Sati Gives Up Her Body

Verse 1 (shiva.rudra.50.1)

नारद उवाच । मौनीभूता यदा सासीत्सती शङ्करवल्लभा । चरित्रं किमभूत्तत्र विधे तद्वद चादरात्

nārada uvāca | maunībhūtā yadā sāsītsatī śaṅkaravallabhā | caritraṁ kimabhūttatra vidhe tadvada cādarāt

Narada said: "When Sati, the beloved of Shankara, had fallen silent, what happened there, O Vidhi (Brahma)? Please tell me that with due care."

Verse 2 (shiva.rudra.50.2)

ब्रह्मोवाच । मौनीभूता सती देवी स्मृत्वा स्वपतिमादरात् । क्षितावुदीच्यां सहसा निषसाद प्रशान्तधीः

brahmovāca | maunībhūtā satī devī smṛtvā svapatimādarāt | kṣitāvudīcyāṁ sahasā niṣasāda praśāntadhīḥ

Brahma said: "The goddess Sati, having fallen silent, reverently called her husband to mind, and with a tranquil mind at once sat down upon the ground, facing north."

Verse 3 (shiva.rudra.50.3)

जलमाचम्य विधिवत् संवृता वाससा शुचिः । दृङ् निमील्य पतिं स्मृत्वा योगमार्गं समाविशत्

jalamācamya vidhivat saṁvṛtā vāsasā śuciḥ | dṛṅ nimīlya patiṁ smṛtvā yogamārgaṁ samāviśat

"Sipping water according to rite, pure and wrapped in her garment, she closed her eyes, called her husband to mind, and entered upon the path of yoga."

Verse 4 (shiva.rudra.50.4)

कृत्वा समानावनिलौ प्राणापानौ सितानना । उत्थाप्योदानमथ च यत्नात्सा नाभिचक्रतः

kṛtvā samānāvanilau prāṇāpānau sitānanā | utthāpyodānamatha ca yatnātsā nābhicakrataḥ

"The fair-faced one made the prana and apana breaths equal, and then, with effort, raised the udāna breath up from the wheel of the navel."

Verse 5 (shiva.rudra.50.5)

हृदि स्थाप्योरसि धिया स्थितं कण्ठाद् भ्रुवोः सती । अनिन्दितानयन्मध्यं शङ्करप्राणवल्लभा

hṛdi sthāpyorasi dhiyā sthitaṁ kaṇṭhād bhruvoḥ satī | aninditānayanmadhyaṁ śaṅkaraprāṇavallabhā

"Sati, Shankara's own beloved life, established that breath in her heart, then in her chest, and by her will carried it up through her throat to the space between her faultless brows."

Verse 6 (shiva.rudra.50.6)

एवं स्वदेहं सहसा दक्षकोपाज्जिहासती । दग्धे गात्रे वायुशुचिर्धारितं योगमार्गतः

evaṁ svadehaṁ sahasā dakṣakopājjihāsatī | dagdhe gātre vāyuśucirdhāritaṁ yogamārgataḥ

"Thus, resolved at once to abandon her body because of her anguish at Daksha, she burned her own limbs, while the vital breath within her body remained pure and steady, held by the path of yoga."

Verse 7 (shiva.rudra.50.7)

ततः स्वभर्तुश्चरणं चिन्तयन्ती न चापरम् । अपश्यत्सा सती तत्र योगमार्गनिविष्टधीः

tataḥ svabhartuścaraṇaṁ cintayantī na cāparam | apaśyatsā satī tatra yogamārganiviṣṭadhīḥ

"Then, meditating only upon her own husband's feet and nothing else, Sati, her mind fixed wholly upon the path of yoga, saw nothing more."

Verse 8 (shiva.rudra.50.8)

हतकल्मषतद्देहः प्रापतच्च तदग्निना । भस्मसादभवत्सद्यो मुनिश्रेष्ठ तदिच्छया

hatakalmaṣataddehaḥ prāpatacca tadagninā | bhasmasādabhavatsadyo muniśreṣṭha tadicchayā

"Her body, its every impurity destroyed, fell then consumed by that fire, and, O foremost of sages, by her own will it turned to ashes at once."

