Visalakshi Temple, Varanasi – Legends

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, 16^th 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 12^th 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).