Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s1.128

c7.s1.128

¹ Widowhood, according to Hindu religious philosophy was in rigorous justice the result of Karma, or the deeds in a previous life, and as such, an experience which the widow amply deserved. Compare for instance Barbosa, I, 219-20; K.R., II, 13, how a woman renounced every happiness and pleasure on the death of her husband, e.g., she broke her bangles and removed all her oranaments. Compare Pero Tefur, 91, how a Hindu widow escaped to Babylonia because of the social persecution that followed her refusal to burn herself; also A.A., II, 192, for opinion of Abu'l Fazl who makes it abundantly clear that if widows refused to burn themselves, the Hindu public harrassed them so much that death through fire appeared to be a better course to choose.