Verse 9 (shiva.rudra.50.9)

तत्पश्यतां च खे भूमौ वादोऽभूत्सुमहांस्तदा । हाहेति सोऽद्भुतश्चित्रः सुरादीनां भयावहः

tatpaśyatāṁ ca khe bhūmau vādo'bhūtsumahāṁstadā | hāheti so'dbhutaścitraḥ surādīnāṁ bhayāvahaḥ

"As all watched, a mighty outcry then arose in the sky and on the earth — a wondrous, strange cry of 'Alas! Alas!' — terrifying to the gods and all others."

Verse 10 (shiva.rudra.50.10)

हन्त प्रिया परा शम्भोर्देवी दैवतमस्य हि । जहावसून् सती केन सुदुष्टेन प्रकोपिता

hanta priyā parā śambhordevī daivatamasya hi | jahāvasūn satī kena suduṣṭena prakopitā

"Alas! The supreme beloved of Shambhu, the very goddess of this world — provoked by what wicked deed has Sati given up her life?"

Verse 11 (shiva.rudra.50.11)

अहो त्वनात्म्यं सुमहदस्य दक्षस्य पश्यत । चराचरं प्रजा यस्य यत्पुत्रस्य प्रजापतेः

aho tvanātmyaṁ sumahadasya dakṣasya paśyata | carācaraṁ prajā yasya yatputrasya prajāpateḥ

"Ah, behold this Prajapati Daksha's utter lack of self-mastery — he to whom all moving and unmoving creatures are, as it were, his very own offspring!"

Verse 12 (shiva.rudra.50.12)

अहोऽद्य विमनाभूत्सा सती देवी मनस्विनी । वृषध्वजप्रियाभीक्ष्णं मानयोग्या सतां सदा

aho'dya vimanābhūtsā satī devī manasvinī | vṛṣadhvajapriyābhīkṣṇaṁ mānayogyā satāṁ sadā

"Ah, today that wise and high-spirited goddess Sati, the ever-beloved of the Bull-bannered One, ever worthy of honor among the virtuous, has gone from us in sorrow."

Verse 13 (shiva.rudra.50.13)

सोऽयं दुर्मर्षहृदयो ब्रह्मध्रुक् स प्रजापतिः । महतीमपकीर्तिं हि प्राप्स्यति त्वखिले भवे

so'yaṁ durmarṣahṛdayo brahmadhruk sa prajāpatiḥ | mahatīmapakīrtiṁ hi prāpsyati tvakhile bhave

"This Prajapati, hard-hearted and a betrayer of the sacred, shall surely obtain great infamy throughout the whole of existence."

Verse 14 (shiva.rudra.50.14)

यत्स्वाङ्गजां सुतां शम्भुद्विट् न्यषेधत्समुद्यताम् । महानरकभोगी स मृतये नोऽपराधतः

yatsvāṅgajāṁ sutāṁ śambhudviṭ nyaṣedhatsamudyatām | mahānarakabhogī sa mṛtaye no'parādhataḥ

"He who, hating Shambhu, turned away his own daughter, born of his own body, even as she stood ready before him — he, guilty against us, shall suffer the great hells and meet his own death."

Verse 15 (shiva.rudra.50.15)

वदत्येवं जने सत्या दृष्ट्वासुत्यागमद्भुतम् । द्रुतं तत्पार्षदाः क्रोधादुदतिष्ठन्नुदायुधाः

vadatyevaṁ jane satyā dṛṣṭvāsutyāgamadbhutam | drutaṁ tatpārṣadāḥ krodhādudatiṣṭhannudāyudhāḥ

"As the people spoke thus, having witnessed Sati's astonishing abandonment of her life, her attendants at once rose up in fury with weapons raised."

Verse 16 (shiva.rudra.50.16)

द्वारि स्थिता गणाः सर्वे रसायुतमिता रुषा । शङ्करस्य प्रभावात्तेऽक्रुध्यन्नतिमहाबलाः

dvāri sthitā gaṇāḥ sarve rasāyutamitā ruṣā | śaṅkarasya prabhāvātte'krudhyannatimahābalāḥ

"All the ganas stationed at the gate, sixty thousand in number, were seized with fury — by Shankara's own power those beings of immense strength blazed with rage."

