http://www.ambedkar.org/books/dob7.htm
SATI WAS STARTED FOR PRESERVING CASTE
Why discuss Sati?
With the much discussed subject, now in India, about a so called "sati" of
Charanshah, in village Satpura in Uttar Pradesh, some information about this
evil in Hindu social system, may be not only informative but also educative to
the masses who wish to build a new India on new values.
Condition of Widows in ancient India
In India, the condition of women in general, was made more dreadful than that
of a slave, but the lot of widows was always very hard and they were forced to
lead a horrible life of torture, disfigurement, tonsure and deprivation, with
an enforced strict ban on remarriage. They were compelled to undergo sex with
other men for procreation under the system of Niyoga. As if this was not
enough, a peculiar system existed in India, whereby widows were burnt alive on
the funeral pyre of their dead husbands. The practice existed among the higher
castes mainly, though it was given a honorable and prestigious outlook among
the masses by various means adopted by the Brahmins.
Why this system started in India? It was for maintaining the caste, which was
very important for the welfare of those, who are benefited by it. And as the
caste system grew more rigid, the sati become more strict. Notable example is
Bengal, where it was enforced more strictly because of "Kulin system", where
any of the hundreds of disgruntled young wives could easily poison the old man.
Position of women
Ms. Shakuntala Rao Shastri, in her "Women in Sacred Laws" very aptly describes
the pitiable condition of women before the Britishers came to India:
"True it is that anyone who has witnessed the pathetic condition of women in
India at the dawn of British rule cannot but be shocked at it: the enforced
child marriage, the exposure of female children, putting to death female
children by throwing them at the junction of the Ganges and the sea, the
violence used to make women follow the Sati rite and thus end their miserable
existence, the shameful treatment accorded to a widow, the (in)famous kulinism
which made marriage a profession rather than a sacrament, made woman not only
an object of pity but many a woman sighed in the secret recess for her heart
and wished that she had never been born a woman in this unfortunate country."
[Shastri: 1959: 171]
The situation described by the learned Vedic Scholar is at the time of dawn of
British occupation, but since how long it was in existence? The reply is that
this was the situation since the fall of Buddhism around tenth century A.D.
That the women enjoyed high position in Buddhist period can be judged by a mere
glance at the Buddhist law being practiced in India before tenth century A.D.
and which is practiced in all the Buddhist countries even now.
Today after passing of Ambedkar's Hindu Code, piece meal, the Hindu Laws of
Marriage, Adoption, Succession, and other related Laws have been changed to a
great extent. But prior to 1956, the Old Hindu Brahmanic Law was in force,
under which the condition of women was pitiable. To get some idea of how these
laws were made more and more cruel is seen if one considers that original law
of India was Buddhist Law. Buddhist law was the national law of India, because
from the historical period, the religion of India was Buddhism. It was the main
stream. The Brahmins succeeded in causing the fall of Buddhism, at the cost of
women and Shudras. They had to bear the brunt of all evils, to maintain the
supremacy of the Brahmins.
The Buddhist personal Laws about Women
To get some idea of what was The Buddhist Personal Law, we quote from Ms.
Shastri.
"In Buddhist Law, the position of women was different. The religion was more
practical and elastic as well as highly ethical due to the eight principles of
life enjoined on each man: (1) Right Understanding; (2) Right mindedness; (3)
Right speech; (4) Right Action; (5) Right livelihood; (6) Right endeavor; (7)
Right concentration; (8) Right collectedness.
"In Buddhism every human being - man or woman - is a free agent able to work
out his own salvation independent of any supernatural agency or the medium of
priests or rituals. The inequality between man and woman is wiped out. Hence
woman in the Buddhist Law has a special place.
"Buddhist marriage is a simple ceremony it is purely a civil contract.
"The age at which a girl is allowed independent choice is twenty. If a girl
contracts a marriage before this period without the consent, expressed or
implicit, of her guardians or parents, it is null and void. This rule is not
binding on widows and divorcees as their first marriage has already freed them
from paternal control.
