Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1883-02-01
The IlIndl0 SnttNo.

| In the rem Dte village Ot Gdpef DeleO,
in the district of Banhurab, there are
TO be seen two small tombs on the bank
of small lake, containing the holy
ashes of a young lady who burnt herself
alive on the funeral pyre OF her deceased
/ husband. The name Cf the husband OF
the lady was Brahamand Gossaln, and
! he died of fever i'll the morning. She
wept not, but sat by the dead body Of
! her husband. How We wished that she
could give vent to her feelings, and
relieve herself. But no, she sat ana
uttered neither sigh nor groan.
At last she rose and proceeded straight
way towards the TkdkOOr Bdree to the
image of the god krishna There she
went, followed by many men and wom-
en-, and prostrated herself before the
the god. Then she stood, and began to
divest herself of the ornaments that she
had on her person. -Dne by one she
took them and placed them at the foot
of the god, for the first time speaking
Here, my lord, take them, l need them
no longer" And then she slowly came
back 10 where the body of her husband
was lying covered. She then addressed
her brother-in law, and she said; Pre-
pare for the ceremony of cremation,
and you know / can't live without him.
| must accompany him." Though her
relations, friends and neigLDoTs had all
suspected that something serious was
impending, the first announcement was
received with shock which could not
be described. Then followed discussions,
|
and her fr ends, relations and neighbors
all began to dissuade her TO no purpose.
| The uncle. law, the mother-in-law,
whom a HindoO lady is bound 10 revere
next to her God, commanded, and then
earnestly pleaded to her to forbear, but
she was not to be moved. Then cane
the guroo, the purohit. whom, as her
spiritual guides, she was bound to obey.
They tried their best, but she was de-
termined. Time rolled on, and she
wayered not for a moment. Then the
last device was resorted to. Her fears
were appealed to; they described to her
the horrible and painful sufferings of a
living man upon funeral pile. AT
first she disdained to give replies to
their appeals to her fears, but ut last
when Obliged TO say something she said:
You need not be onxious; my soul
has fled with my lord. AS for bodily
sutferings, l shall show you that l need
not apprehend them"
There was q lamp burning, under the
usual custom, by the corpse. and she
put one of her fingers upon the slow
fire of the lamp and bRrnt IL without
Iwincing. Crowds had then collected
from all parts of the country. 1t was
then ABOUT 4 p. IN, and the corpse was
carried to the burning CHAT on the bank
of the small lake, only about couple
of hundred yards from the house, and
the lady followed, followed by thousands
of men chanting "harlbole. The
crowd then began to collect dry faggots,
and heaps were gathered in a few mo-
ments. When the funeral pile was III
process of beng prepared, the corpse
was bathed, aud the lady herself per-
formed her ablutions. She than put
vermilion on her forehead and dressed
herself III q new Saree lcloth for ladies)
and then slowly entered the funeral pile.
Her hair was properly adjusted by her
friends, and they adorned her with
garlands and wreaths of flowers. The
crowd then with fearful eyes begged Of
her blessings and some tokens from her
to be kept III remembrance of her self
sacrifice. She was supplied with cow
rIes, pIantains, betelluts, etc, and she
began to throw handiuls Of them
amongst the crowd. She then laid her
self by the corpse of her husband III the
posture of warm embrace. She gave
the order. and the pile was lighted III
several places and there was at once a
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 sacret person.
Thus Hindoo widow ended her life
on the funeral pyre &C her husband
Her husband was dead and the world
appeared to her a dreary waste. She
was determined to follow her lord to the
unknown world, undeterred by the SOL
| icItations of her friends and relations
ami the temptations of worldly pleasures.
Her fears were appealed to, but Ill vain.
She felt she could lot live moment
without her lord; she must accompany
him, and under the influence of this
overwhelming impulse she entered the
fames without the least display OF fear
and with an alacrity which surpasses
all description. We ask, who can con-
template this splrit-stirring scene, this
wonderous spectacle, without feeling
sort of veneration for the lady who thus
offered herself as sacrifice on the altar
of connubial duty2 May her spirit rest
in peace, and from its place i'll the heav-
ems shed light upon her surviving
brothers and sisters and upon her coun-
trymen, inspire them with courage IN
the accomplishment of their ends in life.
-&Np@-