Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c18.s3.t5.20

v2.c18.s3.t5.20

There are some points about sahagamana or sati on which no light whatsoever can be thrown. We have, for example, no explanation to offer as to what the raised hand on a sati stone commemorates. Rice remarked thus on the topic: "The māstikal also consist of a stone slab, on which is represented in relief the figure of a post or pillar, with a human arm of the natural size, or larger, projecting from the middle of it: the hand is held up straight, with the fingers distended, and in the hollow between the thumb and the forefinger is often placed a lime. Below this striking symbol is in many cases a representation in miniature of a man and woman; sometimes seated side by side with the linga above them, sometimes with the man seated and the woman dancing round him, and other arrangements. These stones never have any inscription, so far as I have noticed".²