"Polygamy is allowed in Buddhist Law. A man can marry a second time during the
lifetime of the first wife; but a woman has not a similar choice. Wives of
inferior status, who can however inherit the property of their husband, are
mentioned and Buddhist Law speaks of them as 'wives and concubines'. Concubines
have a legal status and can inherit property, hence illegitimacy of children is
avoided.
"Women have the same rights of inheritance as men. On marriage the couple have
a joint interest on their estate, each keeping his or her share separate. All
property acquired or inherited comes under joint property. Both husband and
wife get equal share of interest. But where property is the contribution of one
party only, the contributor gets two-third share and the other one-third.
"Divorce is permissible by mutual consent under Buddhist Law. When one party
contracts some incurable disease, such as leprosy, divorce is immediately
granted.
"In these cases each is entitled to one half of the interest in property. If
one deserts the other, divorce is automatic and the deserting party forfeits
all rights to inherit property but is liable to pay off the joint debts if any.
"If the husband becomes a priest against the wishes of his wife and remains as
such for seven days, the wife inherits the entire property and to pay off also
their joint debts. To sell or mortgage a joint property, the consent of the
wife is obligatory. Neither party can act independently. A woman has the right
to adopt under Buddhist Law she might adopt for inheritance or out of pity;
girls are not barred from adoption.
"These laws still survive in Buddhist countries like Burma, Indochina, Japan
and Ceylon, But it must be said that at one time when Buddhism was a living
religion in India, they influenced, not to a small extent, Hindu culture and
the legal literature, Kautlilya admits divorce by mutual consent as did the
Buddhists. [The Bombay Law Reporter, Vol. 38, p. 14, quoted by Shastri: 1959:
7]
As this comes from a scholar, who is a strong supporter of Brahmanic Laws and
visibly biased against Buddhism as she blames Buddhists for every thing at
every conceivable opportunity even applying a wrong logic, it is more
important. Sati, enforced widowhood and girl child marriage along with
prohibition of education of women and reduction of age of marriage of women are
the various points so inter-related that they must be discussed together. But
leaving the question of position of women in general for some future occasion,
we would like now to deal only with one aspect of this broad subject in this
article, that is the prevalence of Sati.
Efforts to stop Sati
Saint Raidas, a chamaar by caste, and guru of Saint Meerabai of Rajputana was
the first person to oppose Sati, says P. S. Changole. ['Prabuddha Bharat',
30.4.2000] All the Rajput rulers, the pseudo-Kshatriyas always eulogized the
practice of Sati under the Brahmanic domination, but many Muslim and Christian
rulers had attempted to stop the practice of Sati. During Portuguese rule in
Goa, in 1508 A.D., Albuquirk declared it as a crime. Akbar was against use of
force to stop it, but he had declared it a crime punishable by death penalty,
and he had also rode 450 miles to save the queen of Jodhpur just a few steps
away from pyre. Jehangir had proclaimed death penalty for those putting a widow
in funeral pyre of her dead husband with force. Aurangjeb had declared that no
woman would be allowed to be burnt alive. But nobody among the Hindus except
Raja Rammohan Roy tried to end this infamous custom. [Nag: 1972: 44] Raja had
undertaken this onerous task after the flames of Sati had engulfed his own
family members.
The Raja used to be abused by his own kith and kin as a "Muslim", when he tried
to prevent a widow burning. His opponents were Radhakant Deo, Pundit Kalanand
Banerjee, Pundit Nimai Mukhopadyaya, Harihar Shastri, Darmapati Ganguli etc.
