Widow remarriage and Sati
This blog is dedicated to expose the lies regarding sati pratha and to prove that sati is not a tradition in Hinduism. Hinduphobics are spreading that Hindu women had to jump in fire. But in scriptures three ways are prescribed for widows.
- Vidhwavrata
- Punarvivah
- Pativrata
Pativrata
Brahma Vaivarta Purana Krishna Janma Kanda 83. 120-126 “A chaste woman redeems thousand of her generations. The husband of a chaste woman is relieved of all sins. Because of the performance of the chaste woman, her husband’s sins are washed away. The merit a mendicant achieves by performing Tapas, performing Vratas, fasting by the ascetics and giving away of the charity by donors, the same merit is always achieved by the chaste woman. This is why even lord Narayana, Shiva, Brahma, all other gods and sages are afraid of a chaste woman. With the dust of the feet of the chaste woman, the earth gets purified and by offering salutations to a chaste woman, oen is relieved of all sins. A chaste woman is always considered to be meritorious and she is always capable of reduce the three worlds into ashes.”
Padma Purana II.59 8-19 “In the house of him, whose meritorious and very chaste wife has qualities like being devoted to good practices, being worthy, being intent upon accomplishing moral merit, being devoted to her husband, always loving knowledge gods of great powers will always stay; and his dead ancestors living in his house, desire bliss. There (in the house) are present auspicious rivers like Ganges and seas; and not at any other place. He, in whose house lives a chaste wife, entirely devoted to truth has the credit of having performed sacrifices, cows and sages live there and no at any other place.”
Agni Purana Chapter 222: ” A righteous king should always protect the Pativrata women. The women should engage happily and efficiently in the chores of household tasks. She should be decorating well the household articles and be frugal in her expenses. She should always do service to her husbandwhom her father has given her in marriage.
A pativrata is defined as a chasteful wife who serves her husband with devotion. A Pativrata is a wife who accepted her husband as none other than god. Pati – husband; Vrata – vow. Only these type of women were entitled to perform sati.
Garuda Purana II.4.88-97 “…A woman who has been chaste and faithful to her husband should mount on the pyre after bowing to her (deceased) husband before the funeral rites start.
Above examples show that women used to sacrifice their life by doing sati because of their love and devotion towards husband. Is it wrong? No. When we see a movie that a girl sacrifice her life after death of her lover like Laila-majnu, we praise that girl then why calling sati a wrong tradition is justified? Yes, it's wrong to force a women to perform sati. But if she do it by her own will, it's not wrong in a sense. For example Madri performed Sati because she thought that she was repsonsible for her husbands death.
Mahabharata 1:125:-Madri replied, saying, 'I do clasp our lord yet, and have not allowed him to depart; therefore, I shall follow him. My appetite hath not been appeased. Thou art my older sister, O let me have thy sanction. This foremost one of the Bharata princes had approached me, desiring to have intercourse.
Sati was not must for a women. Now let's have a look on other paths of widow.
Vidhwavrata
Before raising question on Sati, hinduphobics always forget about Kunti and wives of King Dasharatha who lived even after their husband's death following the path of Vidhwavrata.
Manusmriti 5:154-156:
The good wife, desirous of reaching her husband’s regions, should never do anything that may be disagreeable to her husband, alive or dead. (154)
Well might she macerate her body by means of pure flowers, roots and fruits; but she should not even mention the name of another man, after her husband is dead. (155)
Till her death, she should remain patient, self-controlled and chaste,—seeking that most excellent merit that accrues to women having a single husband.(156)
Vishnu Dharma Sutra clearly say that women can either attempt sati or follow vidhwavrata.
Vishnu Dharma Sutra 25.14 “After the death of her husband, to preserve her chastity or to enter the pile of her husband..”
Vrihaspati Smriti 24.11 “A wife is considered half the body (of her husband), equally sharing the result of his good or wicked deeds; whether she ascends the pile after him, or chooses to survive him leading a virtuous life, she promotes the welfare of her husband.”
According to scriptures if a women has children and family who are dependent on her, she should not perfrom sati.
Narada Purana I.7.52. “O blessed princes! The following ladies do not ascend the funeral pyre, viz. those with infant children depending on them, pregnant women, those whose monthly course hasn’t yet started, and women in the menses.
