Text 25]
Satī Quits Her Body
137
TRANSLATION
Maitreya the sage told Vidura: O annihilator of enemies, while thus speaking to her father in the arena of sacrifice, Satī sat down on the ground and faced north. Dressed in saffron garments, she sanctified herself with water and closed her eyes to absorb herself in the mystic yoga process.
PURPORT
It is said that when a man desires to quit his body he dresses in saffron garments. Therefore it appears that Satī changed her dress, indicating that she was going to quit the body given her by Dakṣa. Dakṣa was Satī's father, so instead of killing Dakṣa she decided that it would be better to destroy the part of his body which was hers. Thus she decided to give up the body of Dakṣa by the yogic process. Satī was the wife of Lord Śiva, who is known as Yogeśvara, the best among all  yogīs , because he knows all the mystic processes of  yoga , so it appeared that Satī also knew them. Either she learned  yoga  from her husband or she was enlightened because she was the daughter of such a great king as Dakṣa. The perfection of  yoga  is that one can give up his body or release himself from the embodiment of material elements according to one's desire.  Yogīs  who have attained perfection are not subject to death by natural laws; such perfect  yogīs  can leave the body whenever they desire. Generally the  yogī  first of all becomes mature in controlling the air passing within the body, thus bringing the soul to the top of the brain. Then when the body bursts into flames, the  yogī  can go anywhere he likes. This  yoga  system recognizes the soul, and thus it is distinct from the so-called  yoga  process for controlling the cells of the body which has been discovered in the modern age. The real  yoga  process accepts the transmigration of the soul from one planet to another or one body to another; and it appears from this incidence that Satī wanted to transfer her soul to another body or sphere.
TEXT 25
कृत्वा समानावनिली जितासना
सोदानमुत्थाय च नाभिचक्रतः ।
शनैर्हृदि स्थाय धियोरसि स्थितं
कण्ठाद् भ्रुवोर्धेयमनिन्दितानयत् ॥२५॥
kṛtvā samānāv anilau jitāsanā
sodānam utthāpya ca nābhi-cakrataḥ