DEVI SATI

Contents

·          Introduction

·          Birth and Early Life

·           Marriage

·           Daksha’s anger

·           Daksha’s Yagna

·           Sati’s reception

·           Shiva’s anger

·           Shiva’s grief

·           Shakti peethas

·           In the Ramacharitamanas

·           Rebirth

·           Kotiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam

·           Daksheshwar Mahadev Temple

·           List of Shakti Peethas

·          Conclusion

Introduction

Sati is a Hindu Goddess, who was the first consort of Lord Shiva. She is an aspect of Adi Parashakti and is also known as Dakshayani, being the daughter of Daksha. The capital of the kingdom of Daksha is Kankhal near modern day Haridwar (Mayapuri as mentioned in the Vedas and Puranas) where the Daksha Prajapati Mandir has been constructed. She is worshipped by all Hindu women for the long life of their husbands. For the sake of loyalty and devotion to her husband, Goddess Sati burnt herself in the funeral pyre. The act in which a Hindu widow would burn herself on her husband’s funeral pyre in bygone days is named after her and was referred to as ‘Sati’. Sati took birth to play the role of bringing Shiva away from ascetic isolation to participate creatively in the world.

Birth and Early life

According to Padma Purana and Vishnu Purana, Lord Brahma created Daksha from his right thumb. Daksha was married to Prasuti, who was the daughter of Svayambhuva Manu and Shatarupa. They had 24 daughters of whom Sati was one. It is said that when they desired a daughter, Lord Brahma advised them to meditate on Goddess Adi Parashakti. Giving up royal pleasures and robes and surviving heat, cold, rain and harsh weather they sat in a forest and performed penances. After a long time, the Goddess appeared before them and granted them their boon. They asked her to take birth as their daughter. The Goddess agreed and was subsequently born as their daughter, whom they named Sati, meaning truth. From birth, Sati adored the tales and legends of Lord Shiva, and as she grew up, her only ambition was to secure Him as her husband.

Marriage

As Sati grew up into a young and beautiful girl, she decided to seriously pursue her goal in making Lord Shiva her husband. She gave up all luxuries and retired to the forest to devote herself wholeheartedly to the contemplation and worship of Lord Shiva. She gradually gave up food and subsisted on one leaf a day, while performing rigorous penances. Later she gave up even that due to which she secured the name Aparna. Finally, pleased with her sincerity and devotion, Shiva blessed her and agreed to marry her. Sati was overjoyed and returned to the palace to inform the joyous news and await the advent of Lord Shiva as the bridegroom.

Daksha’s anger

Daksha being a King received proposals from rich and brave Kings for Sati’s hand and he was furious when Sati refused and expressed a desire to marry Shiva. He considered Shiva an ascetic with matted, unkempt hair, who was always found in cremation grounds and disliked him intensely. Clad in tiger skin, smeared with ashes from the cremation ground and snakes around his neck, Daksha could not imagine his beautiful and graceful daughter marrying such a man. But Sati was adamant and finally, Daksha had no choice but to agree to his daughter’s wishes and the wedding was duly performed without much fanfare and celebrations, after which Sati proceeded to Kailash with Shiva on Shiva’s vehicle Nandi.  Shiva was a kind and loving husband and Sati spent her days in devoted service to her husband.

Daksha’s yagna

Meanwhile, Daksha decided to organise a Yagna and invited everyone to participate in it with the exception of Shiva and Sati. Sati learnt about the yagna and persuaded Shiva to accompany her to the Yagna reasoning with him that as she was their daughter she did not require a formal invitation. But Shiva refused stating that they had not been invited. However seeing Sati’s earnestness and love for her parents, Shiva allowed her to go escorted by Shiva’s Ganas to her father’s kingdom.

Sati’s reception

Unfortunately when Sati arrived full of eager anticipation to meet her parents and sisters, Daksha was annoyed at her arrival and began abusing her in front of the assembled personage. Sati tried to pacify him, but he began disparaging remarks against her husband, Shiva. She realised that her beloved husband Shiva was only being abused because he was married to her. She was the cause of this dishonour to her husband. Loathing her father for his mentality, Sati prayed that she should be born in future to a father whom she would respect and who would honour Shiva. Then she invoked her yogic powers and creating a fire jumped into it performing self-immolation.

Shiva’s anger

On hearing the terrible news, Shiva was grief stricken and angry. He then pulled two locks of his hair and threw it on the ground. From them arose Veerabhadra, Shiva’s destructive form, looking dark and fearsome with eight hands holding weapons and his spouse Bhadrakali the Goddess’s violent form with eighteen hands holding weapons. They were assisted by eight other ferocious looking Goddesses namely Kali, Katyayani, Chamundi, Ishaani, Bhadra, Mundamardini, Vaishnavi and Twarita and all of them together began to wreak havoc on the gathering. Daksha was decapitated and in the rampage, the Yajnashaala was devastated. Later Shiva forgave everyone and restored back to life most of them who were slain. Daksha’s head was replaced with that of a goat, and the Yajna was duly completed. Having learnt his lesson, Daksha remained a lifelong devotee of Lord Shiva.

