Day 18 – Daksha performs Lord Shiv’s stuti

All the demi-gods prayed to Lord Shiv who was immediately pleased and said, “Brahmaji, the demi-gods have caused an offence out of ignorance. I therefore, do not consider this as an offence.”

Brahmaji then requested Shivji to have mercy on the demi-gods, bring Daksha back to life and complete Daksha’s Yagya. Shivji went where the Yagya had been organised and saw that everything had been destroyed, Daksha was dead and Sati’s corpse lying there. With his matted hair down and red eyes, he began to roam around with tears in his eyes as he carried Sati’s corpse with him on his shoulders.

Lord Vishnu could not bear seeing this and asked him to leave the lifeless body but Shivji kept roaming around with the body madly on earth. So, Lord Vishnu cut the body into pieces with his disc. The areas where these pieces fell on earth became areas of power (Shakti), were called Shaktipeeth and are now divine places for the worship of Maa.

Thereafter, Shivji bestowed his mercy on those who had been punished including Bhrugu Rishi who gained a goat-like beard and Bhagadutta who began to see from his friend’s eyes. To make true Nandi’s curse, Shivji attached a goat’s head to Daksha’s body and revived him with just one look at him. Now Daksha understood the importance of Shiv. He desired to pray to Lord Shiv. When he had a human head he did not understand nor pray to Lord Shiv whilst he understood with a goat’s head; so which head is better?

Daksha was unable to perform Shivji’s stuti. Hence, he performed a stuti in a goat’s language by slapping his lips and clapping his hands. To date, when we go to a Shivji’s temple we see people praying by clapping their hands and slapping their cheeks. The emotion behind this is that dear Lord Shankar, we may do wrong knowingly or unknowingly just like Daksha did; please forgive us for our wrongdoings.