Divine Beings
Daksha
दक्ष
Lord of the Sacrifice
Who was Daksha?
Daksha (दक्ष): Lord of the Sacrifice, one of the divine beings in the Mahabharata. The Prajapati whose sacrifices set the order of the worlds and whose daughters became the mothers of gods, asuras and stars alike.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | दक्ष |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | Lord of the Sacrifice |
| Faction | Divine Beings |
| Key traits | Ritualist, Proud, Exclusive, Ancient |
| Notable relationships | Slighted God: Shiva, Daughter: Uma, Arbiter of his rite: Brahma |
| Featured in | 12 stories |
About Daksha
The Prajapati whose sacrifices set the order of the worlds and whose daughters became the mothers of gods, asuras and stars alike. His great rite is remembered chiefly for whom it left out: denied any share of any offering, Rudra came upon it in wrath, the sacrifice fled from him in the shape of a deer, and from the sweat of that anger the burning creature Fever was born. He also cursed Soma for loving one wife among the twenty-seven he had been given.
In Their Words
The shares are apportioned as the rite ordains, and I will not reapportion them.
Daksha
Traits
- Ritualist
- Proud
- Exclusive
- Ancient
Story Appearances
Stories Featuring Daksha
11 further tales on this site name Daksha, in canonical reading order.
- The Map of the WorldsA priest naming the four quarters of the cosmos from a mountain shoulder
- Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keep
- Swaha and the Six DisguisesThe wives who were punished for a child that was never theirs
- Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's back
- The One Who Walked Ahead of the ChariotArjuna finally asks who has been winning his battles
- The River With Seven NamesWherever she was called, she came
- The Being at the GateAshvatthama offers himself to Mahadeva
- Why Rudra Broke the SacrificeKrishna explains who really emptied the camp
- Bali in the Nooses of VarunaThe prisoner who would not be mocked, and the god who let him be
- Three Balls of MudThe Boar invents the rite for the dead, and has no one above him to offer it to
- The Cow Born of NectarDaksha's gift, Mahadeva's third eye, and why cattle wear many colours
Character Arc
- The OmissionLeaves Rudra without a share of the offerings
- The FlightHis sacrifice runs as a deer across the sky
- The CurseDooms the moon to wane for slighting his daughters
Key Relationships
Places in Daksha's Story
Drawn from the stories Daksha appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Divine Beings.