Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-12
THE HsNDoo sur-rEE.
Burning ora the Funeral Pyre Of Her
Deceased Husband.
From the Calcutta BengaIce.

! Frcm the Calcutta BengaIee.
| In the remote village of Gader Dehee in the
district of Bauhurah. there are to be seen two
| small tombs on the bank of a small lake. con-
| tanning the holy ashes of young lady who
burnt herself alive on the funeral pyre of her
deceased husband. The name of the husband
Of the lady was Brahamand Gossain, and he
died of fever, in the morning. She wept not. but
sat by the body of her dead husband. How we
wished that she could give vent to her feelings
and relieve herself But no, she sat and uttered
neither sigh nor groan At last she rose and
proceeded straightway towards the Tkakoor Ba-
rec to the image of the god krlshna There she
went. followed by many men and women. and
Frustrated herself before the god Then she
stood, and began to divcst herself of the orna-
ments she had on her person. One bv one she
took them and placed them at the foot of the
goa. forthe first time speaking: Here nv Lord
take them, need them no longer" And then she
slowly came back to where the body of her hus-
oand was lying covered She then addressed
her brother-n-law. and she said: Prepare for
the ceremony of cremation. and YOU know |
| can't live without him. | must accompany him -"
Though her relations friends and neghburs had
all suspected that something serious was i'm
pending. the first announcement was received
with shock which could not be described
Then followed disSuatiOns and her friends re;a-
tons and neighbOrs all began to dissuade her to
nc purpose. The uncle-n-law. the mother-in-
law. whom HindoO lady is bound to revere
next to her God commanded and then earnestly
pleaded to her to fOrbear; but she was not to be
moved. Then came the guroO. the ruroht,
whom. as her spiritual guides she was boundto
obey. They tried their best but she was deter
mined. Time rolled on and she wayered not
Tor moment. Then the last device was reSorted
TO-. Her fears were appealed to- they described
to her the horrible and painful sufferings of a
nVlnS man upon a funeral pile. At first she
sustained to give replies to their appeals to her
fears, but at last when obliged to say something
she said: You need not be anxious: nv soul
mas fled with my lord. AS for bodily suffrrinrs
shall show you that 1 need not apprchend
them"
There was lamp burning. under the usual
custom, 10y the corpse. and she nut one of her
myers upon the slow fire of the lamp and
burnt it without wincing. Crowds had then
collected from all parts of the country 1t was
then about p. m. and the corpse was carried
TO the burning CHAT on the bank of the small
lake, only about couple of hundred wards
from the house. and the lady followed. followed
by thousands of men, chanting 'Iiariboe." The
crowd then began to collect dry fagots. and
heaps were gathered in moment. While the
FUNERAL pile was in the process OF being prepared
the corpse was bathed, and the lady herself per-
formed her additions. She then put on vermil-
lion on her forehead. and dressed herself in a
new Saree (cloth for LADIES' and then slowly en-
teIed the funeral pile. Her hair was properly
adjusted by her friends, and they adorned her
with .garands and wreaths of flowers The
crowd then with fearful eyes begged of her
blessings and some tokens from her
TO be kept in remembrance of her
self-sacrlfce. She was supplied with
coWrles plantains, betelnutS, etc, and she
began to throw handfuls of them
amongst the crowd. She then laid herself
10y the corpse of her husband in the posture of
warm embrace. She gave the order and the
pile was lighted in several places and there was
at once blazing fire. The Suffice raised her
right hand and began to utter the name of
Horee. turning her hand round and round She
was dead before the fire had reached her sacred
person.
Thus a Hindoo widow ended her life on the
funeral pyre of her husband. Her husband was
Cead, and the world appeared to her a dreary
waste. She was determined to follow her lord
to the unknown world undeterred by the solicit
tatlOns of her friends and relations and the
temptations Of worldly pleasures. Her fears
We're appealed to. but in vain. She felt she
could not live moment without her lord: she
must accompan" him. and under the influence
OF this overwhelming impulse she entered the
flames without the least display of fear and
with an aacrty which surpasseS all description
we ask who can contemplate this spirit stirring
scene, this wondrOus spectacle. without feeling
sort of veneration for the lady who thus
offered herself sacrifice on the altar of con-
nubial duty? May her spirit rest in peace and
from its place in the heavens shed light upon
her surviving brothers and sisters, and upon her
cOunfrymen. and inspire them with courage in
the accomplishment of their ends in life.
A.