They submitted memoranda to the Governor General to expel Fr. William Kerry and
Fr. William Sliman, who were opposing sati. Their argument against the
missionaries was that the missionaries are awakening public opinion against
sati and thereby destroying Hinduism. [Francis D'Souza, Loksatta, 3.12.99]
But thanks to Raja's persistent efforts, it was eventually banned by Lord
Bentik, the then Governor General of East India Co. in November 1829, and it
became a Law on 4th December 1929. The appeal against this by the "Dharma
Sabha", an organization of savarnas came before the Privy Council in July 1832
and the judges unanimously advised the Emperor to reject it. [Nag: 1972: 55]
Interestingly the appellants had argued that if Sati is prohibited the women
would kill their husbands.
Though for nearly hundred and seventy five years, the Act is in force, still
the Sati is not completely stopped. Rupakuwanrs are still getting burnt. Not
only that but there are important personalities supporting the act of burning
the widows alive. This includes a prominent political leader and a widow queen
Vijaya Raje Scindia, who did not practice it herself. Even leaders talking in
favour of women's Reservation movement, like Sadhwi Ritumbhara, Uma Bharati,
and Sushama Swaraj have supported the sati system. [Jyoti Lanjewar, Lokmat,
2.12.99]
Sita Agrawal tells us VHP Acharya Giriraj Kishore stating that there is nothing
wrong if any woman who cannot bear the separation from her husband opts to join
him in his funeral pyre, and Dharmendra Maharaj of Jaipur, the priest who
presided over the ritual of self-immolation committed by Roop Kanwar upon the
death of her husband in Rajasthan is the president of the Sansad`s Kendriya
Margadarshan Samiti, the steering committee of the religious parliament.
[Revive] Those women who do not commit sati are often forced into
`reservations' where only widows live. One such place is Vrindavan [Roy].
Tonsuring of the head was forced on widows, thereby disfiguring them and they
were forbidden to appear in auspicious functions, as per Puranic injunctions.
Mahatma Phule, as is well known, had to arrange a "Barbers' Strike" to oppose
the system. It is also well known that he opened "Bal hattya pratibandha
griha", house for prevention of infanticide, for widows.
Sati in Vedas
Let us start tracing the origin of this practice. Rig Veda X.18.7 states:
"Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living, enter the house
with ghee (applied) as corrylium (to their eyes). Let these wives first step
into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned." [Rig Veda
X.18.7] [Kane 199-200] quoted by Sita Agrawal, "Genocide of Women in Hinduism",
Sati - Brahmin Annihilation of Widows, Chapter 5, (http:// dalitstan.org/
books/ gowh/ gowh5.html]
On this verse Sita Agrawal, who firmly believes that Vedic Aryans practiced
Sati, comments that in recent times some Aryan apologists try to prove that
this verse does not sanction sati, on a mistaken reading of the word agne or
agneh , which they believe is agre . She believes it to be a wrong
interpretation, and fabrication to distort the Sati verse which directs the
widow to enter the pyre (agneh) so as to mean that the wife was to rise from
her pyre and go to the front (agre).
In support she mentions other citations from scriptures which explicitly allow
Sati:
1. The Garudapurana favourably mentioning sati for women of all castes, even
the Chandala woman, with the only exceptions of pregnant women or those who
have young children. [Garuda Purana. II.4.91-100] [Kane 237].
