Sati pratha

Category
RELIGION

Language
INDIAN

Sati or suttee[note 1] was a historical practice in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre.[2][3][4][5][6] Although it is debated whether it received scriptural mention in early Hinduism, it has been linked to related Hindu practices in the Indo-Aryan-speaking regions of India which diminished the rights of women, especially those to the inheritance of property.[note 2][note 3] A cold form of sati, or the neglect and casting out of Hindu widows, has been prevalent from ancient times.[9][note 4] Greek sources from around 300 BCE make isolated mention of sati,[11][12][13] but it probably developed into a real fire sacrifice in the medieval era within the northwestern Rajput clans to which it initially remained limited,[14] to become more widespread during the late medieval era.[15][16][17] <

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