Satī Quits Her Body (Srimad Bhagavatam #49)

Having already given all his arguments, Lord Shiva didn't say anything more when Sati decided to disregard his instructions and go alone. This lead to a tragic end.

Feb 22, 2025

Having already given all his arguments, Lord Shiva didn't say anything more when Sati decided to disregard his instructions and go alone, but his followers accompanied Sati, understanding that this was Lord Shiva's desire. They organized a procession for Sati, so she could travel comfortably.

However, when Sati reached the opulent arena of the sacrifice, no one received her apart from her mother and sisters. All the Brahmanas and demigods present wanted in their minds to receive Sati and honor her, but they knew Daksa would be displeased by that. Since Daksa was their superior, they were afraid of him. The mother and sisters of Sati were however more softhearted and received her with affection.

However, understanding Daksa's offensive mentality towards her husband, Sati didn't reply to them or accept their presents. She was focused on her father and the arrangements made by him to neglect her husband. She saw that the Brahmanas were skipping the mantras for offering oblations to Lord Shiva, and that Daksa was so envious of him to the point of refusing to receive his youngest daughter just because she was married to him.

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Satī Quits Her Body (Chapter 4.4)

Sati and Lord Shiva formed an ideal couple: Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaishnava, completely devoted to the Lord, while Sati was an extremely dedicated and qualified wife. Having such a qualified husband, Sati was supposed to accept his judgment, understanding that he was operating under higher reasoning. The real reason Sati wanted to go to the sacrifice was to confront her father about not honoring her husband, but externally she behaved like a regular woman, appearing to want to go due to family attachment. In this way, the story gives us the example of a woman who has a highly qualified husband disagreeing with him and the negative consequences for both their marriage and the lady's own happiness. Srila Prabhupada picks this meaning for his comment on verse 3:

"Vedic marital relationship existed between Lord Śiva and Satī, but sometimes, due to weakness, a woman becomes very much attracted by the members of her father’s house, and this happened to Satī. In this verse it is specifically mentioned that she wanted to leave such a great husband as Śiva because of her womanly weakness. In other words, womanly weakness exists even in the relationship between husband and wife. Generally, separation between husband and wife is due to womanly behavior; divorce takes place due to womanly weakness. The best course for a woman is to abide by the orders of her husband. That makes family life very peaceful. Sometimes there may be misunderstandings between husband and wife, as found even in such an elevated family relationship as that of Satī and Lord Śiva, but a wife should not leave her husband’s protection because of such a misunderstanding. If she does so, it is understood to be due to her womanly weakness."

This also tells us something about a qualified disciple being able to understand the intentions of the spiritual master without having to be directly ordered at each step.

"She was not sorry for herself, for she was ready to come to her father’s house without being invited, but she wanted to see whether or not her husband was being respected. To see her relatives, her sisters and mother, was not so important; even when she was received by her mother and sisters she did not care, for she was most concerned that her husband was being insulted in the sacrifice. When she marked the insult, she became greatly angry, and she looked at her father so angrily that Dakṣa appeared to burn in her vision."

Not only Sati, but all the followers of Lord Shiva who accompanied her were enraged by these offenses, and they were prepared to attack and if possible kill Daksa. Sati however stopped them. She wanted to deal with the situation herself, using words and not physical violence. She was not sorry for herself, but because her husband was insulted.

As Prabhupada explains in his purport to text 10: "Thus when Satī saw that her father was performing great sacrifices but had no respect for the greatest devotee, Lord Śiva, she was very angry. This is fitting; when Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava is insulted, one should be angry. Lord Caitanya, who always preached nonviolence, meekness and humility, also became angry when Nityānanda was offended by Jagāi and Mādhāi, and He wanted to kill them. When Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava is blasphemed or dishonored, one should be very angry."

"Lord Śiva is the most beloved of all living entities. He has no rival. No one is very dear to him, and no one is his enemy. No one but you could be envious of such a universal being, who is free from all enmity.

Twice-born Dakṣa, a man like you can simply find fault in the qualities of others. Lord Śiva, however, not only finds no faults with others’ qualities, but if someone has a little good quality, he magnifies it greatly. Unfortunately, you have found fault with such a great soul.