2. Several of Krishna's wives performed sati upon his death, including Rukmini,
Rohini, Devaki, Bhadraa and Madura [Mah.Bhar. Mausalaparvan 7.18 ] [Alld,
p.977, 1018-1019: Rukmini]
3. Madri, second wife of Pandu, considered an incarnation of the goddess
Dhriti, performed sati [ Mah.Bhar. Adiparvan 95.65] [Alld, p.985]
4. Rohini, a wife of Vasudev, Krishna's father, who gave birth to Balram
(Devki's child), later became a sati. [Alld.1018] The Vishnu Purana V.38 refers
to this mass burning of Krishna's wives :
"The 8 queens of Krishna, who have been named, with Rukmini at their head,
embraced the body of Hari, and entered the funeral fire. Revati also embracing
the corpse of Rama, entered the blazing pile, which was cool to her, happy in
contact with her lord. Hearing these events, Ugrasena and Anakadundubhi, with
Devaki and Rohini, committed themselves to the flames." [Vis.Pur. 5.38]
[Vis.Pur. {Wils} p.481]
However, we feel Sita Agrawal's citation of Puranas and Mahabharata can not
prove that Rig Vedic Aryans did practice Sati, as these are much later
creations. We tend to agree more with Ms. Shakuntala Rao Shastri who quotes
Kaegi saying:
"The well known custom of burning of widows for thousands of years demanded by
the Brahmins - is nowhere evidenced in the Rig-Veda; only by palpable
falsification of a hymn has the existence of the custom been forcibly put into
the texts which, on the contrary, prove directly the opposite - the return of
the widow from her husband's corpse into a happy life and her remarriage"
[Kaegi - "The Rig Veda", p.16, quoted by Shastri: 1959: 172]
Sati in Atharva Veda
There are scholars who believe, Atharva Veda is more ancient than Rig, and
represents Indigenous people, but Brahmins maintain the importance of Rig Veda
as original book of Aryans. Shakuntala Rao Shastri tells us the name Atharva
Veda is not found before the Sutra period. [Shastri:1956:39, Vedic Index, vol.
I, 18] It represents the life of another branch of Aryans who came to India
later. [Shastri: 1956: 58] It was the literature of a different stock of Aryan
family, who were influenced by Iranian culture and who entered India later than
the Rig Vedic group. [Shastri: 1956: 62] Here the mention is found for
widowhood in one of the later books dealing with funeral ceremonies.
[Shastri:1956:53] Out of the two verses about widows, one refers to custom of
widow lying beside her dead husband on pyre and the following verse describes
the maiden being led forth for the dead. It is clear that burning of widow was
prevalent in Atharva-Vedic cult, but 'became almost extinct and was observed
only as a show.' [Shastri: 1956: 54]
Time of Origin of Sati
"It may now be asked, when and how this custom of the self- annihilation of
windows on the funeral pyre of their husbands technically called by the name of
Anumarana then, and later the 'Sati rite', came to be introduced and enforced
in India? The available evidence shows that the custom was entirely nonexistent
in early Hindu society.
"The Vedic practice was for a widow to marry her dead husband's younger
brother. In the sutra period she was allowed to marry any near kinsman; in the
earliest Dharmasutra (Gautama) without enjoining any restriction and in the
later (Baudhayana and Vasishtha) enjoining ascetic practices for a short period
only. Later on, however this asceticism alone remained and became life long.
This was the characteristic of the period ranging between the 2nd century B.C.
and the 4th century A.D., when the Smritis of Manu and Yajnavalkya were
compiled. But there is absolutely no mention of widow burning. Later on,
however, we find Anumarana prescribed for a widow as an alternative to life
long asceticism.
"This is clear even from a superficial study of the Vishnu and the Brihaspati
Smritis, which were put together between the 5th and the 9th centuries. A. D.
Hindu society was completely revolutionized soon after this, and we find new
Smritis and new commentaries springing up and holding up the ideal thing for a
widow in comparison with life-long asceticism. This last is no doubt mentioned
by them, but only incidentally.
"On the other hand, this practice was exceedingly eulogized and celestial
felicity of the highest type was promised to the widow who immolated herself.
In fact, she was believed to raise her dead husband even from hell and make him
a participant of her heavenly bliss. The period between the 5th 9th centuries
was a period of transition. The practice of Anumarana was, no doubt, gaining
ascendancy, but authors and scholars were not wanting who condemned it."
