Daksha Yajña Dhvaṃsana in the Vishṇu Dharmottara

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa gives two accounts of Bhagavān Śiva breaking a yajña. In Chapter 234, the devas hold a yajña and give Bhagavān Śiva no share, and Bhagavān Śiva destroys it. In Chapter 235, Prajāpati Daksha holds a great yajña and leaves out Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī, and Vīrabhadra and Bhadrakālī destroy it. Bhagavān Śiva then places Vīrabhadra at Gaṅgādvāra.

Part I: Bhagavān Śiva destroys a yajña of the devas (Chapter 234)

In an earlier age the devas held a great yajña (fire ritual). They did not set aside a share (bhāga) for Bhagavān Śiva. This broke the rule of the yajña (yajña-dharma), because Bhagavān Śiva is one of the Trimūrti and has his rightful place in the great yajña.

Bhagavān Śiva’s wrath

Bhagavān Śiva learned that he had been left out and was filled with deep anger. He came to the place of the yajña (yajñasthāna) and began to destroy it. The devas were alarmed and ran away. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself was among those who fled. He took the form of the yajñarūpī (the yajña in the form of a deer), the living, moving form of the yajña, and ran from Bhagavān Śiva’s coming wrath.

The chase

Bhagavān Śiva chased the deer. The chase across the three worlds is told in poetic language, with Bhagavān Śiva pursuing the deer with his weapon raised. In the end Nārāyaṇa, either in the deer form or having taken back his full form, seized the throat of Bhagavān Śiva, or Bhagavān Śiva seized Nārāyaṇa. It was a great struggle between the two. Bhagavān Śiva was overcome for a time. Brahmā came, settled the struggle and brought back order to the worlds.

Part II: Daksha Adhvara Dhvaṃsana (Chapter 235)

Pārvatī is not invited

Prajāpati Daksha was the father of Pārvatī. He held a magnificent yajña and invited all the devas, all the ṛshis and all the notable beings of the higher worlds. He kept out Bhagavān Śiva and also his own daughter Pārvatī. He did this out of contempt for Bhagavān Śiva, whom he took to be an ascetic of doubtful family, not fit to be his daughter’s husband.

Pārvatī heard of the great yajña to which her own parents had not invited her, and she was deeply hurt. Her father had shut her out of his yajña, and Bhagavān Śiva could not pass over this wound.

Vīrabhadra and Bhadrakālī

Bhagavān Śiva was in supreme wrath at the insult to himself and to Pārvatī. From his fury he made two instruments of destruction.

Vīrabhadra was a very powerful warrior form, born from a lock of Bhagavān Śiva’s matted hair. He had a terrible look and a strength that none could stop. He was made for the destruction of Daksha’s yajña.

Bhadrakālī was the fierce devī, the śakti (power) of destruction. She was made at the same time as Vīrabhadra, as the feminine side of this destructive force.

Vīrabhadra and Bhadrakālī came down together on Daksha’s yajña. The destruction was complete. The yajña was overturned, the offerings were scattered, and the assembled devas and ṛshis ran off in all directions. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa dwells on the destruction itself and does not tell of any later restoration of Daksha.

Bhagavān Śiva places Vīrabhadra at Gaṅgādvāra

After Daksha’s yajña was destroyed, Bhagavān Śiva gave Vīrabhadra a lasting home at Gaṅgādvāra. This is the place where the Gaṅgā comes down from the Himālaya into the plains, one of the most sacred places in the north. Vīrabhadra was set there as guardian, the fierce power of Bhagavān Śiva at the gate of the sacred river.

The tīrthas of Gaṅgādvāra

The chapter also describes the sacred land around Gaṅgādvāra and names the main tīrthas (holy places) there:

Kuśāvarta: where kuśa grass grows on the banks of the Gaṅgā, a place of ancient tapas.
Bilvaṃka: sacred to the bilva tree, which Bhagavān Śiva loves.
Nīlaparvata: the dark mountain in the foothills of the Himālaya.
Kanaṭhala: an ancient sacred forest.

These tīrthas lie near the point where the Gaṅgā enters the plains at Haridvāra, also called Gaṅgādvāra. They form a group of holy places, and their holiness comes in part from Vīrabhadra’s lasting home there.

Sources

Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 234: Bhagavān Śiva destroys the yajña of the devas
Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 235: Daksha Adhvara Dhvaṃsana, Vīrabhadra at Gaṅgādvāra, the tīrthas

Daksha Yajña Dhvaṃsana (Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa)