The Genealogy of Akuti and Prasuti

Swayambhav Manu and Shatrupa had three daughters. The lives of Devahuti and her children have been narrated in detail in a series of articles starting from “Devahuti and Kardam”. Akuti and Prasuti were the other two daughters.

Manu approached the great sage Ruchi for the marriage of Akuti. Hindu scriptures provided for a special kind of marriage known as Putrikadharma or the duty of a daughter. If a couple does not have any sons then under this form of marriage if a son is born to their daughter, that child is adopted by the couple as their son. Though Manu and Shatrupa had two sons, they put the offer of Putrikadharma marriage before Ruchi. Ruchi accepted this condition. In due course Akuti gave birth to a boy and a girl. The boy, named Yagna, was one of the incarnations of Vishnu. The girl named Dakshina was the incarnation of Vishnu’s consort Lakshmi. As per the agreement Akuti and Ruchi handed over Yagna to Manu and Shatrupa, who raised Yagna as their own son. Later Yagna and Dakshina got married, as normally happens with the incarnations of Vishnu and Lakshmi, and they had twelve sons. These were collectively known as the Tushita Devas.

The third daughter, Prasuti, was married to Daksha, who had been created by Brahma from his thumb. Prasuti and Daksha had sixteen daughters. Thirteen were married to Dharma and one to Agni. One daughter was sent to Pitraloka and the last daughter was Sati.

Twelve of the thirteen daughters married to Dharma gave birth to a son each. The thirteenth one, Murti, was the most blessed because she gave birth to Nara and Narayan, who were incarnations of Vishnu. The two sages set up their hermitage at Vadrikashram, which is today known as Badrinath.

Svaha, the daughter of Daksha who had married Agni, gave birth to three sons Pavak, Pavamana and Shuchi. It is these three who consume the oblations offered to the fire during sacrifices. These three sons sired another forty-five sons, making the number in the three generations of fire-gods to forty-nine. Svadha who was married to the ancestors in Pitraloka had two daughters, Vayuna and Dharini. Both of them acquired expertise in the Vedas.

The story of Sati tale is recounted in detail in “Kankhal”. Daksha was a haughty king. He prayed to the Mother Goddess that she be born as his daughter. She was born as Sati. Sati married Shiva against her father's wishes. Daksha decided to avenge this humiliation. He organized a sacrifice at Kankhal to which all were invited except Shiva and Sati. But Sati went uninvited. Sati demanded an explanation from Daksha as to why she and Shiva were not invited. Daksha said that Shiva was an unkempt and undignified person who had no place in this august gathering. Unable to bear the insult Sati stepped into the sacrificial fire. When Shiva learnt the Sati had given up her life he wreaked havoc at the ceremonial site. All Daksha's men were killed including Daksha himself whose head was severed. Then Shiva held aloft Sati's limp body and began the Dance of Destruction or Tandava Nritya. To prevent the destruction of the universe, Vishnu let loose his Sudarshana Chakra and cut up Sati's body into pieces. The various parts of her body got scattered all over India. Wherever a part of Sati's body fell people built a shrine to the Goddess Shakti, whose incarnation Sati was. Then Vishnu consoled Shiva and requested him to give back life to the dead. Shiva did so but attached a goat’s head to Daksha's lifeless body before making him alive. Further Daksha was compelled to live one life as a mortal.

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