There was a girl named Shakti (or Satee) who was the daughter of King Daksha, a descendant of the god Bhrama. He was a powerful and cruel man who was never close to his sons and daughters. Shakti was a carefree girl until one day she met handsome Shiva and they fell terribly in love. Her father did everything he could to persuade her to not marry Shiva, whom he disliked most intensely. To show how unhappy he was about this union, when he decided to hold a Spiritual Sacrifice at his palace, he didn't invite his daughter and her husband, proclaiming that Shakti and his new son-in-law weren't distinguished enough and didn't deserve to attend the party. Sati felt terribly hurt by her father's words and decided to attend to revenge her husband's honor.

Arriving at the king's home, she noticed the great fire in front of the palace and the people who were surrounding it. Her father and counselors were just at her left. She approached and said to them, "You have been disrespectful to my Lord Shiva's honor, insulting him in the worst ways when he is always so kind. By doing so, you have wounded me and I shall not live any longer." Heading to the fire, she noticed a face coming out of the flames. The face started to talk to her: "You don't want to be doing that." "Why not?" Shakti asked. The face in the sparkling flames seemed to be amused by the question and laughed out loud. "That question is yours to answer."