Daksha’s Story

Daksha was Brahma’s son and had a daughter named Sati. Sati was married to Shiva. Daksha was thus Shiva’s father-in-law.

Once Daksha came to visit his son-in-law. But although Shiva worshipped him with all due respect. Daksha felt that he had been slighted. Subsequently, when Sati went to visit her father, Daksha severely reprimanded her.

“Your husband is worse than useless,” he told his daughter. “My other sons-in-law are far superior to him. You are not welcome in my house. Return to your worthless husband.”

Sati could not bear to hear this abuse of her husband and immolated herself. She was later born as Parvati, the daughter of Himavana (the Himalayas) and married Shiva again.

Shiva was furious to learn that Sati had died. He visited Daksha and cursed him that he would be born on earth as the son of a kshatriya. It was thus that Daksha had been born as the son of the Prachetas.

(Dakhsa’s story is full of inconsistencies in the Puranas. There is an account of a yajna that Daksha performed. Shiva either destroyed this yajna himself, or had it destroyed by Virabhadra. But which Daksha performed this yajna, the one who was the son of Brahma or the one who was the son of Prachetas? The Kurma Purana suggests that it was the son of the Prachetas who performed this ceremony. The more customary account, such as that in the Bhagavata Purana, is that it was Brahma’s son who performed the sacrifice. Daksha was angered at Shiva because, on one particular occasion, Shiva did not stand up to show him respect, although Daksha happened to be Shiva’s father-in-law. Daksha therefore organised a yajna to which he did not invite Shiva. Sati went to the ceremony uninvited, and immolated herself when her father started criticise her husband. Hearing of Sati’s death, Shiva destroyed the yajna. He also cursed Daksha that Daksha would have to be born as the son of the Prachetas.)

To return to the account of the Kurma Purana, the Daksha, who was the son of the Prachetas, organised a yajna. All the gods and sages were invited to this ceremony. But as a result of Daksha’s earlier enmity with his son-in-law, Shiva was not invited.

There was a sage named Dadhichi who protested at this slight to Shiva. “How can you have a religious ceremony without inviting Shiva?” he told Daksha.

“Shiva is a worthless fellow,” replied Daksha. “He is not fit to be worshipped together with the other gods. he wears skulls and destroys all that is created. How can he be treated as an equal of the great Vishnu, the preserver of all that one can see? My yajna is dedicated to Vishnu. It is not meant for the likes of Shiva.”