From the divine radiance emerged a formidable being, whose hands blazed with the power of a raised thunderbolt. His hair crackled and shone like lightning, while his mouth, wide and ferocious, revealed sharp fangs. His vast belly seemed to contain boundless energy. His tongue, too, flashed like lightning, and his heavy lips hung down as he unleashed a roar that echoed like thunderclouds crashing over the ocean. Draped in a tiger skin, blood streamed from his mighty form. His earrings, shaped in great circles, touched both cheeks, and atop his head rested a crest adorned with a garland made from the heads of the noblest gods. He was splendidly decorated with golden ornaments: anklets and armlets that rang out in battle, his chest covered with gleaming jewels and a string of radiant pearls. His valor was as fierce as a sharabha, a tiger, or a lion, and he moved with the majestic gait of a noble, intoxicated elephant. His radiance was pure and dazzling, like a conch, a yak-tail fan, jasmine blossoms, the moon, or the stalk of a lotus. He appeared as if the lord of snow-covered mountains had come alive and begun to walk among beings. Encircled by a garland of flames and adorned with blazing pearl ornaments, he shone with such brilliance that he seemed to embody the very fire of dissolution at the end of an age. This awe-inspiring being approached, knelt upon the ground with his knees, bowed with joined palms, and then stood respectfully at the side of the Lord of the gods, Ganesha. Out of wrath, he created the auspicious and formidable goddess Bhadrakali, the great power of Maheshvara, to be his companion and witness to his deeds. Seeing Virabhadra standing before him, resembling the fire of destruction and accompanied by Bhadrakali, Shankara spoke words of benediction: “May all be well.” Virabhadra, together with the goddess, addressed Maheshvara: “Command me, O Great God—what task shall I perform?” Then the destroyer of the three cities, moved by love for Parvati, spoke in a deep, resonant voice to Virabhadra, the mighty-armed one: “Immediately destroy the sacrifice of Daksha, son of Prachetas, together with Bhadrakali; this is your task, O Lord of the Ganas. I too, along with her, will remain at Raibhya’s hermitage and witness your formidable valor, O Lord of the Ganas.” He described the trees at Kanakhala, near the gateway of the Ganga, which shone like Mount Meru and Mandara with golden peaks. “In that region, Daksha’s sacrifice is now taking place; quickly disrupt that sacrifice without delay.” As the god finished speaking, the goddess, daughter of the lord of the Himalayas, looked upon Bhadra with deep affection, as a cow gazes lovingly at her calf. She embraced him, smelled the head of the six-faced one, smiled, and spoke sweet, gentle words: “Dear Bhadra, greatly fortunate and mighty in valor, you were born for my sake, to remove my anger. Daksha, absorbed in sacrificial rites, did not invite the Lord of Sacrifice; therefore, out of enmity, O Lord of the Ganas, destroy his sacrifice. By my command, O Bhadra, make the fortune of the sacrifice into misfortune; and, dear one, slay the sacrificer together with Bhadrakali.” Receiving this command from both Shiva and Parvati, whose deeds are wondrous, Bhadra bowed his head in reverence and prepared to depart. Then, the blessed Lord, enraged—Virabhadra, the great god, whose abode is among the dwellings of spirits and who is the remover of the goddess’s wrath—manifested in his full might. From the very pores of his skin, he created the lordly Ganas called Romajas. From his right arm, he brought forth a hundred crore Ganas of fierce aspect. From his feet, thighs, back, sides, face, throat, secret parts, ankles, crown of the head, neck, mouth, and belly, he produced even more beings. With these noble Ganesvaras, equal in valor to Bhadra, the entire world, with all its spaces and openings, became filled. Each of these beings had a thousand arms, each hand wielding a thousand weapons. All were followers of Rudra, all shone with the same radiance as Rudra. They brandished tridents, spears, maces, axes, skulls, and stones. Resembling Kālāgni Rudra, they were three-eyed and wore matted hair. Hundreds among them, riding on lions, swiftly descended through the sky, roaring like thunderclouds—these were the sons of Bhadra. Surrounded by these noble beings, the blessed Lord shone as if joined by hundreds of fires of destruction, like Kālabhairava at the end of time. Among them, mounting the great bull, the Bull-bannered Lord, the blessed Bhadra advanced, shining like the creator amidst the clouds. When Bhadra, radiant as ashes, mounted the bull, he bore a pearl-white parasol and held a pure white chowrie. By his side shone the ash-hued Lord, like the lord of mountains beside the preceptor of the universe. Both Bhadra and the trident-bearing Lord shone with the white chowrie in hand, gentle and luminous as the young moon. In front of Bhadra, the radiant Bhanu, adorned with gold and jewels, blew a pure, auspicious conch, causing the earth itself to tremble. Divine drums resounded, filling the heavens with celestial echoes, while hundreds of clouds showered flowers upon their heads. The winds, carrying the fragrance of blooming, honey-filled flowers, blew gently along their path, favoring their journey. All the Ganesvaras, intoxicated and proud of their battle strength, advanced. At that time, Bhadra, standing among the hosts of Bhadra, shone with Bhadra, just as Tryambaka stands among the Rudra hosts with Ambika. In that very moment, the mighty-armed Virabhadra, accompanied by his great followers, entered Daksha’s sacrificial enclosure, which now stood transformed into a battlefield.