The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c9.14

c9.14

Whatever the reasons may have been, it is undisputed that the Satī custom had gone out of vogue among the Aryans at the time they had entered India. We find no traces of it whatsoever down to *c.* 400 B. C. The Brāhmaṇa literature (*c.* 1500 B. C. to *c.* 700 B. C.) is silent about it. Grihyasūtras (*c.* 600 to *c.* 300 B. C.) describe numerous rituals and Saṁskāras, but the custom of Satī does not figure among them. From the details of the funeral ritual and procedure given in them, we find that the widow was to be brought back from the funeral pyre, either by her husband’s brother or disciple, or by an old trusted servant¹. From the *Taittirīya Āraṇyaka* we find that while returning from the funeral pyre, the widow took away from her husband’s hand objects like bow, gold, jewels, etc., which were burnt along with the widow in an earlier age. A hope was then expressed that the widow and her relatives would lead a happy and prosperous life². It is clear that the custom of Satī had died down long ago.