Sati was playing sports with her pals on the Himalayan mountain of Gandhamadana. Abruptly, she saw her sister Rohini and her husband, the moon deity Chandra, flying in an aerial vehicle. She requested her buddy Vijaya to inquire about their intended location. They described to her the specifics of Daksha’s sacrifice, to which all creatures had been invited and were already making preparations. Sati now noticed that several other celestial creatures, together with the remaining fifty-nine sisters, were moving in the same direction. She asked herself, “Why has my father not invited my husband and me?” It has to be something he forgot to mention. Allow me to inquire with Shiva about this.
Thinking, she hurried to Shiva and related the entire tale to him. The all-knowing Shiva gave his beloved Sati a pitying gaze, held her tenderly in his lap, and inquired about her problems. “My Lord, my father is conducting a great sacrifice to which everybody is going,” she said with excitement. Why aren’t we going? Please release us. I humbly ask that you accompany me.
“Don’t you know, my love, that people who come up at someone else’s house without an invitation will inevitably be treated disrespectfully? We shouldn’t attend to the yajna because we haven’t been invited.
At hearing these words from Shiva, Sati’s ordinarily dark complexion become even darker, and her black eyes glowed brightly. “If you, O Lord, by whose presence all sacrifices become auspicious, have not been invited, then my father is surely guilty of a terrible crime,” Sati said. You, Lord of all the planets, have not been invited to this sacrifice, therefore I must go to it and ask him and everyone else there why they went. So kindly grant me permission to leave.
Shiva understood that she would wither and die if he rejected her. He also knew that death was waiting for her if she left. Sadly, he allowed her to leave. He instructed her to go into his personal car, the bull Nandi, and dispatched 60,000 of his servants to look after her and protect her in case something happened. With all the regalia of a queen, Sati dressed up and headed for her father’s house. The attendants trailed after her, blowing trumpets and conchs, brandishing brightly colored banners, and hoisting the white canopy of royalty above her head. Shiva watched her go with sadness, realizing that he would never see her again in this form.
When Sati arrived at her father’s estate, which was filled with amazing views, she left Nandi and entered the house by herself. Daksha feigned not to notice her, but her mother, Virini, and sisters welcomed her with tremendous joy. Sati turned to face the gathering of all the world’s finest spirits. She was incensed when she noticed that all the gods save Shiva had been given seats. Her eyes flashed blue fire and burnt like red-hot coals. The knotted locks of her hair became free and unkempt. Her third eye, which was usually hidden in the center of her forehead, opened, throbbing, trembling. She completely embodied Kaali, the Destroyer.
“How is it that my husband, whose presence alone can make all functions complete, has not been invited?” she queried Daksha in a loud voice. Without him, any ritual carried out will be tainted. I am embarrassed by how cruel and thoughtless my own father has grown to be. “Are you all so dense that you don’t realize the greatness of Shiva?” she said, turning to face Vishnu, Brahma, and the other gods. How could you get at a defiled location if his holy feet haven’t yet tread there?
Everyone fell silent, but Daksha shot back, asking, “Who invited you here and asked you to come? I purposefully did not invite Shiva here since I knew he was an impolite, nasty sort wearing obscene clothes. I regret giving you to that savage on that day. But now that you’re here, feel free to remain. Please find your composure and accept your portion of the sacrifice.
Sati was enraged and distraught. “I despise to accept your proposal, O Daksha!” she said, her eyes lighting up. “My spouse advised me against going. He told me that I would be offended, but unfortunately! I disregarded his advice out of love for you, my dad. But now I know how vile you really are. I can’t stand to be in this body that you gave me. I can’t take being referred to as Dakshayani (Daksha’s daughter) any more. I will so give up my body in front of all of you right now. With this now-polluted body, I can never go back to my dear Lord. Unless they leave this hall right once, everyone who criticizes Shiva and everyone who hears these criticisms will burn in hell.
She felt regretful as she considered how she had disregarded her Lord’s instruction to stay away from the sacrifice. “Shiva has matted hair, carries a skull in his hands, and resides in cremation grounds, but even the gods and sages keep the dust of his feet on their heads,” she replied, turning back to face her father. You are evil in every way. I won’t be interacting with this body of yours in the future. I will discard this body, which was borne from your sperm, as a corpse. We should be contemptuous of it. Sati said this and withdrew into quiet. She turned her upper garment north and sat in yogic meditation, covering her whole body. Focusing her thoughts on her Lord, she brought her body’s prana and apana into balance. She also raised the udana (upward moving air) from her navel, passing it through her heart, throat, and ajna chakras in the middle of her forehead between her brows. She departed from her body and ascended into the heavens, remembering only her Lord.
When Sati departed her body, there was a great deal of disturbance. Everyone yelled, “Daksha, screw you! “I’m gonna miss this sacrifice!” and such. The ganas of Shiva, who had been waiting at the door, rushed in upon hearing the loud laments and began to yell and weep. They attacked Daksha and the others, their swords lifted in a fury, and began to slaughter them. Some committed themselves because they believed that if they returned without Sati, Shiva would be furious.
Upon witnessing this, the wise Brighu summoned several frightened spirits to halt the attack. Numerous strong spirits known as Rbhus emerged, and a fierce battle broke out between the two groups, ultimately leading to the defeat of Shiva’s ganas. They had to flee back to Kailasa in fear for their lives. At that moment, a voice from heaven announced that Daksha’s sacrifice was destined to end horribly.
“You will suffer misfortune because you failed to offer sacrifices to Shiva, the father of the universe, and Sati, the mother of the universe.” Everyone stood there in shock at the sound of this ghostly voice. The majority of individuals departed the area. Some counseled Daksha to appease Shiva right away to prevent more evil from happening to him.