Satî Quits Her Body"

Skandham-4.1.

Chapter-4.

Slokam- 1 to 34.  

Satî Quits Her Body"

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(1) S'rî Maitreya said: 'After saying this about the end of the body of his wife was Lord S'iva silent. Since she of S'iva saw it the both ways of being anxious as well as being afraid of seeing her relatives was she, being divided, unsure where to stand. (2) Denied in her desire to see her relatives she felt very sorry and had to shed tears out of affliction; shaking she looked at her Bhava, the unequaled one, with anger as if she would blast him. (3) Then breathing heavily she left him, the saintly one dear to her whom she had given half of her body; from her bereavement and her anger emotional she, with her heart set to her father, went to the family home in love for his embodiment, in her intelligence deluded by her womanly nature. (4) Rapidly leaving alone was Satî, who had no fear, quickly followed by Manimân and Mada with the bull Nandî in the company of the thousands of associates and Yakshas of the three eyed one [Lord S'iva] whom they understood. (5) Placed on the decorated bull, were her pet bird, ball, mirror, lotus flower, white umbrella, insectnet, garlands and other stuff taken along with her under the guidance of the music of drums, conchshells and flutes. (6) She then arrived where the sacrifice brightened by the sounds of vedic hymns was held that was attended by all the great sages and great minds that had come from everywhere for the offering with all its sacrificial animâls, pots, clay, wood, iron, gold and the grass and skins to sit on. (7) As she arrived there she was not respected in reception out of fear for the performer of the sacrifice [Daksha], except by indeed her own sisters and mother, who embraced her with reverence, gladdened faces and throats choked with tears of affection. (8) But Satî not being welcomed by her father, could not accept to be honored by the greetings of her sisters, mother and aunts who with due respect properly informed her and offered her gifts and a seat. (9) Seeing that her father was not having any oblations for S'iva and that the place of sacrifice was in contempt with the god, not receiving the Lord in the assembly of sacrifice, became Satî very angry, looking incensed as if she was going to burn the fourteen worlds with her eyes. (10) The goddess began, in the presence of all being heard, to condemn with words indistinct of anger, S'iva's opponents so proud with their troublesome sacrifices, meanwhile ordering his Bhûtas, who were ready to attack, to hold back. (11) The blessed one said: 'Having none in this world as his rival, there is no one embodied that is dear to him or his enemy; towards S'iva, the most beloved universal being, who is free from enmity there is, except for you, no one who would be envious. (12) Unlike you, o twice born one, he doesn't find fault in the qualities of the seekers of truth, with others he greatly magnifies any little good he finds; and with him, the greatest of all persons, it is you that finds fault. (13) This deriding of the glorious by the ones who hold the transient body for the true self is an ugly evil, that is an envy with great personalities that will surely be very good in bringing them down themselves by the dust of those holy feet. (14) Persons only once pronouncing from the heart the two syllables of his name, see their sinful activities immediately defeated; that S'iva whose order is never neglected and who is of an impeccable renown you so strangely envy. (15) Engaged at his lotusfeet do the higher personalities aspiring transcendental bliss exercise their minds and of the common man he is the nectar sought fulfilling all desires; towards him, the friend of all living entities of all the three worlds, it is of all people you that is so. (16) Do you really think that others than you like Brahmâ and his brahmins do not know that this one as inauspicious associated with the demons, that with his scattered, matted hair of the crematorium is garlanded with skulls and is smeared with ashes, by them is called auspicious or S'iva, taking on their heads the flowers that fell from his feet? (17) One should block one's ears and go away if nothing else can be done being confronted with people irresponsibly blaspheming the controller of the religion and if one is able, one should by force cut out the tongue of the vilifying blasphemer after which one should give up one's own life; that the way to deal with that! (18) Therefore I shall no longer bear this body I received from you who are of blasphemy; to purify oneself from mistakenly having eaten poisonous food it is best to vomit. (19) The ways of man and the gods part when the mind indeed, of the great wise, enjoying its own self, is not able to follow the dictates of the Veda and standing alone in one's own duty one should then not criticize another. (20) Verily are in the Vedas in truth activities in attachment and activities in detachment [pravritti and nivritti dharma] distinguished; to be directed by both is contradictory, both the two activities so found in one and the same person can be neglected by the one who is in the spirit. (21) O father, are not your opulences possessed by us, acquired by the path of the sacrifices? In being satisfied by the foods and necessities offered was the praising of the one whose cause is the unmanifested achieved by the selfrealized! (22) By this body of yours that is not to Lord S'iva in having committed these offenses, enough is enough with such a contemptible birth; I feel deeply ashamed to be related to such a bad person by that birth; it is so shameful to be of one who is an offender of great personalities. (23) Having this family relationship with you I grow very morose as soon as my great Lord S'iva calls me 'daughter of Daksha', all my joy and smiles vanish immediately then; therefore I shall give up this bag of bones produced from your body.'

(24) Maitreya said: 'Speaking thus to Daksha in the arena of sacrifice, she sat down in silence on the ground facing the north and after touching water, she, dressed in saffron garments, closed her eyes finding absorption in the process of yoga. (25) Balancing the inward and outward going breath in the control of the yogîc posture did she, the blameless one, lift her life's air, raising it by intelligence gradually up from the navel to the heart towards the windpipe and throat and from there to between her eyebrows. (26) Thus she, who time and again full of respect sat on the lap of the most worshipful of all saints, out of her own will concentrated herself on the air and fire within her body in her wish to give it up as a result of her anger towards Daksha. (27) There by the mere thinking of nothing but the nectar of the lotusfeet of her husband, the supreme spiritual teacher of the universe, one saw that the body of Satî, purified by the action, soon was ablaze of the fire that came from her absorption. 

(28) Of those who witnessed that there, resounding in the sky and earth, occurred a tumultuous great and wondrous roaring ohhh: 'Alas, Satî the beloved goddess of the most respectable demigod, has given up her life in anger about Daksha. (29) Oh, just see the great soulless of him, the Prajâpati of whom all the generations sprang; by his disrespect she voluntarily gave up her body; his own daughter Satî, that deserves our respect over and over. (30) He so hardhearted and unworthy the brahminical will gain extensive ill fame in the world, because of his offenses as an enemy of Lord S'iva not having prevented the preparing for death of his own daughter!' (31) While the people were thus talking among themselves after witnessing the wonderful death of Satî, stood the attendants of S'iva with uplifted weapons up in order to kill Daksha. (32) On the impulse of seeing them approaching Bhrigu though forthwith offered oblations in the southern part of the fire, reciting hymns from the Yajur Veda against the destroyers of a sacrifice. (33) From the oblations being offered by Bhrigu the demigods named the Ribhus manifested by the thousands that by the moon [Soma] and penance had achieved great strength. (34) The ghosts and Guhyakas [guardians] being attacked by them with weapons from the fuel of the fire, thus, from the glow of sheer brahminical power, fled in all directions.