It is not wonderful for persons who have accepted the transient material body as the self to engage always in deriding great souls. Such envy on the part of materialistic persons is very good because that is the way they fall down. They are diminished by the dust of the feet of great personalities. (SB 4.4.11-13)

There were many brahmanas present in the assembly, but they were not envious of Lord Shiva. The whole situation was caused by Daksa, who was misusing his authority, forcing all the others to neglect him. This Sati accused Daksa of being the only one envious. She also contrasted the attitude of Lord Shiva, in seeing only the good qualities of others with Daksa who was envious of even completely faultless persons.

The speech of Sati goes from verse 11 to 16. This passage is important because it describes the glories of Lord Shiva, not as a demigod, but as the greatest of Vaishnavas. Lord Shiva has many worshipers, but very few of them understand his real position. As Vaishnavas, we should be very careful to not offend Lord Shiva, since he is senior to all of us. Just as Daksa fell for offending Lord Shiva, anyone who does the same may face the same end. Followers of Lord Shiva often have nasty habits due to their tamasic nature, but Lord Shiva is completely different from them.

Demons and ghosts worship Lord Shiva for material benefits, seeing him as a separate deity from Lord Vishnu. For them, Lord Shiva acts as a demigod, granting them material blessings. Vaishnavas however are the true followers of Lord Shiva, because they understand his real position and glorify him as a devotee of the Lord. Lord Shiva's position is fully transcendental, and his external behavior just confirms that. No one could associate with the most degraded classes of beings as he does without becoming contaminated, and he does so not out of personal desire, but out of compassion for them, giving shelter for the most degraded creatures, who would otherwise have no means of deliverance. The many rules prescribed in the Vedas regulate the activities of common men who are attached to material activities, but because Lord Shiva is completely free from material attachment, all his activities are pure, and there is no need for him to follow such rules.

Sati came to talk to her father, even against the desire of her husband because the situation was intolerable for her. Because she had a familial relationship with Daksa, having accepted him as her father, his attitude deeply pained her. She came to the arena with the idea that she might be able to convince her father with good arguments, and that's what she does in this passage. As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to verse 16:

"The position of Lord Śiva is accepted by Lord Brahmā, so Dakṣa, Satī’s father, should also recognize him. That was the point of Satī’s statement. She did not actually come to her father’s house to participate in the function, although before coming she pleaded with her husband that she wanted to see her sisters and her mother. That was a plea only, for actually at heart she maintained the idea that she would convince her father, Dakṣa, that it was useless to continue being envious of Lord Śiva. That was her main purpose. When she was unable to convince her father, she gave up the body he had given her, as will be seen in the following verses."

Daksa, however, ignored the pleas of Sati, failing to consider her arguments. Seeing that it would be impossible to change Daksa's mentality, she decided she decided to break the relationship with him. In other words, she decided she didn't want to be his daughter anymore. Since a familial relationship is established based on the body, she decided to cut the problem from the root by destroying her body.

Sati is the incarnation of the external potency of the Lord. Just as Lord Shiva appears as the son of Lord Brahma, although he exists eternally outside the material universe, his wife, the material potency appeared first as Sati, and then as Parvati, accompanying him. Daksa had the good fortune of playing the role of a father for such an exalted personality, but unfortunately, he wasted the opportunity.

"Therefore I shall no longer bear this unworthy body, which has been received from you, who have blasphemed Lord Śiva. If someone has taken food which is poisonous, the best treatment is to vomit."

"You are an offender at the lotus feet of Lord Śiva, and unfortunately I have a body produced from yours. I am very much ashamed of our bodily relationship, and I condemn myself because my body is contaminated by a relationship with a person who is an offender at the lotus feet of the greatest personality." (SB 4.4.18,22)

After speaking these words, Sati sat down facing North. Perfect yogis can leave the body whenever they desire. Normally, they do that by controlling the vital airs and thus elevating the vital airs through the ṣaṭ-chakra, the six circles of air circulation. The subtle body floats in the five types of vital air inside the heart, and thus by moving the vital air they can move the subtle body to the top of the head, and from there leave the body by the cerebral passage. Sati however decided to also incinerate her body using her mystic power, completely destroying the root cause of her relationship with Daksa.

As she mentions, she was feeling very sorry that her body was produced by him, and she felt morose due to this relationship. She desired to obtain another, uncontaminated body to associate with her husband free from the contaminating relationship with such an offender.

