Daksha

Daksha

दक्ष, dakṣa

The god of the group of Adityas. Considered to be the seventh son of Brahma (or Prajapati), born from the big toe of the right foot of the Creator; Virini became the wife of Daksha, she was born from the finger of the left leg of the Creator, identified with the night and sometimes called Dakshi.

In the Puranas Daksha appears also to be the father of Shiva's wife – Sati, who did not endure the insults of Daksha against Shiva, she committed self-immolation – sati.

Sacrifice of Daksha

The most famous myth associated with Daksha, sets out the story of his sacrifice:

In the redemption of sin, the lord of the creatures Daksa on the top of the mountain Himavat arranges a great sacrifice – yajna, summoning all the gods, except Shiva, whom Daksa had disliked ever since Shiva's marriage to Sati.

Sati found out about this and turned to her husband with a reproach that they were not invited; Shiva told her that he (Shiva) is the Creator of the Universe and all the sacrifices are still dedicated to him. This answer didn`t satisfy Sati and when she came to the place of sacrifice, Sati demanded an explanation from Daksha, but he refused to talk with her, insulting her and Shiva.

Sati, unable to withstand the insults to her beloved husband, rushed to the sacrificial fire, first cursing Daksha. Shiva immediately got to know about the incident. Shiva got angry and took the form of the thousand-armed Virabhadra.

Arriving at the site of the sacrifice, Virabhadra pierces the victim with an arrow, and it turns into the constellation of Mrigashirsha ("the head of the antelope"); then Virabhadra attacks the gods, inflicts injuries to them and in the end he takes down Daksha's head. No one can find the head and put goat head instead on Daksha. With the goat head Daksha is usually represented in the iconography of Hinduism. Returning to life, Daksha appealed to Shiva for forgiveness and praised Him by reading Thousands of names.