Storia do Mogor 104.4

104.4

During my stay in Agrah I went one day to make an excursion into the country on horseback, in the company of a young Armenian. We came where a Hindu woman had begun to move round her pyre, which was already blazing ; she rested her eyes on us, as if she appealed to us for help. The Armenian asked if I would join him in saving the woman from death. I said I would. Seizing our swords, and our servants doing the same, we charged with our horses into the midst of the crowd looking on, shouting, ' Mata, mata !' [Kill, kill !], whereat the Brahmans, being frightened, all took to flight, and left the woman unguarded. The Armenian laid hold of her, and making her mount behind him, carried her off. Subsequently, having had her baptized, he married her [72]. When I passed through Surat (II. 177) I found her living there with her son, and she returned me many thanks for the benefit done to her. When the king returned from Kashmir, the Brahmans went to complain that the soldiers did not allow women to be burnt, in accordance with their customs. The king issued an order that in all lands under Mogul control never again should the officials allow a woman to be burnt. This order endures to this day.