[Shastri : 1959 : 124]
Brahmanic Authors opposing Sati
Perhaps the first author opposing the practice was poet Banabhatta, who
flourished earlier than Medhatithi in the 7th century A.D and was protege of
Harshavardhana, the last Buddhist Emperor prior to Palas. His view on the
subject have been embodied in a characteristic passage of the "Kadambari". He
thought that:
"This practice which is called Anumarana is utterly fruitless. This is a path
followed by the illiterate this is manifestation of infatuation, this is a
course of ignorance, this is an art of foolhardiness, this is
short-sightedness, this is stumbling through stupidity, viz. that life is put
and end to when a parent, brother, friend, of husband is dead. Life should not
be ended, if it does not leave one of itself. ..." [Kadambari: Edited by
Kashinath Pandurang Parab, Nirnaysagar Press, 1890, purva-bhag, pp.339-9,
quoted by Shastri]
The another such author was Medhatithi, who was, however, a schooliast and
probably belonged to one school of Law. About him it is said:
"Medhatithi did not look upon Anumarana, or the self- immolation of windows, as
a Dharma or meritorious act at all, and tolerated it only as a transgression in
times of distress. On the other hand, Vijnanesvara and Madhavacharya regarded
Anumarana as a Dharma and not as an act of suicide. Hence they argued that the
suicide prohibited by the sruti text was to be considered suicide in all cases,
except in that of self-destruction by a widow. The whole mental vision thus
seems to have changed between the times when Medhatithi and Vijnanesvara
respectively wrote, that is, between the 9th and the 11th centuries. [Shastri :
1959 : 124]
In the law-codes, however, it is the Vishnu Smriti that sanctions widow-burning
for the first time in the religious and legal literature of India. The Vishnu
Smriti has been supposed to have been complied soon after the 5th century A.D
[Shastri : 1959 : 128 ff.] Thus Sati was legalised after decline of Buddhism
started, and was gradually imposed harshly in later periods.
The earliest recorded instance of Sati
The earliest known case is recorded by Diodorus, about a soldier from India who
died in Iran and his two wives vied with each other to get burnt alive on his
funeral pyre.
"... In the year 316 B.C., the leader of an contingent which had gone to fight
under Eumenes in Iran was killed in battle. He had with him his two wives.
There was immediately a competition between them as to which was to be the
sati. The question was brought before the Macedonian and Greek generals, and
they decided in favour of the younger, the elder being with child. At this the
elder woman went away lamenting, with the band about her head rent, and tearing
her hair as if tidings of some great disaster has been brought her; and the
other departed, exultant at her victory, to the pyre crowned with fillets by
the women who belonged to her and decked out splendidly as for a wedding. She
was escorted by her kinsfolk who chanted a song in praise of her virtue. When
she came near to the pyre, she took off her adornments and distributed them to
her familiars and friends, leaving a memorial of herself, as it were, to those
who has loved her. Her adornments consisted of a multitude of rings on her
hands set with precious gems of diverse colours, and about her neck a multitude
of necklaces, each a little larger than one above it. In conclusion, she said
farewell to her familiars and was helped by her brother onto the pyre, and
there to the admiration of the crowd which had gathered together for the
spectacle she ended her life in heroic fashion. Before the pyre was kindled,
the whole army in battle array marched round it thrice, she meanwhile lay down
beside her husband, and as the fire seized her no sound of weakness escaped her
lips. The spectators were moved, some to pity and some to exuberant praise. But
some of the Greeks present found fault with such customs as savage and
inhumane. The Greeks, we find, had a theory to account for the custom, whether
of their own invention or suggested to them by Indian informants we cannot say.
The theory was that once upon a time wives had been so apt to get rid of their
husbands by poison that the law had to be introduced which compelled a widow to
be burnt with her dead husband." [Beven:1968:372]
Epigraphic evidences of Sati
Ms. Shakuntala Rao Shastri describes the "Memorial stelae". They are small
stone uprights sculptured with figures and inscriptions, and are called Devli,
and are found in abundance in Rajputana. They are erected in commemoration of
women immolating themselves on funeral pyres of their husbands. The earliest
one found in Jodhpur state at Gatiyala is dated 890 A.D. The earliest of these
stelae is found in Eran in Sagar District in M.P. and is dated 510 A. D. Thus
the practice of Sati was coming to vogue in sixth century A.D.