In text 26, Srila Prabhupada connects her example with our practical life, emphasizing the importance of good association in spiritual life:

"This severe example set by Satī is to be followed. One should be extremely careful about associating with persons who are not respectful to the higher authorities. It is therefore instructed in the Vedic literature that one should always be free from the association of atheists and nondevotees and should try to associate with devotees, for by the association of a devotee one can be elevated to the platform of self-realization. This injunction is stressed in many places in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; if one wants to be liberated from the clutches of material existence, then one has to associate with great souls, and if one wants to continue one’s material existential life, then one may associate with persons who are materialistic."

The passing away of Sati was a dramatic event for everyone present. It is described that there was a tumultuous roar all over the universe. Everyone was questioning how such an elevated person, the wife of the respected Lord Shiva could abandon her body in such a manner, and how Daksa could be so neglectful to the point of causing it.

The associates of Lord Shiva who accompanied Sati, however, were not in the mood of lamentation. They took their weapons and prepared to storm the sacrifice and kill Daksa, even though he was protected by very powerful Brahmanas and demigods. Having failed in their mission of protecting Sati, they felt there was no other reason than to give up their lives.

As they came forward, Bhṛgu Muni immediately saw the danger and uttered Vedic mantras from the Yajur Veda, destined to protect Vedic ceremonies by killing attackers. As he offered oblations to the fire, thousands of demigods followers of Soma called Ṛbhus appeared to neutralize the attack. The followers of Lord Shiva who were not killed ran away in different directions and returned to the abode of Lord Shiva.

In his purport, Prabhupada mentions that in previous ages Brahmas had such powers because they would very rigidly follow all regulations of the scriptures and thus attain Brahminical perfection. Although Vedic mantras are still known in our age, the current Brahmanas have no power. The power of Vedic mantras is not just in the proper pronunciation but in the spiritual power of the chanter. Although in our age it is not possible to follow all the Brahminical rules and regulations, we can still attain spiritual perfection by chanting the Hare Krsna Maha-Mantra. A pure devotee attains all mystic perfections due to his connection with the Lord.

Lord Shiva frustrates the sacrifice of Daksa (chapter 4.5)

With the death of Sati and the retaliation against his followers, Lord Shiva decided that enough was enough. Before, when offended by Daksa at the sacrifice, he remained composed and left the assembly to avoid further upheaval. When Daksa deprived him of his share of sacrifices and failed to invite him and his wife to the bṛhaspati-sava sacrifice, he just showed a little moroseness. Now, however, he showed anger. Laughing like a madman at Daksa's foolishness, he snatched a strand of hair from his head and threw it to the ground. From this hair, that blazed like electricity, Vīrabhadra, the great fearful demon appeared, bright like three suns combined and high as the sky.

The word "demon" is used in this case in the traditional Western sense, as a fearful creature, and not as a translation for the word asura. Virabadra is described in the text as "atikāyaḥ" (a great personality). The word "demon" is just used to describe his fearful appearance.

Virabadra is described as being the personification of the anger of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because he is directly empowered by the Lord, no one was capable of checking him. Therefore, when Shiva ordered him to "kill Dakṣa and his soldiers at the sacrifice", his destiny was sealed. It's described that even Lord Brahma would not be capable of saving himself if attacked by him.

Assisted by all the followers of Lord Shiva, he stormed the sacrifice of Daksa and killed him by cutting his head using the wooden instrument used to sacrifice animals and throwing it into the sacrificial fire. Daksa was so powerful that even Virabadra had difficulties cutting his head, but in the end, he was successful.

Other demigods who supported Daksa were punished according to the gravity of their offenses. Bhṛgu had his mustache torn out, Bhaga lost his eyes, Pūṣā lost his teeth, and so on. Later, in the 6th canto, it is mentioned that Pūṣā was forced to live on eating chickpea dough and remained childless due to this. After devastating the sacrifice, the followers of Lord Shiva returned to Kailāsa Hill, back to their master.

The demigods approach Lord Brahma (4.6.1-41)

Having been defeated and injured by the followers of Lord Shiva, the demigods and priests went to see Lord Brahma and ask for instructions. Due to their offense to Lord Shiva, Daksa was dead, the sacrifice was ruined, and so on. Although the demigods have bodies that are much more subtle and refined than ours, their bodies are still material and can be injured by the right type of weapons. As Lord Kapila explains in His teachings, there are different grades of matter, but inside all abodes, the qualities of different material elements (such as hot and cold, soft and hard, etc.) remain the same. A demigod may not be hurt by weapons from our plane, but there are weapons in their own plane that can hurt them, like the tridents and swords of the followers of Lord Shiva.

