Daksha yajna

Sati-Shiva marriage Daksha was one of the Prajapati, a son of Brahma, and among his foremost creations. Daksha married Manu's daughter, Prasuti, sometimes equated with Asikni, another of Daksha's wives. Sati (also known as Uma) was his youngest daughter, and also his favourite. As a consequence, Daksha had an aversion towards Shiva being his daughter’s companion. However, unlike Daksha, Sati loved Shiva as she had a revelation that Shiva was a powerful yogi. Sati won Shiva as her husband by undergoing severe austerities (tapas). Despite Daksha's disapproval, Sati married Shiva. Brahma's yajna Once, Brahma conducted a huge yajna (ritual sacrifice), where all the Prajapatis, deities, and kings of the world were invited. Shiva and Sati were also called on to participate in the yajna. All of them came for the yajna and sat in the ceremonial place. Daksha came last. When he arrived, everyone in the yajna, with the exception of Brahma and Shiva, stood up, showing their reverence for him. Brahma, being Daksha's father, did not rise. Shiva, being Daksha's son-in-law, and also due to the fact that he himself was superior in stature to Daksha, remained seated. Daksha misunderstood Shiva’s gesture and considered this act an insult. Daksha vowed to take revenge on the insult in the same manner. ==Ceremony==

Daksha’s grudge towards Shiva grew after Brahma's yajna. With the prime motive of insulting Shiva, Daksha initiated a great yajna, similar to that of Brahma. The Bhagavata Purana mentions its name as Brihaspatistava. The yajna was to be presided over by the sage Bhrigu. He invited all the deities, Prajapatis, and kings to attend the yajna, and intentionally avoided inviting Shiva and Sati. Dadhichi-Daksha argument The Kurma Purana discusses the dialogues between the sage Dadhichi and Daksha. After the sacrifice and hymns were offered to the twelve Aditya deities; Dadhichi noticed that there was no sacrificial portion (Havvis) allotted to Shiva and his wife, and no Vedic hymns were used in the yajna addressing Shiva. He warned Daksha that he was not to alter the Vedas for his personal reasons; the priests and sages supported this. Daksha replied to Dadhichi that he would not do so, and insulted Shiva this very act. Dadhichi left the yajna because of this argument. Death of Sati Sati learned of the grand yajna organised by her father, and asked Shiva to attend the yajna. Shiva refused her request, saying that it was inappropriate to attend a function without being invited. He reminded her that they had not been invited intentionally. Sati was of the notion that there was no need for them to receive an invitation in order to attend, as she was Daksha’s favourite daughter, and no formality existed between them. She constantly pleaded with Shiva to let her attend the ceremony, and turned a deaf ear to her husband's reasoning. Relenting, Shiva allowed Sati to go to her parents' home, along with his followers, including Nandi, to attend the ceremony, but refused to accompany her. She cursed Daksha for acting so atrociously toward her and Shiva, reminding him that his haughty behaviour had blinded his intellect. She cursed him, warning that the wrath of Shiva would destroy him and his kingdom. Unable to bear further humiliation, Sati took her own life by jumping into the sacrificial fire. Other versions of the legend state that Sati, losing all control over her anger, takes upon the form of Adi Shakti or Durga, and curses Daksha to fall to ruin. She immolates her body using her own energy and returns to the Sarvaloka. emerged. Shiva ordered them to kill Daksha and destroy the yajna. ==Aftermath==

According to the Bhagavata Purana, since the obstruction of the yajna are held to create havoc upon all of nature, Brahma and Vishnu went to the grief-stricken Shiva. They comforted and showed their sympathy towards Shiva. They requested him to come to the yajna location, pacify the Bhutaganas, and allow the yajna to be completed. Shiva agreed. Shiva found the burnt body of Sati and permitted the continuation of the yajna. Daksha was absolved by Shiva, and the head of a goat was fixed on the decapitated body of Daksha, restoring his life. The yajna was completed successfully. In Shakta Puranas like the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Kalika Purana, Shiva was distressed and could not part from his beloved wife. He took the corpse of Sati and wandered around the universe. To reduce Shiva's grief, Vishnu cuts Sati's corpse according to Vaishnava Puranas, whose parts fell on the places Shiva wandered. The Shaiva Puranas say that her body disintegrated on its own, and the parts fell while Shiva was carrying Sati's corpse to various places. These places commemorating each body part came to be known as the Shakta pithas. Shiva went into isolation, and wandered all around the world, until Sati reincarnated as Parvati, the daughter of the King Himavana. Like Sati, Parvati took severe austerities, gave away all her royal privileges, and went to the forest. He eventually realised Parvati is Sati herself. Shiva tested her affection and devotion in disguise. Later, he wed Parvati. ==Shakta pithas==

The legend of the Daksha Yajna is considered to be the reason behind the origin of Shakta pithas, Shiva walked in remorse with sati's corpse, as he walked her organs rot and fall off creating the Shakta pithas, which are the sacred abodes of Devi in Shaktism. These shrines are located all over South Asia. Most of the temples are located in India and Bangladesh; there are also a few shrines in Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. There are 54 Shakta pithas as per the Puranas, denoting the 54 alphabets of Shiva sukta, the maximum number of sounds the larynx can produce according to Hinduism. 51 of these Shakta pithas are known, the rest three are still kept secret to this day . It is said that the body part of the corpse of Sati fell in these places, and the shrines are mostly now associated with the name of the body part. Out of the 51 Shakta pithas, 18 are said to be Maha Shakta pithas, the greater temples of Shakti. They are: • Sharada Pitha (Saraswati) • Varanasi Pitha (Vishalakshi) • Gaya Pitha (Sarvamangala) • Jwalamukhi Pitha (Jwalamukhi) • Prayaga Pitha (Madhaveshwari) • Kamakhya Kamarupa Pitha (Kamakhya) • Draksharama Pitha (Manikyamba), • Oddyana Peetha (Girija Viraja) • Pushkarini Peetha (Puruhutika) • Ujjain Pitha (Mahakali) • Mahur Ekaveera Peetha (Renuka), • Kolhapur Sri Peetha (Mahalakshmi), • Srisailam Peetha (Bhramarambika), • Yogini Peetha (Jogulamba), • Mysuru Krouncha Peetha (Chamundeshwari) • Pradyumna Pitha (Shrinkhala), • Kanchipuram Kamakoti Peetha (Kamakshi) • Thirukonamalai Lanka Pitha (Shankari) . ==Commemoration==

Various sites like Kottiyoor, Kerala; the Aami Mandir of Chhapra in Bihar the Daksheswara Mahadev Temple of Kankhal in Uttarakhand, and Draksharama, in Andhra Pradesh claim to be the location of Daksha yajna and the self-immolation of Sati. Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam, a 27‑day Yajna ceremony, conducted in the serene hilly jungle location of Kottiyoor yearly commemorating the Daksha Yaga. The pooja and rituals were classified by Shri Sankaracharya. ==References==