[Shastri:1959:130]
The Annals of Kashmir by Kallahna of 12th century, mentions some instances
where, in addition to wife / wives others like concubines, slaves, mother
nurse, friends and followers also practiced Anumaran. Earliest mentioned was in
902 A.D. King Samkaravarman, in 1081 A.D. King Ananta, in 1161 A.D. King Malla,
and the last one mentioned was in 12th century of King Sussala. [Shastri:
1959:130]
Not only it was practiced in North, West and Central India, the examples of
Inscriptions from Epigraphica Carnataka show that the custom existed in South
India also. Anumarana was practiced after deaths of various kings like - in
1130 A.D. Kadamba King Tailapa, Ganga King Nitimarga, and Satyavakya
Kongunivarman Lord of Nandagiri, both of whom lived in 915 A.D., in 1220 A.D.
King Ballala, and in 1180 King Bammarasa. [Shastri: 1959: 132 ff.]
When a Tomar King in Gujrath died, his 90,000 queens were requested not to
commit sati. They consulted their Kula-brahmana, who advised them to commit
sati as Veda verse 18/877 mentions "Agne" and not "Agre", just for the sake of
golden coins, thus condemning these 90,000 women to flames. 3000 queens
committed sati with king of Vijaynagar. On conquest of Jaselmere by Muslims, 24
thousand queens committed sati. Old cremation place has got inscriptions
mentioning names of those committing sati. 112 queens of king Amarsing of
Bundi, 88 queens of Keshosing, Jagirdar of Dharampur, 78 queens of Surendrasing
of Palitana. Some social reformists tried to prevent sati of 95 queens of
Bharatpur, but they had to commit sati. [Francis D'Souza, Loksatta, 3.12.99]
Travellers' Accounts
Many travellers from Al Biruni to Abbe DuBois mention the practice, the account
of Travernier is most illuminating. French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a
jeweller by profession, visited India 6 times between 1641 and 1667 for gem
trade. All his writings display a marked admiration for India without any
inherent religious bias. His description apart from being gory and horrible,
also depicts greed of Brahmins:
"The Brahmans accompanying her [the Sati] exhort her to show resolution and
courage, and many Europeans believe that in order to remove the fear of that
death which man naturally abhors, she is given some kind of drink that takes
away her senses and removes all apprehensions which the preparations for her
(p.165) death might occasion. It is for the interest of the Brahmans that these
unhappy women maintain the resolution they have taken to burn themselves, for
all the bracelets which they wear, both in arms and legs, with their earrings
and rings, belong of right to the Brahmans, who search for them in the ashes
after the women are burnt. [Tavernier, Vol.II, p.164-165, Quoted by Sita
Agrawal]
These heart-rending descriptions taken directly from Tavernier's Travels, Ms.
Agrawal believes, prove that it was the Brahmins who enforced Sati upon the
non-Brahmin races in order to exterminate them and to steal their wealth. It
must be remembered, she says, that Brahmins had infiltrated the Mughal
administration, and continued Sati despite prohibitory orders from Mughal
kings. She quotes Tavernier further:
"I have seen women burnt in three different ways, according to the customs of
different countries. In the kingdom of Gujarat; and as far as Agra and Delhi,
this is how it takes place : On the margin of a river or tank, a kind of small
hut, about 12 feet square, is built of reeds and all kinds of faggots, with
which some pots of oil and other drugs are placed in order to make it burn
quickly. The woman is seated in a half-reclining position in the middle of the
hut, her head reposes on a kind of pillow of wood, and she rests her back
against a post, to which she is tied by her waist by one of the Brahmans, for
fear lest she should escape on feeling the flame . In this position she holds
the dead body of her husband on her knees, chewing betel all the time; and
after having been about half an hour in this condition, the Brahman who has
been by her side in the hut goes outside, and she calls out to the priests to
apply the fire; this the Brahmans, and the relatives and friends of the woman
who are present immediately do, throwing into the fire some pots of oil, so
that the woman may suffer less by being quickly consumed.