The demigods had to visit Brahma in his abode because he was not present in the sacrifice. The reason he didn't attend was because he understood what would happen. Similarly, Lord Vishnu was not present there; only the demigods and priests who were under Daksa attended.

"When Lord Brahmā heard everything from the demigods and the members who had attended the sacrifice, he replied: You cannot be happy in executing a sacrifice if you blaspheme a great personality and thereby offend his lotus feet. You cannot have happiness in that way.

You have excluded Lord Śiva from taking part in the sacrificial results, and therefore you are all offenders at his lotus feet. Still, if you go without mental reservations and surrender unto him and fall down at his lotus feet, he will be very pleased." (SB 4.6.4-5)

As explained in the 11th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the symptom of a neophyte devotee is that he worships the Lord in the temple while failing to show proper respect to His devotees and to people in general. Lord Kapila compares this type of worship to offering ghee into ashes. Because in the case of the demigods the offense was against the highest personality, the results were dramatic. Being a Vaishnava, however, Lord Shiva can be easily appeased, and therefore Lord Brahma instructed the demigods to go to him and surrender without reservations.

In his Bhakti-Sandarbha, section 153, Srila Jiva Goswami explains more about the consequences of offending devotees of the Lord. Just as the demigods faced difficulties in the performance of the sacrifice, such offenses can also create obstacles for us in our spiritual progress. He then details five characteristics we may develop as a result of these offenses, which will act as obstacles to our devotional service:

1) Crookedness

2) Faithlessness

3) Attachment to things that destroy faith in the Lord

4) Slackness in devotional service

5) Pride in being advanced in devotional service.

According to him, crookedness means to engage in devotional service while committing offenses to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Vedas, the spiritual master, or the devotees. The Lord Does not accept devotional service offered by those who are crooked, just as He did not accept the sumptuous meal offered by Duryodhana when He visited Hastinapura as a messenger from the Pandavas. He explains that even a foolish person can attain success in devotional service, but not those who are crooked. As explained by Srila Suta Goswami: "The Lord can be easily pleased by spotless devotees who resort exclusively to Him for protection, though the unrighteous man finds it difficult to propitiate Him."

Faithlessness means when one hears of or directly sees the glories of the Lord, one does not believe that they are true. One example is the response of Duryodhana on seeing the universal form of the Lord, presuming it was just a display of illusory magic by Krsna, whom he considered an ordinary man. A faithless person will not have faith in the chanting of the holy names and will see the deity as just a statue and prasadam as just ordinary food, even after practicing for many years.

Attachment to things that destroy faith in the Lord includes excessive involvement in materialistic activities and sense pleasure, association with non-devotees, indulgence in philosophies that contradict devotional conclusions as well as pride and arrogance. As we advance in our practice in our practice and get a higher taste, we are supposed to give up all these tendencies, since they replace our faith in the Supreme Lord and in the chanting of the holy names. Offenses block this process, keeping us conditioned in this material world. Mentioning verse 5.8.26 of Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Jiva Goswami explains that the pastime of Bharata Maharaja becoming attached to the deer must have been due to offenses committed in his past life since such a strong impediment could not have been created due to ordinary fruitive activities.

As he mentions, in the case of great devotees like Bharata Maharaja, Gajendra, etc. such temporary reverses may be created by the Lord to increase their determination in attaining Him, but in our case, the impediments that we may receive due to offenses to advanced Vaishnavas may not be so benign.

In section 159, Srila Jiva Goswami makes the point that when a foolish person commits offenses, it is often not out of malice, and therefore such offenses are not taken very seriously. The same applies to animals that somehow or other perform some kind of service and may attain perfection very easily because their offenses are also not out of malice. One example is the rat who entered the altar to eat the ghee from the lamp offered to the Lord. However, as he approached the lamp, his whiskers caught fire, making him jump and move around, causing the flame to flicker and rise higher. He got burned and died, but the Lord accepted this as an offering, and as a result, he became a queen in the next life who was serious about devotional practice, and from there went back to Godhead.

An intelligent and educated person, however, knows very well the difference between right and wrong, and if he commits offenses it is out of malice. We can see that the demigods fit this description, therefore they received a very serious reaction for their offenses to Lord Shiva, and their whole sacrifice was spoiled.

