Daksha
In Hinduism, Daksha (Sanskrit: दक्ष, lit. 'able, dexterous, or honest one' IAST: Dakṣa,) is one of the prajapati, the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a handsome face or the head of a goat.
| Daksha | |
|---|---|
God of ritual skill | |
Two depictions of Daksha — One with ordinary human features (left) and another with a goat face (right) | |
| Affiliation | Prajapati, Manasaputra |
| Texts | Rigveda, Brahmanas, Taittiriya Samhita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Purana |
| Personal information | |
| Parents | Brahma |
| Consort | Prasuti and Asikni |
| Children | |
In the Rigveda, Daksha is an aditya and is associated with priestly skills. In the epics and Puranic scriptures, he is a son of the creator-god Brahma and the father of many children, who became the progenitors of various creatures. According to one legend, a resentful Daksha conducted a yajna (fire-sacrifice), and deliberately did not invite his youngest daughter Sati and her husband Shiva. In the Linga Purana, for insulting Shiva during this event, which caused Sati to self-immolate in fury, he was beheaded by Virabhadra, an attendant of Shiva. He was later resurrected with the head of a goat. Many Puranas state that Daksha was reborn to Prachetas in another Manvantara (age of Manu).