"After the bodies have been reduced to ashes, the Brahmans take whatever may be
found in the way of melted fold, silver, tin, or copper, derived from the
bracelets, earrings, and rings which (p.166) the woman had on; this belongs to
them by right, as I have said." [Tavernier, Vol.II, p.165-166, quoted by Sita
Agrawal]
Methods in Dravida Region
The poison of Brahmanism had already seeped, Agrawal mentions, deep into the
veins of South India when Tavernier arrived, and Brahmin genocide of Dravidians
was in full swing. Tavernier was himself witness to many scenes of Brahmin men
murdering Dravidian women in cold blood by the most horrible means imaginable.
Here is one such description of the Brahmin murder of a Dravidian woman :
"In the greater part of the Coromandel coast the woman does not burn herself
with the body of her deceased husband, but allows herself to be interred, while
alive, with him in a hole which the Brahmans dig in the ground, about 1 foot
deeper than the height of the man or woman. They generally select a sandy spot,
and when they have placed the man and woman in the hole, each of their friends
fills a basket of sand, and throws it on the bodies until the hole is full and
heaped over, half a foot higher than the ground, after which they jump and
dance upon it till they are certain that the woman is smothered." [Tavernier,
Vol.II, p.168, quoted by Sita Agrawal]
Blame the Buddhists and Muslims for all ills of Hinduism
This was the strategy of modern Brahmanism. Sita Agrawal lists some such
bizarre Brahmin fraud hypotheses by several obscurantist Brahminists to
"fabricate non-Vedic explanations for the occurrence of sati, often with less
than honest intentions"
Corruption : One silly canard spread by the Brahmins, Agrawal says, is that the
custom of sati started when `Hindu' society started to `degenerate' in the
Puranic Dark Ages. If so, she asks, then why do the Vedas take this custom for
granted? Why did Krishna's wives perform sati? Are we to then conclude that
Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu himself, was a corrupt `Hindu'? Again, where
did this corruption come from? When did it start?
Islamic Califate and Sati : One far-fetched Hindu fundamentalist idea ascribes
the origin of sati as being due to the molestation of `Hindu' women by Muslim
men. Thus the bigoted Brahminist historian Sudheer Birodkar writes: [Birodkar,
Ch.3 : The Hindu Ethos]:
" From the 13th century onwards up to the coming of the British, the position
of women was insecure due to the arbitrary power structure associated with the
feudal society and the rule of the Sultans of Delhi. Although during the reign
of the later Mughals the situation had improved relatively, women in the
medieval ages were often exposed to the lust of feudal overlords. Their
insecurity increased after the demise of their husbands. This compulsion which
was resultant of a particular age was by far the most important reason for the
prevalence of Sati during the middle ages. "
Needless to say, this fallacious theory would imply the existence of Muslims to
molest Krishna's wives, Madri and the galaxy of Vedic Aryan women who performed
self-immolation, Agrawal ridicules the theory. It also overlooks, she says, the
accounts by ancient Greeks and Arabs on the prevalence of sati. In fact, the
Muslim emperors took active steps to abolish sati. (e.g. Ghiyasudin, Akbar,
Muhammad Tughlaq) and the Sufi saints condemned it. Thus, we find that Muhammad
Tughlaq opposed Sati [Nand, p.173] The saintly Aurangzeb manifestly opposed the
custom of sati and prohibited it in his empire. Agrawal asks some pointed
questions:
Which `Muslim invaders' molested Krishna's wives, forcing them to perform Sati?
Which Muslims introduced the Sati hymns into the Vedas?
Which Muslims fabricated the whole lot of Hindu scriptures of Puranas, Smrtis
and Shastras, inserting the verses praising Sati?