The 4th factor, slackness in devotional service makes us experience happiness and suffering caused by our own minds and also by others. When we are properly engaged in devotional service, we become quickly free from such sufferings, but when we are not determined, we continue immersed in them. Offenses are one of the factors that sap our determination, making us morose.

The last factor is to develop pride in whatever advancement one can achieve in the practice of devotional service. This pride in itself comes as a result of past offenses, and due to pride one becomes propense to commit more offenses, just like Daksa, becoming further entangled. In the Caitanya Caritamrta, Lord Caitanya personally teaches about the risks of committing offenses to Vaishnavas, and the example of Daksa and the demigods is another example of this direction. How to escape this cycle? We have to beg forgiveness from whom we have offended, as Lord Brahma instructed the demigods.

Brahma took the demigods to Kailāsa, in the Northern part of Jambūdvīpa (the opposite side of Bharata-varsa). Verses 9 to 32 describe the opulence of this celestial abode. Although Lord Shiva is completely renounced, his wife is the personification of material energy, therefore their abode is extraordinarily opulent, not in terms of buildings and gold, but in terms of natural beauty, cleanliness, and auspiciousness, with many auspicious trees, mountains, rivers, waterfalls, flowers, animals, etc. Sati mentioned to Daksa that he could not even imagine the opulence of her husband and her, and that was not an exaggeration.

Since Lord Shiva is constantly engaged in meditation and prefers to live under a tree, his wife organizes the most perfect place for his meditation. Other fortunate beings live there, including many Kinnaras, Gandharvas, Apsaras, etc.

The demigods came from the higher planets in the direction of Jambūdvīpa, and on the way passed through the abode of Kuvera, which is situated between Swargaloka and Bhu-loka. After observing the opulence of Kailāsa Hill, the demigods finally reached the great banyan tree that serves as the residence of Lord Shiva. This banyan tree is described as being 800 miles high, with the branches expanding for 600 miles around. The environment around the tree was perfectly peaceful. The temperature was stable, and there was absolutely no noise. Even birds did not make nests there, creating a perfect environment for meditation, all arrangement of the material energy to her husband.

"The demigods saw Lord Śiva sitting under that tree, which was competent to give perfection to mystic yogīs and deliver all people. As grave as time eternal, he appeared to have given up all anger.

Lord Śiva sat there, surrounded by saintly persons like Kuvera, the master of the Guhyakas, and the four Kumāras, who were already liberated souls. Lord Śiva was grave and saintly.

The demigods saw Lord Śiva situated in his perfection as the master of the senses, knowledge, fruitive activities and the path of achieving perfection. He was the friend of the entire world, and by virtue of his full affection for everyone, he was very auspicious. (SB 4.6.33-35)

Lord Shiva was speaking to Narada Muni, answering questions posed by him about devotional service. He was also accompanied by Kuvera, the four Kumaras as well as other great personalities. Lord Shiva was in the sitting pose called vīrāsana, with his finger in the mode of argument. However, when he saw Lord Brahma approaching, together with all the demigods, Lord Shiva got up and offered him respects, followed by all the great sages present. This is compared to Lord Vāmanadeva offering respects to his father Kaśyapa Muni, although he is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Shiva is in a higher position than Brahma, but he offers him respect in all humility because he appeared as his son. Kṛṣṇa Himself touched the feet of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira because he was older than Him. By all these examples, the Lord teaches us to respect seniors.

From verse 42 to verse 53, Brahma offers prayers to Lord Shiva and requests him to kindly forgive the demigods and revert the injuries done to them. These are the main points:

a) Brahma describes Lord Shiva as "the Supreme Brahman beyond the cosmic manifestation". Lord Shiva comes originally from Maha-Vishnu, but at the same time, part of his qualities are covered when he appears inside the many different universes and associates with material nature. Since material nature acts as his energy, he is defined as both the father and mother of the cosmic manifestation.

b) Ultimately, the Supreme Lord is the creator, maintainer, and destroyer of the material manifestation, but because Lord Shiva is empowered by Him, Brahma addresses Lord Shiva as such. Another reason is that Lord Shiva is an expansion of the Lord, and therefore in one sense they are non-different, although Lord Shiva prays a different role and shows different qualifies. Lord Vishnu is like milk, and Lord Shiva is like yogurt. Yogurt comes from milk and is nothing but milk, but at the same time, it has different properties.

c) Brahma appears to address Lord Shiva as the Supreme Lord in his prayers. This has two reasons: one is because of the close relationship of Lord Shiva and the Supreme Lord. A second reason is given by Vyasadeva in the Vedanta-sutra 1.4.28: etena sarve vyākhyātā vyākhyātāḥ, "The Supreme Lord is the original cause of everything. All words of the scriptures should be interpreted according to this explanation."

