RIG VEDA - Does it recommend Sutee ? interesting question?

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Some people assert that Rigveda vide richa (X.18.7) (seventh richa

of 18th Sukta of tenth chapter) commands a Hindu widow to mount pyre

of her deceased husband.

 

One website quotes PV Kane's translation of this richa as: "Let

these women, whose husbands are worthy and living enter the house

with ghee applied as corrylium (to their eyes). Let these wives

first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well

adorned."

 

One may note that even this English translation does not

categorically state that let these widows first step into the pyre.

This translation simply says "let these wives first step into pyre."

As per common sense, from the moment of death of her husband, a

woman is no more called "a wife" but a widow (vidhawa). So

phrase "these wives" in above translation of Kane cannot be

interpreted to refer to "widows."

 

In fact, Sukta 18 commands a Hindu widow to return to world of

living beings; to return to her house to live with her children and

grand children and Rigveda confers on her all the properties of her

deceased husband. One should go through all the fourteen richas of

this 18th Sukta (revealed to Rishi Sunkusuk Yamayan) so as to

understand the true and correct meaning of (X.18.7).

 

The third richa (X.18.3) commands "May those who are living remain

separate from dead ………..…" (Rigveda Samhita by HH Wilson & Bhashya

of Sayana edited by Ravi Prakash Arya and K.K. Joshi ISBN 81-7110-

138-7). Dr. Wendy D. O'Flaherty, Ph.D. in her book the Rigveda

(Penguin Classics) (page 52) translates: "Those who are alive have

now parted from those who are dead…." Ralph T.R. Griffith

translates "Divided from the dead are these, the living:…." Shri Ram

Sharma Acharya of Bareilly in his Rigveda (in Hindi)

translates: "mritak ke pass se jeevit manushya laut aavey………….."

 

Dr. Ganga Sahay Sharma, Ph.D., in his Rigveda (Delhi Pocket Books)

translates: "ye jite huve log marey huve vyaktiyo ke pass se laut

aavey…………..." This command of Rigveda to leave behind the dead; to

remain separate from dead is equally applicable to Hindu widows too

as the widows are also living/jeevit persons.

 

English translation of the seventh richa (X.18.7) as given by HH

Wilson is "Let these women who are not widows, who have good

husbands, enter (anointed) with unguent and butter. Let women

without tears, without sorrow, and decorated with jewels, first

proceed to the house." Dr. Wendy O'Flaherty, Ph.D. translates this

seventh richa: "These women who are not widows, who have good

husbands – let them take their places using butter to anoint their

eyes. Without tears, without sickness, well dressed let them first

climb into the marriage bed."

 

Shri Ram Sharma Acharya translates "yeh sunder patiwaali sadhawa

naariya ghrit yukta kaajal lagaati hui apne grih ko prapta ho. Yeh

naariya aasuuon ko tyag kar manoovikaaroo ko duur karati hui sundar

aishwarya waali ho kar sabase aage chalati hui apne gharo ko prapt

ho."

 

Dr. Ganga Sahay Sharma, Ph.D., translates: "Ye sadhawa ewam shobhan

patniya naariya ghrit aur anna ke sath apne ghar mey pravesh kare.

Ye streeya aasuuon ke bina roga rahit aur shobhan dhan waali ban kar

apne ghar mey sabse pehle pahuche."

 

Shri Radhakrishna Shrimali & Smt. Ashalata Upadhyaya of Jodhpur in

their book Rigveda (Diamond Pocket books) (page 156) give similar

interpretations of (X.18.7) and (X.18.8). Thus, six different

authors, from different places vouch that richa (X.18.7) does not

refer to widows at all. What this richa says in a nutshell is that

married women should be first (among others) to return to their

homes. Readers may see that as per these authors this richa does not

say that first these women step into pyres. This seventh richa

appears in Atharvaveda at (XVIII.3.57) and (XII.2.31) also.

 

The eighth richa (X.18.8) especifically and expressly commands a

Hindu widow to return alive to her home. HH Wilson

translates: "Rise, woman, (and go) to the world of living beings;

come, this man near whom you sleep is lifeless; you have enjoyed

this state of being the wife of your husband, the suitor who took

you by the hand." This verse is to be recited by dead husband's

brother etc to widow and he has to make widow leave her husband's

body as per Asvalayana Grih Sutra(IV.2.18)

 

Dr. Wendy D. O'Flaherty, Ph.D., translates: "Rise up, woman, into

the world of living. Come here; you are lying beside a man whose

life's breath has gone. You were wife of this man who took your hand

and desired to have you."

