sati / dying with husband

 
A faithful wife cannot live without her lord, the husband, and therefore all widows used to voluntarily embrace the burning fire which consumed the dead husband.
O my lord, is Prtha still living? She lived only for the sake of her fatherless children; otherwise it was impossible for her to live without King Panḍu, who was the greatest commander and who alone conquered the four directions simply with the help of a second bow.    (More...)
A faithful wife cannot live without her lord, the husband, and therefore all widows used to voluntarily embrace the burning fire which consumed the dead husband. This system was very common in India because all the wives were chaste and faithful to their husbands. Later on, with the advent of the age of Kali, the wives gradually began to be less adherent to their husbands, and the voluntary embrace of the fire by the widows became a thing of the past. Very recently the system was abolished, since the voluntary system had become a forcible social custom.    (More...)
When Maharaja Panḍu died, both his wives, namely Kunti and Madri, were prepared to embrace the fire, but Madri requested Kunti to live for the sake of the younger children, the five Panḍavas. This was agreed upon by Kunti at the added request of Vyasadeva. In spite of her great bereavement, Kunti decided to live, not to enjoy life in the absence of her husband, but only to give protection to the children. This incidence is referred to here by Vidura because he knew all the facts about his sister in-law, Kuntidevi. It is understood that Maharaja Panḍu was a great warrior and that he alone, with the help of bow and arrow, could conquer the world's four directions. In the absence of such a husband, it was almost impossible for Kunti to live on even as a widow, but she had to do it for the sake of the five children.    (More...)
Formerly, a kṣatriya king was generally the husband of many wives, and after the death of the king, especially in the battlefield, all the queens would agree to accept saha-māraṇa, dying with the husband who was their life.
O King, O hero, you were a very grateful husband and the most sincere friend of all of us. How shall we exist without you? O hero, wherever you are going, please direct us there so that we may follow in your footsteps and engage again in your service. Let us go along with you!    (More...)
Formerly, a ksatriya king was generally the husband of many wives, and after the death of the king, especially in the battlefield, all the queens would agree to accept saha-marana, dying with the husband who was their life. When Panḍu Maharaja, the father of the Panḍavas, died, his two wives-namely, the mother of Yudhisthira, Bhima and Arjuna and the mother of Nakula and Sahadeva-were both ready to die in the fire with their husband. Later, after a compromise was arranged, Kunti stayed alive to care for the little children, and the other wife, Madri, was allowed to die with her husband. This system of saha-marana continued in India even until the time of British rule, but later it was discouraged, since the attitude of wives gradually changed with the advancement of Kali-yuga. Thus the system of saha-marana has practically been abolished. Nevertheless, within the past fifty years I have seen the wife of a medical practitioner voluntarily accept death immediately when her husband died. Both the husband and wife were taken in procession in the mourning cart. Such intense love of a chaste wife for her husband is a special case.    (More...)
Imported quote 13896
After this, the Queen executed the necessary funerary functions and offered oblations of water. After bathing in the river, she offered obeisances to various demigods situated in the sky in the different planetary systems. She then circumambulated the fire and, while thinking of the lotus feet of her husband, entered its flames.    (More...)
Imported quote 13897
The entrance of a chaste wife into the flames of the pyre of her dead husband is known as saha-gamana. This means that it is customary for the wife to die with the husband. This system of saha-gamana has been practiced in Vedic civilization from time immemorial. Even after the British period in India this practice was rigidly observed, but soon it degraded to the point that even when the wife was not strong enough to enter the fire of her dead husband the relatives would force her to enter. Thus this practice had to be stopped, but even today there are still some solitary cases where a wife will voluntarily enter the fire and die with her husband. Even after 1940 we personally knew of a chaste wife who died in this way.    (More...)
Imported quote 13914
According to Vedic scriptures, a woman who dies with her husband, or enters into the fire in which her husband is burning, also enters the same planet her husband attains. In this material world there is a planet known as Patiloka, just as there is a planet known as Pitrloka. But in this verse the word pati-loka does not refer to any planet within this material universe, for Prthu Maharaja, being topmost amongst self-realized souls, certainly returned home, back to Godhead, and attained one of the Vaikuntha planets. Queen Arci also entered patiloka, but this planet is not in the material universe, for she actually entered the planet which her husband attained. In the material world also, when a woman dies with her husband, she again unites with him in the next birth. Similarly, Maharaja Prthu and Queen Arci united in the Vaikuntha planets. In the Vaikuntha planets there are husbands and wives, but there is no question of their giving birth to children nor having sex life. In the Vaikuntha planets both husbands and wives are extraordinarily beautiful, and they are attracted to one another, but they do not enjoy sex life. Indeed, they consider sex not to be very relishable because both husband and wife are always absorbed in Krsna consciousness and in glorifying and chanting the glories of the Lord.    (More...)
Imported quote 14491
It is the long-standing tradition of the Vedic system that a faithful wife dies along with her husband. This is called saha-marana. In India this system was prevalent even to the date of British occupation. At that time, however, a wife who did not wish to die with her husband was sometimes forced to do so by her relatives. Formerly that was not the case. The wife used to enter the fire voluntarily. The British government stopped this practice, considering it inhuman. However, from the early history of India we find that when Maharaja Panḍu died, he was survived by two wives-Madri and Kunti. The question was whether both should die or one should die. After the death of Maharaja Panḍu, his wives settled that one should remain and the other should go. Madri would perish with her husband in the fire, and Kunti would remain to take charge of the five Panḍava children. Even as late as 1936 we saw a devoted wife voluntarily enter the fire of her husband.    (More...)

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