Verse 17 (shiva.rudra.50.17)

हाहाकारमकुर्वंस्ते धिग् धिग् नो नेति वादिनः । उच्चैः सर्वेऽसकृद्वीराः शङ्करस्य गणाधिपाः

hāhākāramakurvaṁste dhig dhig no neti vādinaḥ | uccaiḥ sarve'sakṛdvīrāḥ śaṅkarasya gaṇādhipāḥ

"Loudly, again and again, all those heroic chiefs of Shankara's hosts raised a cry of anguish, crying, 'Shame! Shame! This must not be!'"

Verse 18 (shiva.rudra.50.18)

हाहाकारेण महता व्याप्तमासीद्दिगन्तरम् । सर्वे प्रापन् भयं देवा मुनयोऽन्येऽपि ते स्थिताः

hāhākāreṇa mahatā vyāptamāsīddigantaram | sarve prāpan bhayaṁ devā munayo'nye'pi te sthitāḥ

"With that great cry of anguish the whole space between the directions was filled; all the gods, and the other sages present there, were struck with fear."

Verse 19 (shiva.rudra.50.19)

गणाः सम्मन्त्र्य ते सर्वेऽभूवन् क्रुद्धा उदायुधाः । कुर्वन्तः प्रलयं वाद्यैः शस्त्रैर्व्याप्तं दिगन्तरम्

gaṇāḥ sammantrya te sarve'bhūvan kruddhā udāyudhāḥ | kurvantaḥ pralayaṁ vādyaiḥ śastrairvyāptaṁ digantaram

"Having taken counsel together, all the ganas grew furious, weapons raised, creating what seemed a universal dissolution — the space between the directions filled with the din of their instruments and their weapons."

Verse 20 (shiva.rudra.50.20)

शस्त्रैरघ्नन्निजाङ्गानि केचित्तत्र शुचाकुलाः । शिरोमुखानि देवर्षे सुतीक्ष्णैः प्राणनाशिभिः

śastrairaghnannijāṅgāni kecittatra śucākulāḥ | śiromukhāni devarṣe sutīkṣṇaiḥ prāṇanāśibhiḥ

"Some among them, O divine sage, overwhelmed with grief, struck their own limbs, their heads and faces, with weapons so sharp they could destroy life itself."

Verse 21 (shiva.rudra.50.21)

इत्थं ते विलयं प्राप्ता दाक्षायण्याः समं तदा । गणायुते द्वे च तदा तदद्भुतमिवाभवत्

itthaṁ te vilayaṁ prāptā dākṣāyaṇyāḥ samaṁ tadā | gaṇāyute dve ca tadā tadadbhutamivābhavat

"Thus, together with Dakshayani, twenty thousand of those ganas met their own end then — that too seemed a wonder."

Verse 22 (shiva.rudra.50.22)

गणा नाशावशिष्टा ये शङ्करस्य महात्मनः । दक्षं तं क्रोधितं हन्तुमुदतिष्ठन्नुदायुधाः

gaṇā nāśāvaśiṣṭā ye śaṅkarasya mahātmanaḥ | dakṣaṁ taṁ krodhitaṁ hantumudatiṣṭhannudāyudhāḥ

"Those ganas of the great-souled Shankara who remained after that destruction rose up, weapons raised, to slay the enraged Daksha."

Verse 23 (shiva.rudra.50.23)

तेषामापततां वेगं निशम्य भगवान् भृगुः । यज्ञघ्नघ्नेन यजुषा दक्षिणाग्नौ जुहोन्मुने

teṣāmāpatatāṁ vegaṁ niśamya bhagavān bhṛguḥ | yajñaghnaghnena yajuṣā dakṣiṇāgnau juhonmune

"Sensing the force of their onrushing attack, O sage, the blessed Bhrigu made an offering into the southern fire with a yajus-mantra that slays the slayers of sacrifice."

