page_title: Sati (Hindu goddess)
section_title: Shiva's rage
hierarchical_section_title: Sati (Hindu goddess) / Legend / Shiva's rage
caption_attribution_description: English: Shiva Carrying Sati on His Trident, circa 1800, India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, South Asia from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Painting; Watercolor, Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 29.21 x 40.64 cm
context_page_description: Sati, is also known as Dākṣāyaṇī. Tamil Tamil: தாட்சாயிணி Tāṭcāyiṇi, Telugu Dākṣāyaṇī Telugu: దాక్ష్యాయని. Kannada Kannada: ದಾಕ್ಷಾಯಣಿ Dakshayani, is the goddess of marital felicity and longevity in Hinduism and an aspect of Adi Parashakti. She was the first wife of Shiva, other being Parvati, who was her reincarnation after she died.
  In Hindu legend, both Sati and Parvati, successively play the role of bringing Shiva away from ascetic isolation into creative participation with the world.
context_section_description: Shiva sensed this catastrophe, and his rage was incomparable. He loved Sati more than any and would never love any other woman after her. He danced the terrible Tandava or Rudratandava, a terrible dance of destruction and the power of his dance wrought havoc upon the Earth and threatened to give rise to Pralaya or the Great Destruction. He realized that Daksha had indirectly killed Sati by his abuses and insults. In his terrible anger, he pulled a lock of hair (jata) and threw it on the ground from which arose Virabhadra and Bhadrakali, or collectively Manbhadra, two ferocious creatures who wreaked havoc and mayhem on the scene of the horrific incident. Nearly all those present were indiscriminately felled overnight. Daksha himself was decapitated.
  According to some traditions, it is believed that an angry Shiva performed the fearsome and awe-inspiring Tandava dance with Sati's charred body on his shoulders. During this dance, Sati's body came apart and the pieces fell at different places on earth. According to another version, Shiva placed Sati's body on his shoulder and ran about the world, crazed with grief. The Gods called upon the God Vishnu to restore Shiva to normalcy and calm. Vishnu used his Sudarshana Chakra to dismember Sati's lifeless body, following which Shiva regained his equanimity. Both versions state that Sati's body was thus dismembered into 51 pieces which fell on earth at various places. Several different listings of these 51 holy places, known as Shakti Peethas, are available; some of these places have become major centers of pilgrimage as they are held by the Goddess-oriented Shakta sect to be particularly holy. Besides 51 main Shakti peethas, some small peethas like Bindudham came into existence which are due to Sati's fallen blood drops.
  After the night of horror, Shiva, the all-forgiving, restored all those who were slain to life and granted them his blessings. Even the abusive and culpable Daksha was restored both to life and to kingship. His severed head was substituted for that of a goat. Having learned his lesson, Daksha spent his remaining years as a devotee of Shiva.
caption: Shiva carries Sati's corpse on his trident.
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