Visalakshi Temple, Varanasi –
Legends
Sakthi
Peethas:
In Hindu
mythology, Daksha Yajna or Daksha-Yaga is an important
event, which is narrated in various Hindu scriptures. It refers to a yajna (sacrifice)
organized by Daksha,
where his daughter Sati immolated herself. The wrath of
god Shiva,
Sati's husband, thereafter destroyed the sacrifice. The tale is also
called Daksha-Yajna-Nasha (destruction of Daksha's sacrifice). The
story forms the basis of the establishment of the Shakti
Peethas, temples of the Hindu Divine Mother. It is also becoming a
prelude to the story of Parvati, Sati's reincarnation who later marries
Shiva. The mythology is mainly told in the Vayu
Purana. It is also mentioned in the Kasi Kanda of
the Skanda Purana, the Kurma
Purana, Harivamsa Purana and Padma
Purana. Linga Purana, Shiva
Purana, and Matsya
Purana also detail the incident.
Sati-Shiva marriage:
Daksha was one of the Prajapati,
son of Brahma,
and among his foremost creations. The name Daksha means "skilled
one". Daksha had two wives: Prasoothi and Panchajani (Virini). Sati (also
known as ‘‘Uma’’) was his youngest daughter; born from Prasoothi (the daughter
of the Prajapati Manu), she was the pet child of Daksha and
he always carried her with him. Sati (meaning truth) is also called Dakshayani
as she followed Daksha’s path; this is derived from the Sanskrit
words Daksha and Ayana (walk or path).
Sati, the youngest daughter of Daksha, was
deeply in love with the god Shiva and wished to become his wife. Her
worship and devotion of Shiva strengthened her immense desire to become his
wife. However, Daksha did not like his daughter’s yearning for Shiva, mainly
because he was a Prajapati and the son of the god Brahma;
his daughter Sati was a royal princess. They were wealthy nobility and their
imperial royal lifestyle was entirely different from that of Shiva.
As an emperor, Daksha wanted to increase his influence
and power by making marriage alliances with powerful empires and influential
sages and gods. Shiva on the other hand led a very modest life. He lived among
the downtrodden, wore a tiger skin, smeared ashes on his body, had thick locks
of matted hair, and begged with a skull as bowl. His abode was Mount Kailash in
the Himalayas.
He embraced all kinds of living beings and did not make any distinction between
good souls and bad souls.
The Bhutaganas, his followers, consisted of all
kinds of ghosts, demons, ghouls and goblins. He wandered through garden and
graveyard alike. As a consequence, Daksha had aversion towards Shiva being his
daughter’s companion. However, unlike Daksha, Sati loved Shiva as she had the
revelation that Shiva was the Supreme God. Sati won Shiva as her husband by
undergoing severe austerities (tapas).
Despite Daksha's disappointment, Sati married Shiva.
Brahma's Yajna:
Once Brahma conducted a huge yajna (sacrifice),
where all the Prajapatis, gods 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, Shiva and Sati, stood up
showing reverence for him. Brahma being Daksha's father and Shiva being
Daksha's son-in-law were considered superior in stature to Daksha. Daksha
misunderstood Shiva’s gesture and considered Shiva's gesture as an insult.
Daksha vowed to take revenge on the insult in the same manner.
Daksha Yaga:
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 yajna was to be presided over by the sage Bhrigu.
He invited all the gods, 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 where offered to the twelve Aditya
gods; 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 which were part of Vedic hymns. He warned Daksha that he should not alter
the Holy Vedas for personal reasons; the priests and sages supported this.
Daksha replied to Dadhichi that he would not do so and insulted Shiva. Dadhichi
left the yajna because of this argument.
Sati's Death:
Sati came to know about the grand yajna organized 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 she was now his wife more than Daksha’s daughter and, after
marriage, is a member of Shiva’s family rather than Daksha’s. The feeling of
her bond to her parents overpowered the social etiquette she had to follow. She
even had a notion that there was no need to have received an invitation in order
to attend as she was Daksha’s favourite daughter and no formality existed
between them.
She constantly pleaded and urged Shiva to let her attend
the ceremony and became adamant in her demands without listening to the reasons
Shiva provided for not attending the function. He allowed Sati to go to her
parents' home, along with his followers including Nandi,
and attend the ceremony, but refused to accompany with her. Upon arriving, Sati
tried to meet her parents and sisters; Daksha was arrogant and avoided
interacting with Sati. He repeatedly snubbed her in front of all the
dignitaries, but Sati maintained her composure.
Because of Sati’s persistence in trying to meet him,
Daksha reacted vehemently, insulting her in front of all the other guests at
the ceremony to which she had not been invited. He called Shiva an atheist and
cremation ground dweller. As planned, he took advantage of the situation and
continued shouting repugnant words against Shiva. Sati felt deep remorse for
not listening to her beloved husband. Daksha’s disdain towards her, and
especially her husband Shiva, in front of all the guests was growing each
moment she stood there. The shameless insult and humiliation of her and her
beloved, eventually became too much to bear.
