Dakshayagam (Panel 1)
Detail Photos
Sati Devi immolating herself in the divine fire of her father Daksha, a yaga or ritualistic sacrifice. She is depicted as the central figure wearing ornaments and loose hair, partially engulfed in flames. A spiral of cloud-like smoke surrounds her. She is looked upon by three of the Supreme Gods: Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma respectively. They appear at the very top of the panel. A blue-skinned Vishnu holds his shankhu and chakra in two of his four hands. The other two hands are in abhaya and varada mudra. Adjacent to him, is the white-skinned Shiva with a shocked expression. He is also holding the abhaya and varada mudra in two of his hands while his other two hands are holding axe and deer respectively. Brahma is golden skinned and similarly depicted with abhaya and varada mudras. In his two other hands, he is holding a japamaala and kindi. There are a lot of sages and Devas surrounding her with folded palms in anjali mudra. Daksha is present at the bottom left corner, flinching away from the scene. A couple of women are seen weeping over Sati’s plight.