Shiva’s grief

But Shiva was torn with grief on seeing the half burned corpse of his beloved wife Sati. The other Gods called Lord Vishnu to help in calming Shiva. Lord Vishnu appeared and tried to pacify him but in vain. Unable to part with her, Shiva carried her corpse and wandered hither and thither. Some legends state that Shiva performed the Cosmic dance of destruction (Thandava) across all creation carrying Sati’s lifeless body. Other legends state that Lord Vishnu dismembered Sati’s lifeless body into 51 parts with his Sudarshan Chakra following which Shiva regained his equanimity and calmness.  Her body parts (51 in number) fell in places which came to be known as Shakti Peethas. The blood drops from Sati’s body which fell on the earth, resulted in small peethas like Bindudham which came into existence. It is said that even in the present times Lord Shiva roams around as Kala Bhairava and protects the Shakti Peethas.

Shakti Peethas

At all the Shakti Peethas, Goddess Shakti is accompanied by her consort Lord Bhairava. The 51 Peethas correspond to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit and are scattered in the entire Indian subcontinent which includes along with India, the countries of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tibet, Pakistan and Bhutan. The most sacred Peethas are considered the ones at Kamakhya, Gaya and Ujjain as they symbolise the three important aspects of the Goddess namely Creation (Kamarupa Devi), Nourishment (Mangalagauri or Sarvamangala Devi) and Annihilation (Mahakali Devi). The Daksha Yagna and the self-immolation of Sati are thus of immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and Shaivism resulting in the union of Shiva and Parvati leading to the birth of Ganesha and Kartikeya. It has resulted in the birth of the Shakta sect and Shaktism one of the primary schools of devotional Hinduism which focuses on all worship of Shakti as the Supreme Brahman herself and as the dynamic and feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine, while the worship of Shiva denoting the masculine aspect of divinity, is relegated to an auxiliary role. Shaktas are tantric and non tantric and use chants, holy diagrams, real magic, rituals and yoga to call forth cosmic forces. It is said that nowhere in the religious history of the world is there such a female oriented system where the Goddess is conceived as the Supreme Ultimate Godhead, source and embodiment of all creation as well as the energy that governs and animates it.

In the Ramacharitamanas

According to legends in the Treta Yuga, Shiva went to Rishi Agastya along with Sati. Sage Agastya related the story of Lord Rama to the couple. Shiva got a glimpse of Rama which overwhelmed him with love and joy. Sati could not comprehend the divinity of Rama and wondered why Shiva was so enamoured by a human being when Shiva himself was divine. Sati did not mention her feelings of scepticism to Shiva, but Shiva being omniscient knew Sati’s doubts and feelings. He then asked Sati to verify for herself. Sati then decided to test Rama and she approached him in the form of Sita. However, Rama recognised her and knew her thoughts and doubts approached her, introducing himself and then asking her about Shiva’s whereabouts and the reason for her moving around alone without her husband. She had a vision in which she found Rama, Sita and Lakshmana walking in front of her and Lord Rama spread in all directions along with various deities with all creation encapsulated in Him. When she opened and closed her eyes, everything vanished. Awe stricken and full of reverence, she returned to Shiva.

Rebirth

Sati was reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himavan, who revered and respected Shiva. She sought and secured Shiva as her husband, and this legend is described in detail in the Puranas, in Tantra literature and Kalidasa’s lyrical epic Kumarasambhavam.

Kotiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam

It is a 27 day yearly pilgrimage celebrated at Kotiyoor Kerala at the Ikkare Kotiyoor temple, on the west bank of the Vavali river, in the monsoon season in the Hindu month of Vysakha – (May/June to June/July) to commemorate the mythology of Daksha Yagna. The Shiva linga at this temple is Swayambhu or self manifested. It is believed that Sati self immolated in this region. Shankaracharya is said to have classified the poojas and rituals performed here.

Daksha Prajapati Mandir or Daksheshwar Mahadev temple

It is one of the most ancient Shiva temples at Kankhal in Haridwar and according to mythology, the seat of the Daksha Yajna. There is a pit within the grounds of the temple which marks the exact location of the sacrificial fire. The temple stands a tribute to the sacrifice of Mata Sati. Later, on the site of the Yajna and Sati’s sacrifice, the Daksha Mahadev temple or Shri Daksheshwar temple was built initially by Queen Dhankaur in 1810, and lately reconstructed in the year 1962. At the centre of the temple, the holy Shiva idol in phallic form is situated. Thousands of devotees come from all over the world in the holy month of Shravan in August to worship in the temple. Special celebrations and prayers are performed on the holy occasion of Maha Shivaratri.

List Of Shakti Peethas with their names and forms

Conclusion

The Rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana states that unless Shiva involved himself in the created world, there could be no continuation of species and creation. This was the reason for the birth of Sati and later Parvati.  The union of Sati and Shiva allows creation to continue as Sati represents the ‘yoni’ while Shiva represents the ‘Linga’. This resulted in the Sati act in medieval times where the wife expressed her undying loyalty to her husband by joining him in the funeral pyre. According to other legends, the birth of Kartikeya to kill the demon Tarakasura needed Shiva to give up his monastic role and take over the mantle of family life. This necessitated the divine play of the birth of Sati and later on Parvati. Sati has come to embody the epitome of sacrifice and loyalty and is revered as a ‘Pativrata Stree’.