Dakṣa Prajāpati — one of Brahmā's mind-born sons and a presiding lord of creation — had a daughter named Satī (also called Dakṣāyaṇī). Despite Dakṣa's opposition — he considered Śiva an uncouth ascetic unsuitable for his refined family — Satī's devotion to Śiva was absolute. They married. Dakṣa's hostility toward Śiva never abated.

Dakṣa organized a grand Bṛhaspati-Sava yajña (a great Vedic sacrifice) and invited all the gods, sages, and notable beings — deliberately excluding Śiva and Satī. Satī, hearing of the sacrifice, insisted on attending despite Śiva's reluctance. Śiva tried to stop her, recounting the insult this would be, but Satī — driven by the desire to see her family — went.

At the sacrifice, Dakṣa publicly humiliated Śiva with vile insults in front of the assembly. Satī, unable to bear the dishonor to her husband, resolved to end her life. In the sacred fire (yogāgni), she immolated herself through yogic power.

When news reached Śiva, his grief was beyond measure. He took Satī's charred body on his shoulder and wandered the cosmos in anguish performing the Tāṇḍava — a fearful dance of grief and fury. The very stability of the universe was threatened.

From his matted hair (or from a lock he pulled in grief), Śiva created Vīrabhadra — a being of terrible power — and sent him with an army to destroy Dakṣa's sacrifice. Vīrabhadra decapitated Dakṣa, tore out Indra's teeth, cut off Bhaga's eyes, and wreaked havoc. Other accounts mention that Śiva himself arrived and destroyed the yajna. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and other gods interceded. Śiva relented. Dakṣa was restored to life with a goat's head (his original head had been thrown into the yajna fire). The disrupted sacrifice was completed in altered form.

Śiva, still carrying Satī's body, could not be consoled. To free him from grief and protect cosmic order, Viṣṇu deployed his Sudarśana Chakra (discus). As Śiva wandered, the Chakra cut Satī's body into pieces. Various accounts give 51, 64, or 108 pieces — the most common is 51.

Wherever a body-part of Satī fell, a sacred Śakti Pīṭha (power seat of the Goddess) arose. These are among the most sacred pilgrimage sites in the Hindu tradition:

Satī reincarnated as Pārvatī, daughter of the mountain king Himavat and Menā. Her name means "daughter of the mountain" (Parvata = mountain). This sets the stage for the next great Śaiva event — the birth of Skanda.

The asura Tārakāsura obtained a boon from Brahmā that he could only be killed by the son of Śiva — who was then deep in utter solitary meditation (tapas) and showed no interest in marriage. Tārakāsura thus terrorized the gods, knowing no such son could be born. The devas, desperate, sent Kāmadeva (the god of love/desire, analogous to Eros/Cupid) to disrupt Śiva's meditation and make him fall in love with Pārvatī.

Kāmadeva shot his five flower-arrows at Śiva during meditation. Śiva's third eye opened and reduced Kāmadeva to ash in an instant (Kāma-dāhana). Kāmadeva's wife Rati (Rati devī) wept bitterly. Yet the arrow's effect had been felt — Śiva felt a stirring.

Meanwhile, Pārvatī performed extreme tapas of her own — standing on one leg, submerged in water, sitting amid fire — to win Śiva's heart. Eventually Śiva accepted her and they married in a cosmic ceremony attended by all the devas. Later, Kāma was restored as Ananga (formless) — his effect present everywhere but without a body.

Śiva and Pārvatī's son Kārttikeya / Skanda / Murugan was born — carried by the Gaṅgā, nurtured by the six Kṛttikā stars (Pleiades), born with six heads. He led the devas to victory against Tārakāsura, slaying him with his lance (Vel / Śakti). Skanda is the supreme deity of the Tamil tradition and one of the most widely worshipped gods in South and Southeast Asia.

The three sons of Tārakāsura — Tārakākṣa, Vidyunmālī, and Kamalākṣa — appeased Brahmā through terrible austerities. Brahmā granted them three magnificent flying cities: one of gold (in the heavens), one of silver (in the sky), and one of iron (on Earth), built by the divine architect Maya Dānava. The cities were collectively called Tripura (the Three Cities).

The boon stipulated that the three cities could only be destroyed simultaneously by a single arrow fired by one being, when the three cities came into perfect celestial alignment once in a thousand years. They were also given a lake of nectar that revived any slain asura. Protected by these boons, the three asuras conquered the universe and drove the devas from their positions.

The devas prayed to Śiva. A cosmic chariot was constructed: the Earth as the chariot body, the Sun and Moon as its wheels, Mount Meru as the bow, the serpent Vāsuki as the bowstring, Viṣṇu as the arrow, Agni and Vāyu as the arrowhead. Brahmā became the charioteer.

When the three cities aligned in the sky — at a rare cosmic conjunction — Śiva released his single arrow. It ignited and consumed all three cities in a cosmic fire, reducing Tripura to ash. This event is celebrated as Tripurī Pūrṇimā (the full moon day of Kārttika month), one of the most sacred days in the Hindu calendar. Śiva received the name Tripurāntaka (Destroyer of Tripura) and is depicted in this form with a bow in some iconic sculptures, including the great Ellora cave reliefs.