Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c17.s4.149

v1.c17.s4.149

Sati.—The burning of the dead warrior, and female immolation, or Sati, are well-known rites, though the magnificent cenotaphs raised on the spot of sacrifice are little known or visited by Europeans; than which there are no better memorials of the rise and decline of the States of the Rajput heptarchy. It is the son who raises the mausoleum to the memory of his father; which last token of respect, or laudable vanity, is only limited by the means of the treasury. It is commemorative [74] of the splendour of his reign that the dome of his father should eclipse that of his predecessor. In every principality of Rajwara, the remark is applicable to chieftains as well as princes.