She cursed Daksha for acting so atrociously toward her
and Shiva and reminded him that his haughty behaviour had blinded his
intellect. She cursed him and warned that the wrath of Shiva would destroy him
and his empire. Unable to bear further humiliation, Sati committed suicide by
jumping into the sacrificial fire. The onlookers tried to save her, but it was
too late. They were only able to retrieve the half-burnt body of Sati.
Daksha's pride in being a Prajapati and his prejudice
against his son-in-law created a mass hatred within himself, which resulted in
the death of his daughter. The Nandi and the accompanying Bhootaganas left the
yajna place after the incident. Nandi cursed the participants and Bhrigu
reacted by cursing the Bhootaganas back.
Destruction of the Yajna by Lord Shiva:
Lord Shiva was deeply pained upon hearing of his wife's
death. His grief grew into a terrible anger when he realized how Daksha had
viciously plotted a treachery against him; but it was his innocent wife who fell
into the trap instead of him. Shiva learned of Daksha’s callous behaviour
towards Sati. Shiva's rage became so intense that he plucked a lock of hair
from his head and smashed it on the ground, breaking it into two with his leg.
Armed and frightening, two fearsome beings Virabhadra and
Bhadrakali (Rudrakali)
emerged. Lord Shiva ordered them to kill Daksha and destroy the yajna.
The ferocious Virabhadra and Bhadrakali, along with the
Bhutaganas, reached the yajna spot. The invitees renounced the yajna and
started running away from the turmoil. Sage Bhrigu created an army with his
divine penance powers to resist Shiva’s attack and protect the yajna. Bhrigu’s
army was demolished and the entire premises were ravaged. All those who
participated, even the other Prajapatis and the gods, were mercilessly beaten,
wounded or even slaughtered.
The Vayu Purana mentions the attack of Bhutaganas:
the nose of some goddesses were cut, Yama's
staff bone was broken, Mitra's
eyes were pulled out, Indra was trampled by Virabhadra and
Bhutaganas, Pushan's
teeth were knocked out, Chandra was beaten heavily, all of the
Prajapatis' were beaten, the hands of Vahini were cut off, and Bhrigu's beard
was cut off. Daksha was caught and decapitated, the attack culminated when the
Bhutaganas started plucking out Bhrigu’s white beard as a victory
souvenir.
The Vayu Purana do not mention the
decapitation of Daksha, instead it says Yagna,
the personification of yajna took the form of an antelope and jumped towards
the sky. Virabhadra captured it and decapitated Yagna. Daksha begs mercy from
the Parabrahmam (the
Supreme Almighty who is formless), who rose from the yajna fire and forgives
Daksha. The Parabrahmam informs Daksha that Shiva is in fact a manifestation of
Parabrahmam. Daksha then becomes a great devotee of Shiva. The Linga
Purana and Bhagavatha Purana mention the
decapitation of Daksha.
Certain other puranas like Harivamsa, Kurma,
and Skanda narrate the story from the perspective of the
Vaishnava-Shaiva community feud prevalent in ancient times. In these puranas,
there are fights between Vishnu and Shiva or Virabhadra, with various victors
throughout. The story of Daksha Yaga in Vaishnava and Shaiva puranas
end with the surrendering of Daksha to the Parabrahmam or with the destruction
of yajna and decapitation of Daksha.
Aftermath:
As the obstruction of the yajna will create havoc and
severe ill effects on the nature, Brahma and the god Vishnu went
to the grief-stricken Lord Shiva. They comforted and showed their sympathy
towards Shiva. They requested him to come to the yajna location and pacify the
Bhutaganas and allow the Yaga to be completed; Shiva agreed. Shiva found the
burnt body of Sati. Shiva gave permission to continue yajna. Daksha was
absolved by Shiva and the head of a ram (Male goat) meant for yajna was fixed
on the decapitated body of Daksha and gave his life back. The yajna was
completed successfully.
The later story is an epilogue to the story of Daksha
yajna mentioned in Shakta Puranas like Devi Bhagavata Purana, Kalika
Purana and the folklores of various regions. Shiva was so 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 as per
Vaishnava Puranas; whose parts fell on the places Shiva wandered. The Shaiva
version says that her body disintegrated on its own and the parts fell while
Shiva was carrying Sati's corpse in various places. It is believed that the eyes
or earrings of Goddess Sati fell here.
These places commemorating each body part came to be
known as the Shakti Peethas. Shakti
Peethas are holy abode of the Mother Goddess. Each temple have
shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava.
There are 51 Shakti Peethas, representing the 51 letters of Sanskrit.
Some of the puranas which came in later ages gave more importance to their
supreme deity (depending on Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta sects) in their
literature. Shiva went to isolation and solitude for ages and wandered all
around until Sati reincarnated as Parvati,
the daughter of the King Himavan. Like Sati, Parvati took severe austerities
and gave away all her royal privileges and went to forest. Shiva tested her
affection and devotion in disguise. He eventually realized Parvati is Sati
herself. Shiva later on married Parvati.
