226 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 7

TEXT 17
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vaisnavam yajna-santatyai
trikapalam dvijottamah

purodasam niravapan
vira-samsarga-suddhaye

vaisnavam—meant for Lord Visnu or His devotees; yajia—sacrifice;
santatyai—for performances; trikapdlam—three kinds of offerings; dvija-
uttamah—the best of the brahmanas; purodasam—the oblation called
purodasq; niravapan—offered; vira—Virabhadra and other followers of Lord
Siva; samsarga—contamination (dogsa) due to his touching; suddhaye—for
purification.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter, in order to resume the activities of sacrifice, the brahmanas
first of all arranged for purification of the contamination caused by the
touch of Virabhadra and other ghostly followers of Lord Siva. They then
arranged to offer the oblations known as purodaéa into the fire.

PURPORT

Lord Siva’s followers and devotees, headed by Virabhadra, are known
as viras, and they are ghostly demons. Not only did they pollute the entire
sacrificial arena by their very presence, but they disturbed the whole
situation by passing stool and urine. Therefore, the infection they had
created was to be first purified by the method of offering puroddasa
oblations. A Visnu yajfia, or an offering to Lord Visnu, cannot be
performed uncleanly. If anything is offered in an unclean state, that is
called sevaparadha. The Visnu Deity worship in the temple is also Visnu
yajna. In all Visnu temples, therefore, the priest who takes care of the
arcana-vidhi must be very clean. Everything should be always kept neat
and clean, and the foodstuffs should be prepared in a neat and clean
manner. All these regulative principles are described in The Nectar of
Devotion. There are thirty-two kinds of offenses in discharging arcana
service. It is required, therefore, that one should be extremely careful
not to be unclean. Generally, whenever any ritualistic ceremony is begun,
the holy name of Lord Visnu is first chanted in order to purify the situa-
tion. Whether one is in a pure or impure condition internally or externally,
