sati

For sati in Buddhism, see mindfulness.

Dakshayani

In Hinduism, Satī, also called Dakshayani, is one of the daughters of Prasuti and Daksha. She loved Shiva, but her father Daksha forbade her marriage to Shiva. She married Shiva anyway, and Daksha got revenge by not inviting Shiva to a festival during his absence. Sati killed herself by self-immolation on a fire. After Shiva returned and found Sati's body, he killed and decapitated Daksha, later replacing his head with a goat's. It is believed that angry Shiva performed the Tandava dance with Sati's burned body in his hands. In the process, the different body parts of Sati fell in different places on earth. These places, 51 in number, are called Shakti Peethas. They are places of pilgrimage. The 51 Shakti peethas are

lace	Organ and Ornament	Shakti	Bhairava
\|Hingula \|The Suture On The Top Of The Head \|Kottvisha \|Bhimalochan
\|Sharkrar \|Eyes \|Mahishmardini \|Krodhish
\|Sugandha \|Nose \|Sunanda \|Trayambak
\|Kashmir \|Throat \|Mahamaya \|Trisandhyeshwar
\|Jwalamukhi \|Tongue \|Siddhida \|Unmat Bhairav
\|Jalandhar \|Breast \|Tripurmalini \|Bhishan
\|Vaiddyanath \|Heart \|Jaya Durga \|Vaiddyanath
\|Nepal \|Knee \|Mahamaya \|Kapali
\|Manas \|Right Hand \|Dakshapani \|Amar
0	Virja in Utkal	Navel	Vimla	Jagannath
1	Gandaki	Temple	Gandaki	Chakrapani
2	Bahula	Left Arm	Goddess Bahula	Bhiruk
3	Ujjayini	Wrist	Mangal Chandika	Kapilambar
4	Tripura	Right Leg	Tripur Sundari	Tripuresh
5	Chahal	Right Arm	Bhawani	Chandrashekhar
6	Tristrota	Left Leg	Bhramri	Bhairaveshwar
7	Kamgiri (kamakhya in Assam)	Genital Organ	Kamakhya	Umanand
8	Prayag	Finger (Hand)	Lalita	Bhava
9	Jayanti	Left Thigh	Jayanti	Kramadishwar
0	Yugaddya	Great Toe (Right)	Bhoot Dhatri	Ksheer Khandak
1	Kalipeeth, Kolkota	Right Toe	Kalika	Nakuleesh
2	Kireet	Crown	Vimla	Sanwart
3	Varanasi	Ear Ring	Vishalakshi & Manikarni	Kalbhairav
4	Kanyashram	Back	Sarvani	Nimish
5	Kurukshetra	Ankle Bone	Savitri	Sthanu
6	Manibandh	Two Wristlets	Gayatri	Sarvanand
7	Shri Shail	Neck	Mahalaxmi	Shambaranand
8	Kanchi	Bone	Devgarbha	Ruru
9	Kalmadhav	Buttock (Left)	Kali	Asitang
0	Shondesh	Buttock (Right)	Narmada	Bhadrasen
1	Ramgiri	Breast	Shivani	Chandbhairav
2	Vrindavan	Ringlets Of Hair	Uma	Bhutesh
3	Shuchi	Teeth (Upper Jaw)	Narayani	Sanhar
4	Panchsagar	Teeth (Lower Jaw)	Varahi	Maharudra
5	Kartoyatat	Talpa (Ornament)	Arpana	Vaman Bhairav
6	Shri Parvat	Right Ankle	Shri Sundari	Sundaranand Bhairav
7	Vibhash	Left Ankle	Kapalini	Sarvanand
8	Prabhas	Stomach	Chandrabhaga	Vakratund
9	Bhairavparvat	Upper Lip	Avanti	Lambkarna
0	Jansthal	Chin (Two Parts)	Bhramari	Vikritaksh
1	Sarvashail	Left Cheek	Rakini	Vatsnabh
2	Godavaritir	Right Cheek	Vishveshi	Dandpani
3	Ratnavali	Right Shoulder	Kumari	Shiva
4	Mithila	Left Shoulder	Uma	Mahodar
5	Nalhati	Tubular Bones Of The Feet	Kalika Devi	Yogesh
6	Karnat	Ear	Jayadurga	Abhiru
7	Vakreshwar	Mind	Mahishmardini	Vakranath
8	Yashor	Hand & Foot	Yashoreshwari	Chand
9	Attahas	Lips	Phullara	Vishvesh
0	Nandipur	Necklace	Nandini	Nandikeshwar
1	Lanka	Anklets	Indrani	Rakshaseshwar

Sati was reborn as Pārvatī (the daughter of the mountain or Parvata), and reappears as Shiva's consort. This story appears in detail in Tantra literature and in Kalidasa's Kumarasambhavam

Sati Savitri

Another woman with the title of Sati is Savitri. Savitri was the wife of Satyavan, who begged Yama (the God of Death), to restore her husband to life. Her dogged persistence caused Yama to grant her one wish, on the condition that the wish should not be to restore Satyavan's life. Then Savitri asked to have children from Satyavan, after which Yama had no choice but to restore his life. The Vata Savitri Vrata is performed to celebrate this event. Savitri thus symbolises chastity, boldness, perseverance and tactfulness.

The Social Practice

By extension from the mythic Sati, the term is also used for the death, voluntary or involuntary, of widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands in India. The term is also extended to refer to the widow herself. For this usage, the term is often written using the old English spelling of suttee. Though supposed to be voluntary, it is believed to have been often enforced on the widow by various social pressures, or by the use of drugs. In Ramayana, after the death of Dasharatha Kausalya, Sumitra, Kaikeyi do not perform Sati. While Tara, wife of Vali, the monkey king performs Sati. In Mahabharata, Satyavati - wife of Shantanu; Ambike and Ambalike - wives of Vichitraveerya etc. do not perform Sati. Madri, second wife of Pandu performs Sati while Kunti, the first wife does not. The Tantras strictly condemn the practice of Sati. So it has been a practice which was a subject of great debate from earlier times. In medival periods, due to widespread Islamic invasions and rampage that follows, Sati must have served as the best way to protect the widowed women from the invading armies. This practice when performed in large numbers by women of royal families was called Jauhar. The practice has generally been restricted to certain castes and communities. Some accounts indicate that it may have been introduced from central Asia by Scythians, from whom Rajputs of Rajasthan are believed to be descended. Sati is known to have been practised in many different regions of India from medieval times, though the prevalence varied. Many rulers made efforts to ban or limit it, including the Mughal emperors. The practice was moderately common in Rajasthan and in parts of the Gangetic plain till the early 19th century, and a few hundred deaths were recorded each year then. At this time it was rather uncommon or even unknown in other parts of India. It was banned in the Bengal Presidency on December 4, 1829, other East India Company lands shortly after, and in the last princely state to permit it, Jaipur in 1846. Instances however continue to occur occasionally to the present day. Various measures against it now include efforts to stop the 'glorification' of the dead women. This glorification often includes the erection of shrines to the dead, encouragement of pilgrimages to the site of the pyre, and an income to nearby villagers. In 1988, Roop Kanwar allegedly immolated herself on the pyre of her husband in Rajasthan's Deorala village. The event quickly turned into a national case of outrage, pitting a modern Indian ideology against a traditional one. A much-publicised investigation led to the arrest of a large number of people from Deorala, said to be present at or participants in the ceremony. Eventually, 11 were charged. On January 31, 2004, a special court in Jaipur acquitted all of the 11 accused in the case observing that the prosecution had failed to prove charges that they glorified sati.

Sati

Dakshayani

Sati Savitri

The Social Practice

See also