SATI IN HINDU RELIGION

Sati in Hindu religion

Sati in Hindu religion

Sati is the ancient custom of widow Hindu brides following their husbands into death by burning themselves alive on their deceased husbands' funeral pryes. It was a socially accepted and ritually approved sacrifice that brought a great deal of honor to the widow's family as well as exalting her to a goddess like position post mortem (Hawley, 1994). While the actual occurrences of recorded official “Sati”s are few in number, it is not the frequency of the ritual that is significant. The society of ancient India which allowed and supported this fatal ritual is what needs to be examined. The woman and ritual were endowed with such a great amount of social prestige that every single Hindu caste has reported cases of “Sati”. The social and religious context in which this ritual occurred will be examined in depth. The debate will be examined from both sides - the supporters of the right to commit “Sati” as well as those who are adamantly against the ancient now outlawed practice. Sati as a ritual was portrayed frequently in ancient Hindu art and a careful analysis of the social and religious meanings in these works of art will be discussed. The method for analysis that will be used for this discussion and analysis is that of scholarly interpretation coupled with sociological theory.

The actual word ““Sati”” is derived from the Sanskrit root meaning “truth”. Sati is used when referring to the ritual itself as well as the widow who commits it. So how did this ritual begin? It is not entirely clear, but there is an accepted myth that tells of the origin of “Sati” in India. The origin myth states that the goddess Sati burned herself alive outside of a ceremony being given by her father as a sign of protest and loyalty to her husband, the god Shiva, as he was not permitted to attend or invited to take part in the ceremony being given by her father. The goddess Sati was proclaimed to be the prototype of wifely virtue (Stein, 1988). Greek travelers to India have reported witnessing the ritual first hand as far back as 4th century B.C.

Hinduism and its views of women plays a very important role in the support of the ritual of “Sati”. The way in which women were viewed as well as belief in the afterlife made “Sati” a reality. It was believed that women possess a greater amount of energy than men. This great energy was considered wild and in order for a woman to safely be a part of Hindu society this energy had to be harnessed to a man so he could safely direct it. It was believed that the energy of female children was harnessed by their fathers, and when they were married off this energy would continue to be harnessed by a male figure of authority throughout their lives. This female energy supply, called “shakti” was considered to be “ardhang”, meaning although this ...