Daksha

Daksha
God of ritual skill[1]
Two depictions of Daksha — One with ordinary human features (left) and another with a goat face (right)
AffiliationPrajapati, Manasaputra
TextsRigveda, Brahmanas, Taittiriya Samhita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Purana
Genealogy
ParentsBrahma[a]
ConsortPrasuti and Asikni
Children

In Hinduism, Daksha (Sanskrit: दक्ष, lit.'able, dexterous, or honest one' IAST: Dakṣa,[2]) is one of the prajapati, the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a handsome face or the head of a goat.

In the Rigveda, Daksha is an aditya and is associated with priestly skills.[3] In the epics and Puranic scriptures, he is a son of the creator-god Brahma and the father of many children, who became the progenitors of various creatures. According to one legend, a resentful Daksha conducted a yajna (fire-sacrifice), and deliberately did not invite his youngest daughter Sati and her husband Shiva. In the Linga Purana, for insulting Shiva during this event, which caused Sati to self-immolate in fury, he was beheaded by Virabhadra, an attendant of Shiva. He was later resurrected with the head of a goat. Many Puranas state that Daksha was reborn to Prachetas in another Manvantara (age of Manu).

  1. ^ Handbook of Hindu Mythology. Oup USA. 27 March 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-533261-2.
  2. ^ Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
  3. ^ Williams, George M. (27 March 2008). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. OUP USA. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-19-533261-2.


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