 

Pt. Shri Ram Sharma Acharya translates this richa: "Hey mritak ki

patni! Tumhara yeh pati mrityu ko prapta ho chuka hai – ab tum iske

pass vyartha baidhi ho. Apne putradi aur ghar ka vichar karti hui

uutho. Tum ish pati ke sath garbh dharan aadi stree kartavya ko pura

kar chuki ho aur tum uske pran ke chale jaane ki baat bhi jaanati ho

attah ghar ko lauto."

 

Dr. Ganga Sahai Sharma, Ph.D., translates: "Hey mritak ki patni! Tum

apne putro ewam ghar ka dhyana karke yeha se uutho. Aap marey huey

vyakti ke pass kyo soyee ho? Ish purush ke panigrahan wa garbhadhan

ke anuroop aap vyavahaar kar chuki ho. Aap ishke sath marane ka

vichar chhodo." Arthur A. Macdonell, in his book "A History of

Sanskrit Literature"(page106) also says that (X.18.8) is addressed

to the widow, who is called upon to rise and take the hand of her

new husband, doubtless a brother of the deceased, in accordance with

an ancient marriage custom.

 

Macdonnel quotes following translation of (X.18.8) as given by Ralph

T.R. Griffith: Rise up; come to the world of life, O woman; Thou

liest here by one whose soul has left him. Come: thou hast now

entered upon the wifehood Of this thy lord who takes thy hand and

woos thee. Thus, eight different authors from different places

confirm that (X.18.8) actually commands a Hindu widow to return to

the world of living beings, return alive to her home and return

alive to her children.

 

Also, this very richa confers upon her full right on house of her

deceased husband (apne putradi aur ghar). In 1995 Supreme Court

interpreted Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act to the effect

that a Hindu widow has full ownership rights over properties she

inherits from her deceased husband. Supreme Court said that object

was to wipe out disabilities imposed by Hindu Shastras.

 

Supreme Court, thus, restored rights conferred on widows under richa

(X.18.8).This richa appears in the Atharvaveda at (XVIII.3.2) also.

 

In RV(X.18.9) the new husband takes bow (or any symbol or any item)

from the hand of dead husband, and while taking the widow as his

wife says to her: let us launch a new life of valour and strength

begetting male children overcoming all enemies who may assail us.

HHWilson translates:Taking his bow from hand of dead man,(new

husband says) for the sake of our vigour, energy and strength, I say

you(dead) are there(in grave);may we (who are) here (on ground),

blessed with male offspring, overcome all enemies who assail us.

 

According to Achraya Sayana, it is the first six richas of 16th

Sukta of Xth chapter of Rigveda (X.16.1 to 6) which are to be

recited at funeral pyres; and, none of these six richas either call

for burning of widows or make any reference to widows.

 

I would like to draw attention of readers to richa (X.40.8) of

Rigveda which praises Ashwin gods for protecting a widow. It shows

gods were praised for protecting widows. How could gods have gone to

protect widows, and, thus, behaved against Rigveda if Rigveda had

actually commanded burning of widows?

 

Another richa (X.40.2), may come as a complete surprise to many

Hindus who wrongly presume that widow remarriages are not allowed in

Hinduism. HH Wilson translates it: "Where are you, Ashwins, by

night? Where are you by day? Where do you sojourn? Where do you

dwell? Who brings you into his presence in the same place (of

sacrifice) as on her couch a widow (brings) her husband's brother,

as a woman (brings) her husband (to her).

 

Dr. Wendy D. O'Flaherty translates: "Where are the Ashwins in the

evening, where in the morning, where do they stop and where have

they spent the night? Who invites you as a widow takes her husband's

brother to her bed, as a young woman takes a young man to a room."

 

Ralph T.R. Griffith translates (X.40.2): "Where are ye, Asvins, in

the evening, where at morn? Where is your halting place, where rest

ye for the night? Who brings you homeward, as the widow bedward

draws her husbands's brother, as the bride attracts groom?" Dr.

Ganga Sahay Sharma translates in Hindi: "Hey Ashwin kumaroo! Tum

raat aur din mey kaha rahate ho? Tumhara samaya kaha bitataa hai?

tum kaha nivas karate ho? Jisprakar vidhawa apne devar ko aur

sadhawa apne pati ko charpayee par bulaati hai ushiprakar merey

atirikta kaun yajaman tumhe yajnavedi par apne anukul banaataa hai?"