Shakti
Peetha Lists:
Visalakshi or Varanasi figures in most standard lists of
Shakti Peethas. The Tantric work Rudrayamala, composed
before 1052 CE, mentions 10 principal Shakti Peethas, which includes Varanasi
as the fifth one. The Kularnava Tantra mentions 18 Pithas and mentions
Varanasi as the sixth one. The Ashta Dasa Sakthi Peetha (18 Peethas)
ascribed to Sankaracharya (interpreted as Adi
Shankara, however probably Shankara Agamacharya, Bengali author of
the Tara Rahasya Vrittika) enumerates 18 names along with their presiding
deities or Pitha Devis including Visalakshi of Varanasi as the fifth
Pitha.
In the Kubjika Tantra, Varanasi is third in 42
names. There are the two lists of Pithas in the Jnanarnava, one with 8
names and the other with fifty names. The 8-name list does not mention
Varanasi, but the other list names Varanasi in the second spot. Visalakshi
of Varanasi is mentioned as first of 108 Shakti Pithas in the list in the Devi Bhagavata Purana. The face of Sati is
described to have fallen here. This is the only instance where a body part is
related to the Shakti Pitha in the text.
The Devi Gita within the same text gives a
long list of Pithas, where Visalakshi is mentioned as dwelling in Avimukta
(Varanasi). No body part is related to the Pitha in this list. In the
non-scripture, 16th century Bengali work Chandimangal,
Mukundaram lists nine Pithas in the Daksha Yajna Bhanga section.
Varanasi is the last Peetha described to be the place where Sati's chest fell
and the presiding goddess being Visalakshi. Lakshmidhara also includes Visalakshi
in his 12th century list.
The Pithanirnaya or Mahapithanirupana section
from the Tantrachudamani originally listed 43 names, but names were added
over time making it 51 Peethas. It details the Pitha Devata or Devi (name
of goddess at the Pitha), the Kshastradishas (Bhairava, consort of
the goddess) and the anga-pratyanga (limbs including ornaments of Sati).
Manikarnika at Varanasi with Visalakshi as the presiding goddess comes in at
number 23. A kundala (earring) is the anga pratyanga and Kala Bhairava (Kala)
is the consort.
In some later versions of the text, Varanasi is not
included in the chief 51/52 Pithas. In one of the versions, it is demoted from
a Pitha to an upa-Pitha (subordinate Pitha). Here, the kundala is
said to be anga pratyanga, but two Pitha Devatas and Bhairavas are
mentioned. First, Visalakshi with Kala Bhairava and secondary Annapurna with Vishweshwara.
Vishweshwara is the presiding deity of Kashi Vishwanath Temple,
the most important temple in Varanasi and the Annapurna temple is nearby.
Tribal
Deities:
The Shakti Pithas were originally part of cult worship by
the tribals as
local deities, which over the centuries were syncretised to Shakthi Peethas
under the influence of the Brahmins, and have now a permanent influence on
the psyche of the people. In the syncretism of various religious beliefs in the
country, as many as 108 goddesses were assimilated in the Shakti Pitha list.
Annapurna:
Annapurna, the goddess of food and form of
Shiva's consort Parvati, is given the epithet Visalakshi, the
wide-eyed. Her most famous temple stands at Varanasi, where patron goddess she
is considered. The Skanda Purana narrates the tale of the
sage Vyasa cursing
Varanasi, as no one in the city offered him food. Finally, Visalakshi appears
in the form of a housewife and grants food to Vyasa.
This role of Visalakshi is similar to that of Annapurna,
who offers food to her husband Shiva, whose hunger can be satiated by her food.
Shiva gratified by Annapurna's food, establishes Varanasi and appoints her as
its presiding goddess. The goddess Visalakshi of the Varanasi temple may have
been identified with Annapurna in early times, however over time became a distinct
goddess, resulting in the goddess temples.
Three
Goddess Temples:
Visalakshi, the wide-eyed goddess is often associated
two other goddesses: Kamakshi, the love-eyed goddess of Kanchipuram and Meenakshi,
the fish-eyed of Madurai, prominently because of their similar
names. Together the three are regarded the most important Goddess temples
by South Indians. While Visalakshi dwells in North
India, the other goddess temples are in Tamil
Nadu, South India. South Indians venerated Visalakshi
for ages and have strong ties with the temple. South Indian Tamil
people also helped renovate the temple in 1971.
Sastanga Yoga:
In the sacred geography of Varanasi, six points are said
to symbolize Sastanga (six-fold) yoga, which is
performing by visiting the six sites. They are the Vishwanath Temple (the
most important temple of Varanasi - dedicated to Shiva), the Visalakshi
Temple, the Ganges, the Kala Bhairava temple (dedicated
to Varanasi's guardian deity and Vishalakshi's
Bhairava), the Dhundiraj Temple (dedicated to the god Ganesha -
son of Shiva and Parvati) and the Dhandapani temple (dedicated to an aspect of
Shiva).
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