Sati: A Study of Widow Burning in India

by Sakuntala Narasimhan

When a widow chooses self-immolation on the pyre of her dead husband, both the act and the victim are known as sati. Yet, in the original Sanskrit, the word 'sati' stood for a chaste and virtuous woman. Over the centuries, as a result of convenient interpretations of religious texts by male priests and codifiers of religion, male dominated society and misperceptions of the place of women in India, the meaning of the word changed and sati - the burning of widows - became one of the few ways in which a woman could achieve renown and, more importantly, respect (if posthumously) in society. Starting from the earliest incidents of sati, this account traces the history of the rite through numerous interviews and extensive scriptural, historical, sociological and legal study. Arguably the definitive work on the subject, Sati is not only an important book for scholars and researchers, it is also an illuminating and thought-provoking book on one of the worst crimes visited on women in India down the ages.

325 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1999

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[Luke]

Added Jan 14, 2017
Pub 1999