The Myth of Sati

As per the Shiva Purana, Daksha’s youngest daughter left her father’s house to follow Shiva, the mendicant as she had given her heart to him. She became Shiva’s obedient consort and became known as Sati, the perfect wife, much to the dislike of her father Daksha. 

Daksha’s dislike of Shiva goes back to a previous episode mentioned again in the Shiva Purana. According to this reference, one day Daksha was invited to a gathering of the gods, and as he entered the hall, all the gods rose in reverence, all but Shiva. Shiva’s intention was not to insult as he was oblivious to the prominence of Daksha who was considered to be the patriarch. Though Shiva’s intention was not to be disrespectful, his action of indifference did not amuse Daksha. He swore never to invite Shiva to any yagna or occasion as he did not find him worthy of such respect.

Once, Sati found that all the gods and goddesses were invited to a yagna organised by her father Daksha. She reached her father’s house only to find that there was no place reserved for her husband, who obviously was not invited, and this was a deliberate act. When she asked her father the reason for this, she was told by Daksha, that her husband’s ways did not warrant an invitation to such get-togethers. This was so insulting to Sati, that she decided to avenge her husband’s insult and even before anybody could understand, she jumped into the yagna fire and self-immolated herself, thereby causing a vighna – an obstacle to the yagna.

When Shiva came to know about the death of Sati, he was filled with both  grief and uncontrolled anger. In his fury, he took the charred remains of Sati and wandered around the cosmos in a destructive spree. The world would be engulfed in this fury and he had to be stopped.

At that moment, Lord Vishnu decided to hurl his ‘sudarshan chakra’, the heavenly discuss, to dismember Sati’s body into different pieces. These pieces fell in ‘Jambudwipa’, i.e. the present day Indian sub-continent.

It is said that there were 108 pieces made of Sati and each place where a piece of the body fell became a ‘Shaktipeeth’, a place of reverence. However, man in due course of time has lost out on majority of these places, and today we have 51 Shaktipeeths known to mankind. All these are well known places of religious significance.

Shaktipeeths in the Indian Sub-continent

Shaktipeeths are holy places of cosmic power; they are places of worship consecrated to the goddess ‘Shakti’. Throughout the Indian Sub-continent, there are many Shaktipeeths. A few prominent Shaktipeeths are:

v      Kalighat in Kolkata

v      Kamakhya in Assam

v      Katyayini in Vrindavan

v      Manibandh near Ajmer, Rajasthan

v      Naina Devi Temple in Himachal Pradesh

v      Bahucharaji in Mehsana district of Gujarat

A few Shaktipeeths exist in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

All these places have been said to have received some body part of Goddess Sati and the place is revered as a Shaktipeeth.

The Cult of Shakti

Shaktism is a Sanskrit term and means “Doctrine of the Goddess”. It is that aspect of Hinduism that focuses upon worship of Shakti (feminine power) or Devi, who is the Divine Mother. In Hinduism, the Great Divine Mother is regarded as the symbol of motherhood and power/energy. In Shaktism goddess worship, in all her forms is the practice. Shaktism regards Mahadevi as the Great Goddess. Here Shakti is the dynamic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine.

Deities of Shaktism possess the very energy of existence, as Shakti is active, creative energy and each Goddess is profiled with her Shakti (power). The Goddess is seen as the personification of all creative energy and the source of all divine and cosmic evolution including all aspects of Nature.

In Hinduism, Adi Shakti is the ultimate Shakti, the final feminine power inherent in all creations. There are supposed to be a group of seven or eight mother goddesses, called the Matrikas. They are Brahmani, Vaishanvi, Maheshwari, Indrani, Kumari, Varahi and Chumnda and/or Narasimhi. The matrikas are considered Shaktis of the most important gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra, Skanda or Kumara, Yama and Narsimha. Shakti is seen as a sign of protection of the country, the punisher of evil people, the curer of diseases and the one who gives happiness to the village.

The worship of Mother Goddess or Shakti, can be traced back to the Pre-Vedic or Indus Valley Civilisation. Devisukta of the Rig Veda is the primary source of Shakti Cult. In the Rig Veda there is a description of a goddess named 'Aditi'. She is depicted not only as Mother Goddess but also as an emblem of the divine spirit. Some other references of Mother Goddesses are Prithvi (earth), Vac (speech) and Usas (dawn).