Thus, Rigveda not only sanctions survival of a widow but also her

marriage and her living with her devar with full dignity and honour

in the family. So, it expressly sanctions widow-marriage.

 

In Atharvaveda there are many richas which sanction/ instruct

remarriage of widows, such as ,AV(IX.5.27-28) and AV(XVIII.3.1-4).WD

Whitney translates AVX.5.27);:Whoever(a female)having gained a

former husband,then gains another later one ,if they(both) shall

give a goat with five rice dishes, they shall not be separated. AV

(IX.5.28) reads :Her later husband comes to have the same world with

his remarried spouse who gives a goat with five rice dishes with

light of sacrificial gifts.

 

AV(XVIII.3.1) blesses a widow with progeny (children) and property

in this life time. AV(XVIII.3.2) is repeat of RV(X.18.8). WD Whitney

&Joshi translate ::Go up ,O woman, to the world of living; you stand

by this one who is deceased ; come! To him who grasps your hand,

your second spouse (didhisu) ,you have now entered into the relation

of wife to husband. AV(XVIII.3.3) is interpreted as the command to

turn back a maiden( young calf or young woman)away from dead to

home. WD Whitney translates ::I saw the maiden being led, being led

about, alive ,for the dead; as she was enclosed with blind darkness

(agyanataa) ,then ,I led her off-ward from in front .AV(XVIII.3.4)

is translated by another author as : ye inviolable one!(the widow)

tread the path of wise in front of thee and choose this man (another

suitor) as thy husband. Joyfully receive him and may the two of you

mount the world of happiness .In this richa word aghnya has been

used for widow which means a widow can not be killed .As a cow

cannot be killed so a widow cannot be killed. Contradicting his

translation of RV(X.18.7),PV Kane in his History of Dharmashastra

has himself quoted verses to inform that:: another man is ordained

for a woman in five calamities viz,(i)when husband is missing and is

unheard of (ii)husband dies (iii)is impotent (iv)becomes ascetic;(v)

husband is declared depraved. Agnipurana(154.5-5), ParasarSmriti

(IV.30) and Narad Smriti(V.97).(Further details at

http://baharna.com)

 

The third chapter of Rigveda is considered the oldest part of

Rigveda. Richa (III.31.1) commands that a son-less father accepts

son of his daughter as his own son i.e. all properties of a son-less

father shall be inherited by son of his daughter. Richa (III.31.2)

commands that if parents have both son and daughter, son performs

holy acts of pindadaan (after death of father) and daughter has to

be enriched with gifts (rindhan i.e. to be made wealthy). Richa

(II.17.7) also attests share of a daughter in property of her

father. Custom of daughter being given freedom to select her husband

is attested in RV(X.27.12)

 

Those who misinterpret Rigveda to say that it sanctions suttee do

this mischief by mis-spelling the last word of richa (X.18.7)

as "yomiagne" and neglecting commands of other richas. The last word

of this richa is actually "yomiagre" as shown in Sanskrit in above

quoted Rigveda by HH Wilson and Pt. Shri Ram Sharma Acharya.

 

In fact, body of dead person is not burnt at all on a pyre in this

18th Sukta!! The dead body is being buried under ground ( in a

grave) vide tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth

richas of this 18th Sukta. So, whose funeral pyre a widow is being

asked by pro-sati lobby to mount if corpse of her husband is being

buried in the ground under this very sukta of Rigveda!!! Thus, there

is no richa in Rigveda calling for widow burning. In fact, Rigveda

commands a widow to return alive to her home with a new husband.

 

During the medieval period, thousands of women were burnt alive on

stakes in Europe after Churches declared them to be witches. In his

book "In Search of Loving God," Mark Mason (Chapter IX) has written

that towards the end of the Dark Ages in Europe, Emperor Charlemagne

had forbidden burning of supposed witches.

 

In the ninth century, the Church also repudiated the belief that

witches had supernatural powers. Papal Bull (ad extirpanda) issued

by Pope Innocent III in 1252 authorised seizure of possessions of

persons accused of not following the faith as laid down by the

Church, their imprisonment and executions.

 

Pope Innocent VIII issued the bull (1484) against witchcraft and

appointed Inquisitors. It is estimated that a few million people

were tortured and executed in Europe for witchcraft over three

centuries and 85 percent of them were women who were burnt alive on

fire stakes.

