{Moderators' note:
dear bhAgavathAs - srI vivEk has forwarded an argument regarding vEdAs.
This is something that comes up very often, and I request learned members
and scholars in our group to come up with cohesive and logical
arguments to present our case.
adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,
varadhan
}
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha My name is Vivek. My friend has been arguing about
eating non-veg and things like that. recently he has mailed me this.. please
help me answer him.here is a copy of the
mail>>>>>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The most sacred of Aryan scriptures are the Vedas, and the Rig Veda, the
oldest veda, explicitly sanctions the custom of sati. The following famous
`Sati Hymn' of the Rig Veda was (and still is) recited during the actual
immolation of the widow [ Kane 199-200 ]: -
Rig Veda X.18.7 : " Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living,
enter the house with ghee (applied) as corrylium ( to their eyes). Let these
wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well
adorned."
-- [ Rig Veda X.18.7 ] [ Kane 199-200 ]
In recent times some Aryan apologists have arisen who try to prove that this
verse does not sanction sati. This concept arises from a mistaken reading of
the word agne or agneh , which they believe is agre . This is a wrong
interpretation, and other evidence exists that the Aryans definitely practiced
Sati from the earliest times. These fabricators distorted the Sati verse which
directs the widow to enter the pyre (agneh) so as to mean that the wife was to
rise from her pyre and go to the front (agre). These fraud Brahminist
historians also wilfully ignore several other citations from scriptures which
explicitly allow Sati :
The Garudapurana favourably mentions the immolation of a widow on the funeral
pyre, and states that women of all castes, even the Candalla woman, must
perform Sati. The only exceptions allowed by this benevolent author is for
pregnant women or those who have young children. If women do not perform sati,
then they will be reborn into the lowly body of a woman again and again till
they perform Sati. [ Garuda.Purana. II.4.91-100 ] [ Kane 237 ].
A sati who dies on the funeral pyre of her husband enjoys an eternal bliss in
heaven [ Daksa Smrti IV.18-19 ] [ Sm.Samu p.30 ] [ 1200, p.65 ]
According to Vasishta's Padma-Purana, a woman must, on the death of her
husband, allow herself to be burnt alive on the same funeral pyre [ DuB.345 ].
Yajnavalkya, the most important law-giver after Manu, states that sati is the
only way for a chaste widow [ Apastamba.I.87 ] [ 1200, p.65 ]
The Yogini Tantra enjoins upon Brahmana widows to burn themselves on the
funeral pyre of their husbands [ Yog.T. II.303-308 ]. Vaisya and Sudra widows
were also allowed to do it. It was prohibited to unchaste women and those
having many children. [ 1200, p.67 ]
The Vyasa Smrti gives one of the two alternatives for a Brahmana widow, ie.
either to become a sati or to take up ascetism after her tonsure [ Vyasa Sm.
II.53 ] [ Sm.S. p.362 ] [ 1200, p.67 ftn.136 ].
What more can I say about these golden verses from the `Holy' Vedas, the Gita
and the Puranas - guidelines for every true Hindu woman ! Needless to say,
bigoted Hindu fanatics like Vivekananda, `Mahatma' Gandhi and the Ramakrishna
Mission always ignore these verses in order to fool gullible Westerners that
Sati does not exist or is the result of some Pakistani ISI conspiracy.
Further, the Vishnusmirti gives only two choices for the widow:
Vishnu Smirti.XXV.14 : "If a woman's husband dies, let her lead a life of
chastity, or else mount his pyre"
-- [ Vis.Sm. xxv.14 ] [ Clay.13 ]
Brahma is one of the main Aryan gods, being the creator of the world ( later he
was identified as an incarnation of Vishnu ). One of the Puranas is named after
him, the Brahma Purana. Like other Puranas, it was composed after the Vedas (
Pandits hold 4000 B.C., Indologists 700 B.C.) This scripture also sanctions
sati:
Brahma Purana.80.75 : " It is the highest duty of the woman to immolate herself
after her husband ",
-- [ Br.P. 80.75 ] [ Sheth, p.103 ]
Once again we hear that sati is sanctioned by the Vedas:
Brahma Purana.80.75 : " [ Sati ] ... is enjoined by the Vedas ",
-- [ Br.P. 80.75 ] [ Sheth, p.103 ]
and
Brahma Purana.80.75 : " [ Sati is ] greatly reputed in all the worlds "
-- [ Br.P. 80.75 ] [ Sheth, p.103 ]
Long life is promised to the sati:
Brahma Purana.80.76, 80.77 : " She [ the sati ] lives with her husband in
heaven for as many years as there are pores in the human body, ie. for 35
million years. "
-- [ Br.P. 80.76, 80.77 ] [ Sheth 103 ]
Vishnu Dharmasutra XXV.14 contains the statement:
Vishnu Dharmasutra XXV.14 : " On her husband's death, the widow should observe
celibacy or should ascend the funeral pyre after him."
-- [ cf also Vishnudharmottarasutra VIII.p.111
for the same verse ]
[ 1200, p.65 ] [ Vis.Dh.Sh.XXV.14 ]
Several other scriptures sanction widow-burning. Some of these are as given
below [ Wilk ]:
"It is proper for a woman, after her husband's death to burn herself in the
fire with his copse; every woman who thus burns herself shall remain in
paradise with her husband 35,000,000 years by destiny."
"The wife who commits herself to fames with her husband's copse shall equal
Arundathi and reside in Swarga (heaven)."
"Accompanying her husband, she shall reside so long in Swarga as the 35,000,000
of hairs on the human body.
"As the snake-catcher forcibly drags the serpent from his earth, so bearing her
husband [from hell] with him she enjoys heavenly bliss."
"Dying with her husband, she sanctifies her maternal and paternal ancestors and
the ancestors of him to whom she gave her virginity."
"Such a wife adorning her husband, in celestial felicity with him, greatest and
most admired, shall enjoy the delights of heaven while fourteen Indras reign."
"Though a husband had killed a Brahman, broken the ties of gratitude, or
murdered a friend she expiates the crime."
-- [ Wilk ]
What more need we say about the `liberal' verses from the `holy' Hindu texts ?
All these astonishing citations can be verified; the references are given in
full at the end of this book. There is no secondary step in between; I have
directly cited from the holiest Hindu law-books. These quotations show that
Sati is deeply enshrined in Hinduism as a virtuous act right from the Vedic
age. It is hence an inherent part of Hinduism and is not due to any `Puranic
corruption', but was practiced during the `wonderful Golden Vedic Age' by the
Aryan savages.
Avinash J. Nishant
---------------------------------
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