In many passages of the scriptures, names such as Indra, Vayu, Surya, and Shiva are used to address the Supreme Lord. In these cases, they are accepted as addressing Lord Vishnu, and not as the respective demigods. In this way, the prayers of Lord Brahma mix glorification to Lord Shiva and to the Supreme Lord behind him.

d) The Lord created the varnasrama system and the four varnas are accepted as parts of His universal form. Everyone is supposed to follow the system, but Brahmas are supposed to be especially strict. Daksa was entrusted with knowledge of the karma-kanda portion of the Vedas, the knowledge about fruitive sacrifices, which is also part of the system.

e) Everything exists on the energy of the Lord. The pious, who perform auspicious activities, culminating with devotional service, are elevated to the celestial planets, the impersonal Brahmajoti or the spiritual planets, according to the quality of their activities, while the miscreants who reject the path of devotional service and disobey the injunctions of the scriptures are sent to the hellish planets. However, sometimes a pious person, like Daksa is punished due to offenses to pure devotees, and sometimes a sinful person or demon is promoted to the impersonal Brahman or even the spiritual planets due to mercy (like in the case of Ajamila) or for being killed by Krsna, like in the case of many demons. The Lord is the ultimate judge and no one can challenge His decision. Demons may protest the authority of the Lord, but pure devotees surrender fully unto Him, understand that his activities are all-auspicious,

f) Pure devotees see the Lord in all bodies as Paramatma, together with the individual soul. They see thus everyone equally, different from the materialist who discriminates according to the body and social position. They also never become overwhelmed by anger, like animals and people who can't control their senses, and they understand that both the blessings and anger of the Lord are auspicious and thus they never find fault with Him.

g) Brahma argues that apart from pure devotees of the Lord, who attain eternal life, everyone is automatically killed by the influence of eternal time, or providence, which acts under the sanction of the Lord. This is especially true of materialistic, mean, and envious people who offend and pain others. Since they are already dead, there is no need for a great Vaishnava like Lord Shiva to personally kill them. Instead, a Vaishnava should try to revive their Krsna consciousness and push them out of the clutches of Maya, even if this means tolerating personal insults.

h) Materialists are overwhelmed by illusion, and due to this they sometimes commit offenses to saintly persons. Although a Vaishnava should not tolerate offenses against the Supreme Lord or other Vaishnavas, he should, out of compassion, not take personal offenses very seriously and not use his power to retaliate, just as in the case of Pariksit Maharaja being cursed by the Brahmana boy. Vaishnavas are the only means of deliverance for fallen people, and therefore they should take care of them instead of becoming angry at their offenses.

After offering all these points, Lord Brahma pleaded with Lord Shiva to revert the damage done to the demigods and the sacrifice, allowing Daksa to return to life, the different demigods to regain their lost limbs, etc. so the yajña could be resumed, now with Lord Shiva accepting his proper share of the offerings.

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada makes the point that yajña means to work for the satisfaction of the Lord, instead of personal sense gratification. Activities to satisfy the Supreme Godhead are prescribed in the Vedic literature, and the aim of all our activities should be to satisfy the Lord. There are different activities prescribed as yajña for different classes of people and different ages. Demigods typically perform fire sacrifices, just as people in Treta-yuga, while sages on the higher planets usually perform meditation, just as people in Satya-yuga. In Dvapara-yuga these two activities are replaced by temple worship and in Kali-yuga the process of chanting is recommended. In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna also recommends the paths of Karma-yoga, Jñāna-yoga, Sankhya, etc. These paths should not be seen as separate processes, but as different stages of the process of bhakti-yoga, leading to the same ultimate goal.

When a fire sacrifice is performed, all the oblations are offered to the Lord, and the prasāda is then shared between the different demigods who are attending the ceremony. Daksa deprived Lord Shiva of his share of the prasāda, but now Brahma reassured him he would get it.