Origin of Sati system or self immolation in India

 

WHO IS SATI AND DETAILS OF SATI SYSTEM DURING ISLAMIC RULE? SATI SYSTEM WAS THE TERM COINED BY THE BRITISH.

In the medival periods(after 1100A.D.) in some parts of India (like Rajputaana) bordering other nations,Religious marauders were frequently raiding,looting and plundering and arresting women (who have lost their husbands in the war) and taking them away as slaves/sex worker/Harem/conversion to Islam.Then the ladies started the practice of entering the Funeral Pyres secretly in the night time and then in day light to avoid Islamic atrocities.This practice was stopped by Raja Ram Mohan Rai’s bill.This practice was NEVER there in the last 10,000 years or before.If it was a Religious dictum, they should have also followed this horrendous practice.

Sati means =virtuous woman–does NOT mean “widow-burning”–There is NO Sanskrit word for Widow burning at all.–All Hindu religious literature are in Sanskrit

Few so-called Islamic scholars like Dr.Zakir Naik have the audacity to change the sanskrit shlokas to satisfy his whims and fantasies.

इमा नारीरविधवाः सुपत्नीराञ्जनेन सर्पिषा संविशन्तु |
अनश्रवो.अनमीवाः सुरत्ना आ रोहन्तु जनयोयोनिमग्रे ||
उदीर्ष्व नार्यभि जीवलोकं गतासुमेतमुप शेष एहि |
हस्तग्राभस्य दिधिषोस्तवेदं पत्युर्जनित्वमभि सम्बभूथ ||
[ See Rig Ved, Mandala 10, Chapter 18, double line 7] (RV 10.18.7)

Original sanskrit Translation:

Let these unwidowed dames with noble husbands adorn themselves with fragrant balm and unguent.
Decked with fair jewels, tearless, free from sorrow, first let the dames go up to where he lieth.

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.

While the hymn actually calls for a widow to rise from the pier of her dead husband and now move on to take the hand of her new husband. So this terrible falsification was made to justify the burning of the widows to demean Hinduism.[ See Professor Maccdonnell’s Sanskrit Literature, page 120-130 for a detailed discussion]

जनयोयोनिमग्रे is pronounced as yonim agre means “foremost“,hence the shloka is not changed at all but the translator has delibrately assumed the word as fire(yomiagne) to nullify the great Shloka.

Fake translation:
Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living, enter the house with ghee (applied) as collyrium (to their eyes). Let these wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned.[30]

Sati System during Islamic rule has been discussed further in this blog.

So far there is no word in Hindu scripture for “Bride burning”. Sati is the power/shakti of the formless Shiva.In Puranic history Sati once jumped in fire and Shiva was bereft of his power but the powers were reborn as Parvati.In Hindu scripture,the power or Shakti is denoted as Goddess.There are various levels of power of the almighty like Durga,Kali etc which can be aroused in the body through Kundalini Yoga.It was Sati(formless and infinite) which was engulfed by fire and not Shiva(formless and infinite).The higher level of power/energy/shakti reborn was called Parvati.We take an example of Uttara. The great hero Abhimanyu was born of Subhadrâ. This Abhimanyu and the five sons of Draupadi were killed in battle. Abhimanyu’s wife Uttarâ was the charming daughter of the king Virât. Uttara never burnt herself but was highly respected in Mahabharata .From this comes the word Uttara Nashatra in astrology where the stars predicts a difficult married life and methods to overcome it.If widow-burning was a Vedic dictum,then in Ramayana–Kausalya,Sumitra,Kaikeyi should have been thrown into the funeral pyre of Dasaratha-IT DID NOT HAPPEN—-In Mahabharatha,Kunti after the death of her husband Pandu should have been thrown into the funeral pyre of Pandu–IT DID NOT HAPPEN.Sulochana was wife of Indrajeet and when Indrajeet died Sulochana became the most brave and respected woman who encouraged her husband on the path of Dharma.Sati stones and Shivlingam is found all over India as a mark of respect to Lord Shiva and his power.

In several schools for Vedic priests, many graduates are women.(Reference:- ^ Vaasuda Narayanan, Women of Power in the Hindu tradition ) Education
Katyayana’s Varttika 125, 2477 mentions that there were female teachers of grammar. Patanjali wrote in his comments to Ashtadhyayi 3.3.21 and 4.1.14, that women undergo the thread ceremony before beginning their education, and says that women studied grammar.

