Satti Practices In Ancient Epics

Register to read the introduction… The scholars have stated that the conduct was required for the women if they had to prove themselves of being righteous(Hawley,1994). The act is believed to purify the sin of the couple and also guarantees that the couple will reunite once again afterlife. This leads to the rituals of the dress code which is the wedding attire (Embree, 2005). The couple gets dressed in their wedding clothes which is to signify their wedding ritual before they say goodbye for their current life. The women are considered heroic for such act of devotion. Also, it was a belief that since in the past centuries women weren't given the opportunity to become independent so this was their way of demonstrating independence. However, what contradicts this practice is the Hindu epics and the ancient history is that Sati wasn't practiced in the ancient history. Nobody in the ancient epics were forced to follow the Sati practice (Hawley,1994). The only time anyone committed self death was due to their complete will. In the Ramayana, Madri who was the second wife of Pandu committed sati on her own will. She considered herself responsible for her husband's death because Pandu died under a curse when he was lusting for his wife …show more content…
One of the British rule that have saved thousands of lives was the abolition of Sati practice in 1846 (Hawley,1994). It stopped for a while after the law was passed but soon the practiced began again. The social pressure accounted women to commit sati and most of the time it was forced. Women were tied with rope and seated on the pyre until the fire was lit so they can't try to run or resist. Sometimes they were drugged so it's easier to put them on fire (Embree, 2005). The most counter arguments come from the Indian feminists. They believe that it is just an ideology to oppress women. For centuries in India the main goal of a woman' was the devotion towards her husband. The men were considered as the lord of the women. Women had to respect her husband by doing certain acts such as worshipping him, eating his leftovers, fasting in the name of God to pray for their husbands to live longer etc. An ideal wife was someone who devoted her life to satisfy her husband and his needs (Feldman & Clark, 1996). Therefore it was only oblivious that she needs to die at the same time as her husband and Sati was the proper practice for that. After Sati practice was abolished the judgment of the Hindus still stayed pretty much the same for the widows. Widows weren't allowed to get married even though the men were allowed. Widows are