There are many stories about Daksha’s origin. He too was a mind born son of Brahma. It is he who sprang from Brahma’s right thumb and was married to the woman who sprang from Brahma’s left thumb. The other origin is that he was born from the ten Prachetas. The Prachetas were the sons of a famous warrior named Prachinverhis. He was so named because he had planted on the earth sacred grass facing the sun. He performed fervent prayers, after which he married Savarana, the daughter of the ocean who bore him ten beautiful sons. They were great warriors and knew all there was to know about warfare. They in turn practiced austerities and remained on the ocean bed for ten thousand years. They observed this penance because Brahma had said to their father that this was the way to be able to increase the human race.
While the Prachetas were lost in their meditation, there was an upset of the ecological balance. The foliage on earth became dense, sunlight could not reach the people. There was darkness and the wind choked in the impenetrable forests. The Prachetas on opening their eyes saw this. They opened their mouths, and fire emerged from there and the fire burnt the trees. But now the earth would become bare and brown if the fire was not stopped. They were placated by Soma, king of the vegetation, who offered them the beautiful maiden Marisha. Marisha, in another life, had been promised by Vishnu that she would have ten brave and fearless husbands. And so from this union of Marisha and the ten Prachetas a son named Daksha was born, with a boon from Brahma that he would be a prajapati and would populate the earth with a thousand sons.
The next part of Daksha’s story is that his thousand sons were tricked by Narada not to have children ! He had another thousand sons and again Narada coerced them not to procreate. Daksha was enraged. By a great sacrifice and terrible austerities he cursed Narada, who was then unable to stop his sons from having children from the sixty daughters that Daksha produced from his mind.This brought peace and tranquillity on earth and Daksha was given the title of the chief of the Prajapatis.
Daksha’s daughter Sati married Shiva.This Daksha never accepted for Shiva did not much conform to the rituals and regulations which Daksha insisted on as Chief of the Prajapatis.He never accepted his son-in-law and chose every opportunity to humiliate Shiva. At one great sacrifice, he omitted to invite Shiva but unfortunately Sati was so aggrieved that she came uninvited. Thoughtlessly Daksha heaped abuse on her and Shiva. Hurting her so much that she leaped into the sacrificial fire.
Shiva’s grief and anger was unimaginable; he brought catastrophe down upon all who had gathered in Daksha’s yard. The mountains shook, the earth trembled and the sea sent up gigantic waves. Indra tripped and fell. Yama broke his staff. Saraswati and the Matris had their noses cut off. The moon got badly bruised. Brigu lost his beard. The Brahmans ran helter-skelter.
Daksha had to accept the supremacy of Shiva; of his way of life; of his teaching.But in the fracas Daksha was decapitated and even though he was forgiven, he had to forever live with a rams head.