Over time when the Puranic gods and goddesses gained prominence, the prominence of the Shakti worship did not ebb. It continued to flourish and the associated myths and the temples associated with this myth remained prime centres of pilgrimage. Needless to say, that in many a case, myths got inter-woven with that of the Puranic deities to co-exist.

To conclude, according to Shiva Purana, Shiva is shava (dead body) without his energy, Shakti. This underlines the significance of the concept of Shakti.

Navratri

Navratri literally means ‘nine nights’ – a festival of nine nights. Navratri is the festival of the feminine power, Shakti, the fountainhead of all creation and energy on the earth. This Shakti is worshipped in the form of goddess Durga, who in turn is referred by different regional names, like Sherawali, Vaishno devi or simply Mataji.

Durga derives her name from the Sanskrit word durg, meaning a fort. Devi Durga stands like a fort in front of her believers and shields them from all sufferings on the earth, and needless to say is the universal mother.

This day also is the beginning of the traditional dance form in Gujarat called Garba, which derives from the word ‘garbha’ or the womb. A pot is worshiped for the nine days by all women and all dance around the same. The jar is a common symbol for a womb and a recurrent theme in both mythology as well as folklore. The pot is a very prominent symbol of fertility and the same is used in many forms during the entire life cycle of human beings. But, we will discuss symbolism of a pot or jar on some other day.

The nine days also signify the battle between Ram and Ravana, with the victory of all that is good over evil and the tenth day is thus known as Vijaya Dashami, with the death of Ravana.

Mahalaya

Mahalaya is a special day for anybody who has stayed in Kolkata. One can’t forget the days when one woke up at 4am and switched on the radio, to listen to the special programme aired by AIR, known as “Mahisasur Mardini”. The audio-montage (chanting of Vedic verses - chandipath, devotional songs and music), narrated by the unforgettable Birendrakrishna Bhadra and was scripted by Bani Kumar. The music was composed by Pankaj Mullick and the songs were sung by Hemanta Kumar and Arati Mukherjee besides others. Though many who were part of the original rendition are not alive, AIR till date plays the original recording which was recorded in the early 1930s, and goes on for 2 hours creating magic as the sun announces the dawn.

Mahalaya is the last day of the Pitru Paksha and is also observed as the final day to conduct the shraadh ceremony if one has missed any of the dates during the preceding fortnight. Bengalis take a dip in the holy Ganga and some even perform torpon for their departed relatives. Mahalaya also heralds the festive period. With the Pitru Paksha over, it announces the Devi Paksha where Devi Durga is invoked with “jago tumi jago” which is an invitation for the goddess to come to earth.

According to mythology, on Mahalaya day, Goddess Durga was delegated the task to eliminate the mighty Asura king called Mahisasura – the buffalo demon. As per a myth, Lord Shiva had granted him a boon that no man or deity would ever kill him. Having acquired the boon, he went on a rampage and even evicted the gods out of the heavens. When all the gods went to the Holy Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, they collectively created an energy – Shakti in the form of Devi Durga, who fought waged a nine day battle and finally vanquished the mighty Asura, and thus also came to be known as Mahisasur Maridni – the slayer of the Mahisasura.

According to another myth, this was also the day Lord Ram performed Durga Puja before he embarked on the war with Ravana. Prior to this, Durga Puja was always performed in Spring time, and was thus known as Basanti Puja (Basanta for spring). But Lord Ram performed this untimely practice, thus giving it the name of Akal Bodhon – Akal meaning ‘untimely’ and Bodhon meaning ‘worship’!

Though Mahalaya falls on the final day of Pitru Paksha and has its own sanctity of the day, the day also heralds the beginning of all the festivities that is celebrated with full pomp and gaiety – as any person from Kolakata, and s/he would vouch for this!

Protector of gods!

In the aftermath of the Ayodhya verdict last week, I came across a review of a book by Ramchandra Gandhi, from which I have taken the following –

Swami Vivekananda had gone to Kashmir towards the end of his life; anguished over the invader's desecration and destruction of countless images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Filled with rage and agony in his heart, he approached the Divine Mother in a Kali temple. On the swami's own testimony, Kali is reported to have said: "What is it to you, Vivekananda, if the invader breaks my images. Do you protect me, or do I protect you?"

At times I wonder if we need upholders of religion and our representatives in the Parliament to ‘take care’ of our gods. Should they rather not take care of us, instead of take from us, which they do so shamelessly?