 

Others claim figure of burnt alive during 1450 to 1700 should be

much less: only about two lakhs!!! No one knows the correct number

of women who were burnt alive on stakes in medieval Europe .In Holy

Quran, at many places it is said that Kafirs are inmates of fire

such as surah(II.39), (III.10) (III.116) etc. In modern era,without

recalling the past bitter memories, we may look forward , follow the

policy of live and let live, policy of peaceful co-existence.

 

Veda, Ramayan and Gita are the three and the only three supreme

scriptures of Hindus. All others (like Brahmanas, Upnishads, Purana,

Dharma Shastras, Sutras, etc.) are just commentaries, explanatory

notes written by individuals. As commentaries written on the

Constitution of India cannot over-ride the Articles of the

Constitution of India and as laws passed by the Parliament or State

Assemblies cannot supersede the Articles of the Constitution of

India, similarly, commentaries/explanations on Vedas by individuals

cannot supersede richas of Vedas or Ramayan or Bhagwat Gita.

 

Maharishi Vedvyas has himself written in Mahabharat that in cases of

conflicting views,Vedas shall supersede all other writings:

 

"whenever there is conflict between what is declared in the Vedas

and provisions in any of the Smritis, Puranas, etc., what is

declared in the Vedas shall prevail."

 

In Ramayana, everyone knows that after death of King Dasharath, his

wives were never asked to step into pyre of Dasharath. Rather, they

lived in family with full honour and Bhagwan Shri Ram always bowed

his head before his widowed mothers with full respect. In

Mahabharat, Kunti, mother of Pandavas did not commit suttee and she

was active in all family matters and accorded full respects by all

including Lord Krishna .Dharmaraj Yudhishthir ,being gyata of Dharma

would certainly have asked his widowed mother Kunti to commit sati

if it was a requirement of dharma.

 

Yudhishthir never did so means committing sati was not a requirement

of Dharma. Thus, there is no command either in Ramayana or in Gita

to commit suttee.

 

Over centuries relatives have been murdering or getting assassinated

relatives for property, and, it will continue in coming centuries

also. Greed is human nature. If greedy people incite a widow to

commit suicide on pyre of her husband so as to deprive her of her

gold, silver and land, let us not say or believe that widow burning

is sanctified by Rigveda or by Hinduism.

 

Richa (X.18.3) commands a Hindu widow to separate from dead and

richa (X.10.8) commands her to return alive to her children/her

home. RV(X.18.9) commands her to be remarried immediately to a

brother/relative of deceased husband. For their own empowerment,

Hindu women will be well advised to remember the seven richas viz.

(II.17.7) (III.31.1) (III.31.2) (X.18.3) (X.18.8) (X.40.2) and

(X.40.8) to assert and claim their status and Vedic rights.

 

The writer is the Ambassador of India to Finland. The article are

personal views of the author; and, not that of the Govt. of India.

 

http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13170729

 

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a thought provoking article ! cosidering this practice of 'sutee'

still continues in some parts of india, specially the rural areas?

 

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kenji, i apologize for this digression , but the relevance of Vedas

to social issues is important and we have a right to know what is

Dharma or adharma in the vedic context.

[Guest guest]

--- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote:

> Some people assert that Rigveda vide richa (X.18.7)

> (seventh richa

> of 18th Sukta of tenth chapter) commands a Hindu

> widow to mount pyre

> of her deceased husband.

>kenji, i apologize for this digression , but the

>relevance of Vedas

>to social issues is important and we have a right to

>know what is

>Dharma or adharma in the vedic context.

 

 

Namaste Adi-ji,

This is very much Wendy Flaherty territory.

When you look at the context of the sUkta then I think

that it is best to try to apply YAska's advice on

understanding the meaning. You may remember

Durgacharya's commentary:

 

‘Knowledge of sacrifice is the flower, of which the

knowledge of divine beings may be considered as the

fruit. The knowledge of divine beings is in turn the

flower whose fruit is universal knowledge of the Self.

This is what is established by the whole Veda If the

dharma is leading to material prosperity is performed,

the knowledge of the gods is the reward. If on the

other hand the dharma leading to spiritual beatitude

is practised, then both the yajnika and daivika become

the flower; the daivika, which includes in itself the

yajnika becomes the flower and the adhyatmika the

fruit.’ This has been quoted from ‘The Heart of the

Rigveda’ Mahuli R Gopalacharya, Somaiya pub. 1971

pp.10-11

 

If the Adhibhautica level is the only one considered

then is it possible for Rta to be observed?

 

That's all I can say on this one,

 

Ken Knight

 

 

 

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‘From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed, breathed forth.’