Kanakhala is the sacred place near Haridvāra, today called Kankhal, in Uttarakhand. Here Daksha held his great mahāyajña, from which Bhagavān Śiva was left out. Here Satī gave up her life in the yajña-fire when she heard her father abuse Bhagavān Śiva in public. Here Vīrabhadra and Kālikā destroyed the yajña and cut off Daksha’s head. It is one of the most important tīrthas of the Śaiva tradition, made holy for ever by Satī’s sacrifice.

Location

Kanakhala (also written Kanavalā or Kaṅkhalā) lies on the bank of the Gaṅgā near Haridvāra, in what is now Uttarakhand, India. The Śaiva tradition has always named this place as the site of the Daksha yajña. The Daksheśvara Mahādeva temple stands here and keeps alive the events told in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa.

The Daksha yajña

Daksha chose Kanakhala for his great mahāyajña. It was a yajña on a cosmic scale, meant to show his supremacy as Prajāpati. Satī came uninvited. She had heard of the yajña and went, although Bhagavān Śiva had advised her not to. There she found that her husband had been shut out of every place of honour and every share of the yajña.

She faced her father. Daksha then abused Bhagavān Śiva in public. He called him a wandering ascetic, beneath the dignity of a proper deva who deserves a share of the yajña. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–5)

Satī gives up her life

Satī could not bear to hear her husband abused. She did not want to live in a body born from the womb of Bhagavān Śiva’s enemy. She entered the yajña-fire and gave up her life. The earth trembled. The sacred fires went out. The yajña fell into disorder. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 5)

Nārada carried the news to Bhagavān Śiva. His grief and anger together made him create Vīrabhadra and Kālikā from his jaṭā (matted hair). They came down on Kanakhala with the full force of Bhagavān Śiva’s wrath, destroyed the yajña and cut off Daksha’s head.

After the destruction

Brahmā spoke for Daksha, and Daksha was brought back to life with the head of a goat in place of his own. The place was made holy for ever by Satī’s sacrifice. Kanakhala became a tīrtha of the first rank. There the result of disrespect to Bhagavān Śiva was shown, and so it is one of the most powerful places for the worship of Bhagavān Śiva. The account says that Daksha himself installed the Daksheśvara Mahādeva liṅga here, in repentance, after he was revived.

Sources

Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–5