Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.23.22
Nirodha· Winding upArci’s Final Rites and Historical Context
“After this, the Queen executed the necessary funerary functions and offered oblations of water. After bathing in the river, she offered obeisances to various demigods situated in the sky in the different planetary systems. She then circumambulated the fire and, while thinking of the lotus feet of her husband, entered its flames.”
What the purport teaches
- Arci completed the necessary funeral duties, offered water and bathed in the river. She then offered obeisances to the demigods.
- The translation describes her circumambulating the fire and entering it while thinking of her husband’s lotus feet. The purport calls this historical practice saha-gamana, or “dying with the husband.”
- The purport explains that the practice degraded when relatives forced unwilling or unfit wives to enter the fire. It states that the practice therefore had to be stopped.
Try this today
Write one sentence noting why the purport says this historical practice had to be stopped.
Ask yourself
Why is the purport’s account of coercion and the stopping of this practice important to remember?
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.