Shiva was an ascetic who was unattached to all things worldly. He had no possession or family and lead a wild life. The gods required him to get in samsara mode and get into attachment for creation to continue.
Sati was the daughter of Daksha who married Shiva. Daksha did not approve of Shiva as the groom for his beloved daughter. She was adamant and married Shiva. Daksha never accepted his son-in-law and excommunicated both of them from the family. Later Sati arrived at a yagna conducted by her father uninvited. She was hurled with abuses and Shiva was insulted. Sati immolated herself in rage in that very yagna fire in her father’s palace. You can read that story at this link here.
Shiva got attached to his wife and loved her dearly. When he heard about the death of his beloved wife and all that happened at Daksha's palace, it enraged him. The grief-stricken Shiva entered the yagna and rendered the dance of destruction, Rudra Tandava, intended to destroy the universe. Banasura played the mridanga with his thousand arms to which the Lord danced.
He pulled out a couple of locks of his hair and threw them on the ground. From one lock arose Veerabhadra, Shiva's destructive incarnation. He was dark and frightful, having eight hands, each holding a weapon. From the second lock of hair arose Bhadrakali, a dark and extremely violent incarnation of the Supreme Goddess. She had a terrible form with eighteen hands, each holding weapons such as the trident, discus, spear, mace, dagger, sword, vajra, conch, bow and arrow, and so on.
Veerabhadra and Bhadrakali were a couple, working in tandem to destroy everything in sight. They were collectively known as Manbhadra. They were assisted by eight other Goddesses, namely, Chamundai, Ishaani, Mundamardini, Bhadra, Kali, Katyayani, Vaishnavi, and Twarita. The angry Shiva ordered them to start the process of destruction.
This is how each of the eight Goddesses appeared:
1. Kali manifested with four hands, holding a trident, sword, severed demon head, and a drinking vessel.
2. Katyayani, who was riding a lion, had four hands, holding a trident, sword, lotus, and the other hand indicating a gesture of destruction.
3. Chamundai had sixteen hands, holding a trident, sword, discus, conch, scimitar, mace, skull mace, snake, drum, battle-axe, shield, bow, arrow, spear, vajra (thunderbolt), drinking vessel, thunderbolt, and severed demon head.
4. Bhadra had eight hands, holding a sword, hook, trident, discus, conch, battle-axe, drinking vessel and vajra.
5. Vaishnavi had six hands, holding a sword, lotus, bow and arrow, discus, conch, and mace.
6. Mundamardini had two hands, holding a sword and a drinking vessel.
7. Ishaani had eight hands, holding a trident, spear, mace, sword, bow and arrow, scimitar, and battle-axe.
8. Twarita had eight hands, each holding weapons such as the trident, mace, sword, discus, conch, arrow, and shield. She rode a lion.
The eight Goddesses destroyed all of Daksha's and Bhrigu's armies. All other guests, kings, saints, gods who were present there were all mutilated or killed. This horrific destruction continued all night. Bhrigu, the chief priest of the Yajna, invoked the Ribhus to fight the Ganas, but the former was tied to a pillar & his beard was forcibly plucked off. Vahni's hands were cut, Bhaga's eyes were plucked out, Pusha had broken teeth, Yama's mace was broken, Goddesses' noses were cut, Soma was pummelled, while Yajneshwara, the Indra of Swayambhuva Manvantara, tried to escape in the form of a deer, but was decapitated. Daksha tried to escape, was caught and his head was decapitated by Veerabhadra and thrown to the fire pit of the yagna kunda.
Shiva finally restored all that was destroyed and brought back to life all those he had slain. He even brought Daksha back to life and restored his kingdom. Shiva substituted Daksha's decapitated head with that of a ram. Daksha was humbled by both Shiva's strength and grace. He sought forgiveness and became an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.
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| Nataraj Sculpture, Bronze Chola 10CE |
Tandava found in the Hindu texts are:
1. Ananda Tandava,
2. Tripura Tandava,
3. Sandhya Tandava,
4. Samhara Tandava,
5. Kalika Tandava,
6. Uma Tandava,
7. Shiva Tandava,
8. Krishna Tandava and
9. Gauri Tandava.
Tandava, as performed in the sacred dance-drama of India, has vigorous, brisk movements. Performed with joy, the dance is called Ananda Tandava. Performed in a violent mood, the dance is called Rudra Tandava. Shiva Tandava is described as a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation, and dissolution.
When Shiva performs the Sandhya Tandava, the other gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, and Indra play musical instruments and sing Shiva's praises.
Shiva is called Nataraja, the king of dance, and is considered to be the supreme lord of the dance.
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| Daksha's Neck Portion in Daksheshwar Mahadev Temple |
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| Daksheshwar Mahadeva Temple |
Daksheshwar Mahadev temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in the town of Kankhal, about 4 km from Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. It is named after King Daksha Prajapati, the father of Sati. Daksha is one of the fourteen Prajapatis, creator deities, who preside over procreation and are the protector of life in Hindu customs.