WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
is law. One might almost say that the Native States are ruled by the queen-mothers from behind the purdah."
Wherever we find goddesses in a religion, there certainly exists a higher measure of esteem for women than among the faiths honouring only male deities. Half the Hindus revere Shakti, the female symbol of deity, and they address their god as She. Shiva is a personification of the male, Uma of the female. This goddess, says Dr. Coomaraswamy, is "the ideal Hindu wife, and the first Sati, and shy beyond words; she is Shiva's humblest servant, desiring no good in heaven or earth beyond his welfare. She is in truth an image of Indian woman."
The practice of Suttee, or Sati, has puzzled and shocked the British rulers of India. We cannot understand the Hindu woman's attitude to love and marriage without a careful examination of the origin and meaning of this custom.
When Bramah died, one of his devoted wives sacrificed herself that she might join him in heaven. Voluntarily and gladly she went to the burning pyre. This example was adopted by devout widows. Seven hundred have immolated themselves by burning, in one year, in Bengal alone.[1] They died calmly, even
- ↑ Hadyn "Dictionary of Dates," 5th ed. Dr. Coomaraswamy states that perhaps a thousand widows in all have committed Sati.
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