Verse 24 (shiva.rudra.50.24)

हूयमाने च भृगुणा समुत्पेतुर्महासुराः । ऋभवो नाम प्रबला वीरास्तत्र सहस्रशः

hūyamāne ca bhṛguṇā samutpeturmahāsurāḥ | ṛbhavo nāma prabalā vīrāstatra sahasraśaḥ

"As Bhrigu offered that oblation, mighty beings sprang forth in their thousands — powerful heroes known as the Ribhus."

Verse 25 (shiva.rudra.50.25)

तैरलातायुधैस्तत्र प्रमथानां मुनीश्वर । अभूद्युद्धं सुविकटं शृण्वतां रोमहर्षणम्

tairalātāyudhaistatra pramathānāṁ munīśvara | abhūdyuddhaṁ suvikaṭaṁ śṛṇvatāṁ romaharṣaṇam

"With those Ribhus, armed with firebrands as weapons, a fearsome battle then broke out against the Pramathas, O lord of sages — one that made the hair of any who heard of it stand on end."

Verse 26 (shiva.rudra.50.26)

ऋभुभिस्तैर्महावीरैर्हन्यमानाः समन्ततः । अयत्नयानाः प्रमथा उशद्भिर्ब्रह्मतेजसा

ṛbhubhistairmahāvīrairhanyamānāḥ samantataḥ | ayatnayānāḥ pramathā uśadbhirbrahmatejasā

"Struck on every side by those great heroic Ribhus, blazing with brahmanical splendor, the Pramathas could offer no resistance and were driven back."

Verse 27 (shiva.rudra.50.27)

एवं शिवगणास्ते वै हता विद्राविता द्रुतम् । शिवेच्छया महाशक्त्या तदद्भुतमिवाभवत्

evaṁ śivagaṇāste vai hatā vidrāvitā drutam | śivecchayā mahāśaktyā tadadbhutamivābhavat

"Thus Shiva's own hosts were struck down and swiftly driven off — by Shiva's own will, through that great power — and this too seemed a wonder."

Verse 28 (shiva.rudra.50.28)

तद् दृष्ट्वा ऋषयो देवाः शक्राद्याः समरुद्गणाः । विश्वेऽश्विनौ लोकपालास्तूष्णीं भूतास्तदाभवन्

tad dṛṣṭvā ṛṣayo devāḥ śakrādyāḥ samarudgaṇāḥ | viśve'śvinau lokapālāstūṣṇīṁ bhūtāstadābhavan

"Seeing this, the sages, the gods headed by Indra together with the Marut hosts, the Vishvedevas, the two Ashvins, and the guardians of the directions all fell silent."

Verse 29 (shiva.rudra.50.29)

केचिद्विष्णुं प्रभुं तत्र प्रार्थयन्तः समन्ततः । उद्विग्ना मन्त्रयन्तश्च विघ्नाभावं मुहुर्मुहुः

kecidviṣṇuṁ prabhuṁ tatra prārthayantaḥ samantataḥ | udvignā mantrayantaśca vighnābhāvaṁ muhurmuhuḥ

"Some of them, deeply distressed, turned on every side to entreat the Lord Vishnu, and again and again took counsel on how the danger might be averted."

Verse 30 (shiva.rudra.50.30)

सुविचार्योदर्कफलं महोद्विग्नाः सुबुद्धयः । सुरविष्ण्वादयोऽभूवंस्तन्नाशाद्रावणान्मुहुः

suvicāryodarkaphalaṁ mahodvignāḥ subuddhayaḥ | suraviṣṇvādayo'bhūvaṁstannāśādrāvaṇānmuhuḥ

"Having carefully weighed what the outcome would be, the gods, wise and headed by Vishnu, grew greatly troubled, and again and again cried out in dismay at this destruction."

Verse 31 (shiva.rudra.50.31)

एवम्भूतस्तदा यज्ञो विघ्नो जातो दुरात्मनः । ब्रह्मबन्धोश्च दक्षस्य शङ्करद्रोहिणो मुने

evambhūtastadā yajño vighno jāto durātmanaḥ | brahmabandhośca dakṣasya śaṅkaradrohiṇo mune

"Such, O sage, was the calamity that then befell the sacrifice of that evil-souled Daksha — a mere kinsman of Brahma in name, and the very enemy of Shankara."