Were the Ocean of Story, the Jatakas and the Panca Tantra authored by Muslims
in order to fabricate evidence of Sati?
There is only one reason for the propagation of these lies by the Brahmins;
that is to cover up their horrible genocide, Agrawal avers; and comments that
it is these infiltrators, such as Mahesh Bhat alias Birbal the Brahmin who
sabotaged the Mughal Empire, eventually destroying it.
So why was Sati started?
Thus we find that excepting the solitary instance mentioned by Diodoras, which
occurred in a foreign land, and the persons involved were perhaps from foreign
tribes settled in India during those times, the practice started from the time
of decline and ultimate fall of Buddhism after seventh century. Still we find
Banabhatta (7th century) in the court of Harshavardhana and later Medhatithi
(9th century) condemning the practice.
The more important question is why this system started, developed and why it
attained such a high respect. Sita Agrawal takes the view that the main
objectives for the Brahmin genocide of widows was to annihilate the non-Brahmin
races by destroying their women, and secondly, to confiscate the properties of
the murdered women. This is very superficial analysis. The Brahmins did not
loose any opportunity to make money at the cost of others is true. But there
were many ways of obtaining monetary benefits other than to start Sati.
Secondly, Brahmin women also did commit sati. A glaring example of Queen of
Madhavrao Peshava could be cited. So the reasons must be deeper than those
thought of by Ms. Agrawal.
Sati custom in India has to be considered in combination with other customs of
Child girl marriage with an elderly man and prohibition of widows to remarry.
All these customs were imposed by the Brahmins in order to prevent
transgression of caste rules. This was explained by Dr. Ambedkar as early as in
1919, [W&S, 1, 5] while dealing with genesis and mechanism of Castes. The
following are the salient points from it.
Endogamy is the only characteristic peculiar to caste. No civilized society in
today's world shows more survivals of primitive times than Indian society. One
such primitive practice is of exogamy long given up by the world but is still
favoured in India. Though there are no clans in India, clan system is savoured,
as there is prohibition on not only "sapinda" marriages but also on "sagotra"
marriages among the Hindus. The various gotras and other totemic organizations
have always been exogamous. When endogamy was superimposed over sagotra
exogamy, a caste was formed. To preserve and maintain this caste, inter caste
marriages were banned. In case of death of a spouse, the other spouse was
likely to marry outside the caste. To prevent this happening various means were
adopted. These are:
1. Sati or burning of a widow on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband.
2. Enforced widowhood by which she is forced not to marry and
3. Girl marriage with an aged man.
All the medieval Brahmanic texts eulogize these customs in very glamourous
language but give no reasons for them. Dr. Ambedkar, who calls all this eulogy
as a sugar coating of the barbarous pill, gives the reasons:
"... Sati, enforced widowhood and girl marriage are customs that were primarily
intended to solve the problem of the surplus man and surplus woman in a caste
and to maintain its endogamy. Strict endogamy could not be preserved without
these customs, while caste without endogamy is a fake." [W&S, 1, 14]
The Brahmins enclosed themselves into a caste, thus forcing others to be the
other caste. This was divided and further subdivided into multiple non-Brahmin
castes and the institution of castes spread through the length and breadth of
India. This spread was due to the tendency of imitation of Brahmins by the
others. As these customs were very harsh and barbarous, the imitation was
imperfect and we find that nearer a caste is to Brahmins more strictly it
insisted on observance of these customs. Example of Kulinism in Bengal, which
also was a movement to preserve the Caste and ensure supremacy of Brahmins, is
discussed elsewhere. That the reason, these customs had to be enforced strictly
in Bengal following Kulinism, was to prevent any one among the hundreds of
dissatisfied wives of a Kulin man from easily poisoning him, could be easily
appreciated.
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> but there is one thing new to me ,isnt PN Oak's work authentic , stephen knapp often quotes him in the evidence of the tejomahalaya , or are we wrong on this one?