Sati (Hindu goddess)
Sati is also called Dakshayani. She is a Hindu goddess of happy marriage and long life. People worship her as a form of the mother goddess Shakti. Sati was the first wife of Shiva. The second wife was Parvati, who was Sati reborn after she died.
The first stories of Sati are in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, but full details are in the Puranas. In these legends, Sati is Daksha’s favorite daughter. She marries Shiva, but her father does not agree with this. Later, Daksha holds a big fire-ritual called yajna but does not invite Sati or Shiva. Sati still goes there. Her father insults her and Shiva. To show her anger and defend her husband’s honor, Sati burns herself in the fire.[1]
In Hindu belief, both Sati and Parvati help Shiva leave his life of being alone and join the world in creating life.[2]
Sati’s story is important for Shaivism and Shaktism, two main groups in Hinduism. People believe that after Sati died, Shiva carried her body across the world. Her body parts fell in 51 places, and these places are now called Shakta pithas, which are holy to Hindus.
History and textual background
[change | change source]Scholars William J. Winkins and David R. Kinsley say that the Vedic scriptures (from the 2nd millennium BCE) do not talk about Sati-Parvati but mention two goddesses linked to Rudra — Rudrani and Ambika. In the Kena Upanishad, there is a goddess named Uma-Hemavati who acts as a guide between the gods and the Supreme Brahman.[3][4]
Both old writings and objects show that Sati-Parvati first became important during the time of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata (1st millennium BCE).[5]
The Mahabharata tells about Daksha’s yajna being destroyed, Kartikeya’s birth, the defeat of the Asura Taraka, and some playful moments between Shiva and Uma (Parvati). Scholars think that by the time of the Puranas (around the 4th to 13th century), stories of Sati and Parvati became very important. Kalidasa included these stories in his famous poem Kumarasambhavam (about the 5th to 6th century).[6]
The Puranas that tell Sati’s story are the Vayu Purana, Skanda Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Kurma Purana, Padma Purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, and Matsya Purana.
References
[change | change source]Citations
[change | change source]- ↑ Kinsley, David (1998). Hindu Goddesses. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 35. ISBN 978-81-208-0394-7.
- ↑ Kinsley, David (1998). Hindu Goddesses. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 38. ISBN 978-81-208-0394-7.
- ↑ Wilkins, William Joseph (1913). Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purānic. Indiana University. Calcutta, Thacker, Spink.
- ↑ Kinsley, David (1998). Hindu Goddesses. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 36. ISBN 978-81-208-0394-7.
- ↑ Mittal, Sushil; Thursby, Gene (2009-01-19). Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Methods. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-41829-9.
- ↑ Bose, Mandakranta (2018-05-30). The Oxford History of Hinduism: The Goddess. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-107969-6.