In the marriage hymn (RV 10.85.26), the bride “should address the assembly like a commander.”
A Rig Veda hymn says:the bride says as hereunder during marriage:-”I am the banner and the head, a mighty arbitress am I: I am victorious, and my Lord(husband) shall be submissive to my will.(Rig Veda, Book 10. HYMN CLIX. Saci Paulomi.)These are probably the earliest references to the position of women in Hindu society.
Madhava’s Shankaradigvijaya (9.63) mentions that she was well versed in the Vedas and Tarka Saastram(argumentative skills). Tirukkoneri Dasyai (15th century) wrote a commentary on Nammalvar’s Tiruvaayamoli, with reference to Vedic texts like the Taittiriya Yajurveda.sriAndal of Srivilliputtur is considered as a brilliant composer of Religious hymnes and her verses are recited in All sri Vaishnava temples(including the temples in USA and UK,even today)

The Harita Dharmasutra (of the Maitrayaniya school of Yayurveda) declares that there are two kind of women: Sadhyavadhu who marry, and the Brahmavaadini who are inclined to religion(Brahma Gjnaanis=knowledgeable authorities on Brahmam), they can wear the sacred thread(like men), perform rituals like the agnihotra and read the Vedas. Bhavabhuti’s Uttararamacharita 2.3 says that Atreyi (Aatreya’s daughter) went to Southern India where she studied the Vedas and Indian philosophy. Shankara debated with the female philosopher Ubhaya Bharati, and Madhava’s
In Vedic period for several 1000s of years ladies were enjoying the same freedom as men.-Many Ladies like sarva sri.Vaagambruni, Gaargi, Maitreyi,Devayani,(even in 8 th century A.D.Bharathi) were Vedic Scholars.Several women sages and seers are mentioned in the Upanishads, the philosophical part of the Vedas, notable among them being Gargi and Maitreyi.The Sanskrit word for female teachers as Acharya=Aacharyaa (as opposed to Acharya for teacher and Acharyini for teacher’s wife) reveal that women were also given a place as Gurus.

Parts of India was ruled by Islamic invaders and fighting between muslim kings with Hindu kings was common.Muslim kings also fought amoung themselves.Muslim earned their living with fighting,looting,enslaving women and forcing Islamic conversion.Years of fighting and massacre gave them a good practise of war.

Padmavat (Hindi: पद्मावत) (or Padmawat) is an epic poem written In 1540 by Malik Muhammad Jayasi In the Awadhi language. It is the first important work In Awadhi language describes why and how sati was done in Moghul period.

Akbar personally had more than 30 000 Hindus (polytheist idolator infidels according to islam) beheaded after the fall of Chitod. And erected a monument out of them to display as a sign of victory of islam against Hinduism.

Before the muslim army could enter the fort to rape and take captive the Hindu women as sex slaves, the Hindu women performed sati – a now uncommon Hindu practice of self immolation in a funeral pyre – to save their honour. This is the first recorded incident of Sati in mass numbers.

During the siege of Chitor the Rajput warriors heavily defended the fortress. When they were sure that the armies were close to destroying their fortress. They valiantly rode off to fight to their deaths.

Guru Granth gives the best description of Kali Yuga. Fortunately we are not facing that today.

He burned the rest-houses and the ancient temples; he cut the princes limb from limb, and cast them into the dust.

None of the Mogals went blind, and no one performed any miracle. ||4||

The battle raged between the Mogals and the Pat’haans, and  the swords clashed on the battlefield.

They took aim and fired their guns, and they attacked with their elephants.

He burned the rest-houses and the ancient temples; he cut the princes limb from limb, and cast them into the dust.

The Hindu women, the Muslim women, the Bhattis and the Rajputs –

some had their robes torn away, from head to foot, while others came to dwell in the cremation ground.

Their husbands did not return home – how did they pass their night?

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Do not call them ‘satee‘, who burn themselves along with their husbands’ corpses.–Guru Amar Das

They are also known as ‘satee‘, who abide in modesty and contentment.–Guru Amar Das

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