Daksa, the ancient creator deity, is one of sons of Aditi and Lord Brahma. He was a great Brahmin king as per Hindu mythology. Lord Brahma created Agni, Kamadeva, Dharma and Daksha from his eyebrows, heart, chest and right thumb respectively, by creating the ten Manas Putras. Daksa is shown as an obese and plump man having a projecting and stocky body frame, muscular and having a head of an ibex-like creature with spiral horns. Daksa is described as one of Brahma’s wish born-sons (one of the many Manasputras). He is described as one of the Adityas as per the Rig Veda.
Prasuti (Sage Manu’s grand-daughter) is wife of Daksa with whom he fathered 27 plaiedes. All the plaiedes got married to Chandra. After coming to know that despite giving his son-in-law to impart equal treatment he favored Rohini more as compared to others. Daksa cursed the son-in-law because of which Chandra undergoes periodic waning and waxing of his shine which he was always felt proud of. Phases of the moon are thus popularly explained this way.
Daksa is Sati’s father also. She went against her father’s wishes and married Shiva. The angry Daksa perfomed a sacrifice and avoided inviting Shiva, thus insulting him. Sati was keen on attending the sacrifice but she went to the sacrifice uninvited and ignoring her husband’s advice. She endured many insults because of this and retaliated by insulting him back. In the end she immolated herself in the sacrificial fire after she could not bear the insults anymore. The angry Shiva attacked guests at the sacrifice, began his dance of destruction and vengeance, wore his wife’s dead body and decapitated Daksa. It is said that he forgave Daksa later, gave him a goat’s head and made him alive again.
