even though they are sometimes unqualified. According to Vedic civilization, a person who is a descendant of a brāhmaṇa family should never be heavily punished. This was exemplified in Arjuna's treatment of Aśvatthāmā. Aśvatthāmā was the son of a great brāhmaṇa, Droṇācārya, and in spite of his committing the great offense of killing all the sleeping sons of the Pāṇḍavas, for