Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.13.58
Nirodha· Winding upGāndhārī’s Grief and the Warning Against Force
“While outside observing her husband, who will burn in the fire of mystic power along with his thatched cottage, his chaste wife will enter the fire with rapt attention.”
What the purport teaches
- Gāndhārī had already lost her one hundred sons. Seeing her husband burning with his cottage, she felt alone and followed him into the fire.
- The purport describes her action as the satī rite and presents it in the setting of her extraordinary attachment to her husband. It also states that women in this fallen age cannot follow the rite as she did.
- The purport strongly condemns forcing an unwilling woman to undergo this rite. When it became a forced formality, it became criminal and had to be stopped by state law.
Try this today
Write down the purport’s clear warning that forcing a woman to undergo the satī rite is criminal.
Ask yourself
Why is the purport’s condemnation of force essential to understanding this account?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.