Text 32
tad brahma paramaṁ śuddhaṁ
satāṁ vartma sanātanam
vigarhya yāta pāṣaṇḍaṁ
daivaṁ vo yatra bhūta-rāṭ
tat — that; brahma — Veda; paramam — supreme; śuddham — pure; satām — of the saintly persons; vartma — path; sanātanam — eternal; vigarhya — blaspheming; yāta — should go; pāṣaṇḍam — to atheism; daivam — deity; vaḥ — your; yatra — where; bhūta-rāṭ — the lord of the bhūtas.
By blaspheming the principles of the Vedas, which are the pure and supreme path of the saintly persons, certainly you followers of Bhūtapati, Lord Śiva, will descend to the standard of atheism without a doubt.
Lord Śiva is described here as bhūta-rāṭ. The ghosts and those who are situated in the material mode of ignorance are called bhūtas, so bhūta-rāṭ refers to the leader of the creatures who are in the lowest standard of the material modes of nature. Another meaning of bhūta is anyone who has taken birth or anything which is produced, so in that sense Lord Śiva may be accepted as the father of this material world. Here, of course, Bhṛgu Muni takes Lord Śiva as the leader of the lowest creatures. The characteristics of the lowest class of men have already been described — they do not bathe, they have long hair on their heads, and they are addicted to intoxicants. In comparison with the path followed by the followers of Bhūtarāṭ, the Vedic system is certainly excellent, for it promotes people to spiritual life as the highest eternal principle of human civilization. If one decries or blasphemes the Vedic principles, then he falls to the standard of atheism.