Even Vedas ask women to not perform sati and take care of children.
Rigveda 10.18.8. Rise, come unto the world of life, O woman: come, he is lifeless by whose side thou liest. Wifehood with this thy husband was thy portion, who took thy hand and wooed thee as a lover.
Kunti and wives of King Dasharatha are examples of those women who followed vidhwavrata. Quoting verses like Agni purana 222:23, hinduphobics claim that only sati can attain heaven. But scriptures say that even a Vidhwavrata stri can attain heaven.
Agni Purana 222.20 “the lady practicing continence after the death of her husband, goes to heaven.
Parasara Smriti 4.29 “If a woman has led a continent life, after her lord departed this life, she wins a region of bliss after her death, like to the well-known male observers of a celibate life.”
Vishnu Dharma Sutra 25.17 “A good wife, who perseveres in a chaste life after the death of her lord, will go to heaven like (perpetual) students, even though she has no son.
Punarvivah
Baudhyana Dharma Sutra 4.1.16 “If after (a damsel) has been given away, or even after (the nuptial sacrifice) have been offered, the husband dies, she who (thus) has left (her father’s house) and has returned, may be again wedded according to the rule applicable to second weddings, provided the marriage had not been consummated.”
Vasistha Dharma Shastra 17.74 “If a damsel at the death of her husband had been merely wedded by (the recitation of) sacred texts, and if the marriage had not been consummated, she may be married again.”
Manusmriti 9.176 “If she be (still) a virgin, or one who returned (to her first husband) after leaving him, she is worthy to again perform with her second (or first deserted) husband the (nuptial) ceremony.”
Naradha Smriti 12.97 “When her husband is lost or dead, when he has become a religious ascetic, when he is impotent, when he has been expelled from caste, in these cases a woman may be Justified in another husband.Parashara Smriti 4.28 “When her husband is missing or is dead or has renounced the world or is impotent or has been degraded by sin, – on the any of the said five calamities, she can remarry“.Garuda Purana 1.107.28 “In case of disappearance or death or renunciation or impotent or lost caste status of her husband, in these five cases a woman is allowed to take another husband.”Agni Purana 154.4-7 “Women are allowed to have another husband in the following five adversaries;- (the first husband) is lost, dead, has become an ascetic, impotent or fallen morally. If the husband is dead, she should be given to the brother of the deceased. In the absence of brother, she should be given to anyone as one wished”
Even Vedas allowed to remarry a widow.
Atharvaveda 18:32:2. Go up, O woman, to the world of the living; thou liest by (upa-çī) this one who is deceased: come! to him who grasps thy hand, thy second spouse (didhiṣú), thou hast now entered into the relation of wife to husband.
(I used Whitney's translation as Griffith"s is not clear and quite confusing.)
Beside it Rigveda also say same thing.
Atharvaveda 9:5:27:28. One world with the re-wedded wife becomes the second hus- band's home. Who gives the Goat Panchaudana illumined with the priestly fee.
Rigveda 10:40:2:Ashwin! Which places do both of you turn to at night and also to which place in the day? Where do you spend your time? Just as the widow woman honors the second groom and the beautiful woman to her husband, similarly who invites you with respect in the yajna period? (TR. SriRam Sharma translated to english by Google translate.)
Beside death of husband their are many more conditions in which women were allowed to remarry. Hence it proves that sati was not compulsion in India. Apart from this sati was never practised on wide scale in India ever.http://indiafacts.org/sati-historical-evidence/
Some scriptures praise the sati.
Parasara Smriti 4.30 “A widow, who immolates herself on the same funeral pile with her deceased husband, resides in heaven for ten millions of years, which is the number of hairs on the human body.”
Agni Purana 222.23 “The woman (widow) who enters the funeral fire along with the dead husband will also reach the heaven”
And some opposes it; Mahanirvana Tantra chapter 10:80
Every woman is Thy image–Thou residest concealed in the forms of all women in this world. That woman who in her delusion ascends the funeral pyre of her lord shall go to hell (80).
Add pictures to this to make it even better.
ReplyDeleteHare Krishna brother
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post
What about Mahabharat Book 16 Ch 7 Sec 7 ??