Achyutāya namah

Here Shiva is preaching Supreme Essence to his wife.

Shiva continued, “Only when the senses are totally withdrawn and the mind merges into its own form, this Lord can be known as the inner Self. Hence He is Adhokśaja. Within my mind, I bow and worship such Lord.

Although Daksha is the father who has given you this body, he is now filled with feelings of hatred. As such, neither he nor his attendants are worth meeting at this point of time.

At the time when I had visited the Yagna being conducted by the Prajāpatis, for no fault of mine, Daksha accused and insulted me. If you go there against my wishes, it will not be auspicious for you. When a person who is worthy of being respected is insulted by his own kith and kin, it is equivalent of death”.

With this the third chapter of the fourth canto comes to an end.

Fourth Canto Chapter Four

In this chapter, Satidevi attending the Yagna much against the wishes of her husband, the insults that her father heaps upon her and Sati entering the yogic fire to give up her body are covered.

Maitreya Maharishi continued, “It is wrong to go uninvited to any event, isn’t it? Having warned her that to a self-respecting person disrespect is equivalent of death, Shiva remained silent. He foresaw that irrespective of whether she attended the function or not, destruction to her body was imminent. For this reason he did not give any decisive instruction. He merely warned her that attending the function would result in her being insulted.

Satidevi’s mind was devastated. On one hand, her desire to meet her relatives was extremely strong. On the other, the fear that she would be afflicted by the sin of disregarding her husband’s wishes tormented her. She was vacillating and was unable to decide. Neither did she want to leave her husband nor did she wish to abstain from the function. She kept walking up and down unable to figure out how to solve the problem.

As her desire to meet her near and dear ones was curtailed, her mind was overly agitated. In uncontrollable grief she shed profuse tears. The thought that she would not be able to meet her relatives caused her anguished body to slightly tremble. She looked at Shiva, the incomparable Lord, as if she would burn him down.

Due to the anger that Shiva had not permitted her to go and also due to the sorrow that she was going against his wishes, her heart was deeply afflicted. At last she sighed deeply and leaving Shiva, left for her parent’s home.

Shiva is deeply loved by all noble beings. He had, with utmost love, given half his body to Satidevi. However as she was filled with the feelings of love and affection, that is commonly seen in women, she lost her intelligence and left Shiva’s side.

Shiva’s attendants Manimānta and Mada noticed Sati hurriedly walking alone. Immediately they followed her together with their entire troop. They were accompanied by many Yakshas. Nandi led these troops.

Being Shiva’s attendants they were free from any form of fear or grief. Even then, seeing their mother Satidevi in a sorrowful mood, all of them were overcome with sorrow. They seated her on Nandi bull. To cheer her they gave her a bird, lotus, ball and other objects. They also gave her a garland, mirror for her decoration. They held a white umbrella over her head. Beating drums, conches, bugles and other musical instruments the procession was truly grand. They thus proceeded to Daksha’s place.

The loud Vedic chants from Daksha’s sacrificial hall were touching the skies. In that sacrificial hall, great debates upon the scriptural injunctions were taking place between scholars. Everywhere in the hall, Yagna vessels and pots made of clay, iron, gold and grass were found. Satidevi entered that sacrificial hall which was filled with Vedic scholars, Devatas and distinguished Maharishis.

Daksha insulted her upon arrival by not welcoming her properly. He did not even lift his head and look at her. Barring her mother and sisters, none of the persons who had assembled in that sacrificial hall, welcomed her. They did not give her the due respect. Fearing Daksha, all of them remained silent.

Her mother and her sisters were supremely pleased at her arrival. Their eyes were filled with tears of joy. Due to overflowing love, their voices were choked. All her sisters came forward and welcomed her warmly. They affectionately enquired about her well-being. They gently led her in. They offered her a comfortable seat to sit.

However as her father had not welcomed her, Sati felt insulted. She refused to accept the seat offered by her sisters. To add to it, in that Yagna, there were no Yagna offerings assigned for Rudra, her husband. She actually saw her father insulting her husband Shiva.

With this, her anger crossed all barriers and she was unstoppable. It appeared as if she would burn all the worlds with her intense anger.

Seeing her angry, Shiva’s attendants known as Pramatha gaṇās, stood up ready to attack. However with her sharp gaze she stopped them. With sharp angry eyes she now looked at her father, who with extreme self-importance was behaving arrogantly as if he was the most supreme.

Achutāya namah