Rani Sati

Last updated

Rani Sati, also identified as Narayani Devi and referred to as Dadiji (grandmother), is said to be a Rajasthani woman who lived sometime between the 13th and the 17th century and committed sati (self-immolation) on her husband's death. Various temples in Rajasthan and elsewhere are devoted to her worship and to commemorate her act.

Contents


Legends

The accounts of Rani Sati's life and the events leading to her death vary widely. Her death has been dated to 1295 or 1595 in some re-tellings, [1] while others place her in the 14th century, [2] or even the 17th century. [3] One such legend, recounted by Sakuntala Narsimhan, says: [4]

[Rani] was a seventeen-year-old girl of the Bania caste. The legend is that the nawab coveted the white mare that her betrothed rode on, and in the confrontation that ensued, [Rani's husband] Tandhan Das was killed, leaving his faithful servant as the only survivor apart from Dadi Narayani Devi, and her mare. When the servant asked her whether he should take her back to her father's or to her father-in-law's, she is said to have replied that she would become a sati and wherever the horse stopped while carrying the ashes of the couple, a temple to their memory should be raised.

Another version of the legend, as related by Anne Hardgrove, says: [1]

..., on one day about six hundred years ago a fourteen-year-old Hindu bride named Narayani Devi was coming home for the first time with her husband (of the Jalan lineage) just after their marriage. Her husband worked as a merchant in Jhunjhunu. Muslim invaders suddenly attacked her husband and his companions, brutally killing them. Only Narayani Devi and (in some versions) a loyal servant named "Rana" survived the attack. According to the story, Narayani Devi then bravely burned herself to death by spontaneously bursting into flames to avoid being captured and kidnapped by these invaders.

Other accounts ascribe the killing of her husband to a band of dacoits, and say that Rani died by the same hand in trying to defend her honour. [2] Yet other versions regard Rani as the first of thirteen widows in her Jalan family to commit sati. [1]

Worship and temples

Several temples in India, especially in the North Western state of Rajasthan, are devoted to Rani Sati and her act of sati. There are numerous other Sati temples in the region including Narayani Sati in Alwar, Dholan Sati in Raipur and Rani Bhatiyani in Jasol. Sati worship had been common in these regions, Banarasidas in his Ardhakathanaka (1643), mentions his family visiting the sati shrine associated with his clan. Though veneration of Rani Sati and patronage of these temples cut across caste, regional and even religious lines, [5] they are particularly prevalent amongst the merchant Marwari community, and its Agrawal sub-caste. [3] Members of those communities have funded the construction of Rani Sati temples, and transformed her status from a kuldevi (family deity) to a Goddess subject to public worship. [6]

The most prominent of these shrines is the Rani Sati Temple Jhunjhunu in the Shekhavati region of Rajasthan, administered and attracting a large following from Kolkata. The temple was inaugurated in 1912, and started off as a set of simple memorial mounds. Construction of a larger complex began in 1917, financed by donations from the Jalan clan of the Agarwal community, and was completed in 1936. [1] As of today, the temple is a monumental complex with a multi-storey structure, a main hall made of marble, and dual courtyards surrounded by rooms that can house up to 300 pilgrims. Rani Sati herself is represented by a trident, and considered a manifestation of the Goddess Shakti. In the sanctum, there is a depiction of Rani Sati surrounded by Ganesha, Shiva and Durga, while a wall frieze recounts the events leading to her husband's death, her self-immolation, and the subsequent construction of the temple itself. The temple is said to have an annual income of Rupees twenty lakhs and assets of Rupees eighty lakhs. The temple trustees also organize a well-attended annual fair to celebrate Rani Sati. [2] [5] [7] There are other Sati shrines belonging to other satis in the same family in the compound. There are other Sati temples in Jhunjhunu belonging to other communities.

A Rajasthani movie Laj Rakho Rani Sati was released in 1973.

Perhaps the oldest existing Rani Sati temple outside Jhunjhunu dates to 1837 and is located at Kankurgachi in Kolkata. Hundreds of other Rani Sati temples are located in Bombay, Delhi, Varanasi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and other places in India, as well as in Rangoon, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. [3] [5] On 1 December 1980, a public procession taken out by Rani Sati devotees in New Delhi to celebrate the construction of a new Rani Sati temple in the city was protested against by feminists and those opposed to the practice of sati. This led to discussions in both houses of the Indian Parliament over promotion of the practice of sati, and Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi halted construction of the new temple, calling satipuja (worship of satis) a "barbaric medieval, and illegal" practice. [1]

In 1996, many of Rani Sati devotees celebrated the 400th anniversary of her supposed birthday on 4 December, including at a large public yagna near the temple at Jhunjhunu (the date was possibly picked in tacit protest of the formal banning of sati in Bengal Presidency by Lord Lord William Bentinck on 4 December 1829.) [1]

On 20th November 2015 it's been marked as 734 Birthday of Dadi Rani Sati

Roop Kanwar controversy

The practice of worshiping satis has often been subject of controversy in India, and the Rani Sati Temple at Jhunjhunu came under particularly harsh spot-light when a 19-year widow Roop Kanwar (who was reported to be a devotee of Rani Sati [8] ) committed sati in 1987 in the nearby town of Deorala. [2] [7] Following Kanwar's immolation, the Indian government issued an order proscribing the 'glorification of Sati', and tried banning the annual fair at Jhunjhunu. The Calcutta High Court lifted the ban, and on appeal, the Supreme Court of India modified it to allow worship of Rani Sati within the temple while forbidding the celebration of her sati through the chunari ceremonies in which brides seek the Goddess's blessings by offering her their bridal veils. The court also disallowed the fair, which is held on the temple's outer grounds. However the controversy and court decisions, brought even greater attention to the town of Deorala and the Rani Sati temple, and attracted thousands of pilgrims to the temple and the fair that year. [2] Elsewhere in India, while many Rani Sati temples halted their public celebrations soon after Roop Kanwar's death, their activities resumed within a few years. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sati (practice)</span> Historical Hindu practice of widow immolation

Sati was a historical practice in Hindu communities in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. Although it is debated whether it received scriptural mention in early Hinduism, it has been linked to related Hindu practices in regions of India. Greek sources from around 300 BCE make isolated mention of sati, but it probably developed into a real fire sacrifice in the medieval era within the northwestern Rajput clans to which it initially remained limited, to become more widespread during the late medieval era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jauhar</span> Hindu Rajput wartime practice involving self-immolation

Jauhar, sometimes spelled Jowhar or Juhar, was a Hindu Rajput practice of mass self-immolation by females, both adults and children, in the Indian subcontinent to avoid capture, enslavement and rape by Islamic invaders when facing certain defeat during a war. Some reports of jauhar mention women committing self-immolation along with their children. This practice was historically observed in the northwest regions of India, with most famous jauhars in recorded history occurring during wars between Hindu Rajput kingdoms in Rajasthan and the opposing Muslim armies. Jauhar was only performed during war, usually when there was no chance of victory. The term jauhar often connotes jauhar-immolation. Jauhar involved Hindu Rajput women committing suicide with their children and valuables in a massive fire, in order to avoid capture and abuse in the face of inescapable military defeat. At the same time or shortly thereafter, the men would ritualistically march to the battlefield expecting certain death, which in the regional tradition is called saka. This practice was intended to show that those committing it valued their honor more highly than their lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marwari people</span> Ethnic group from Rajasthan, India

The Marwari or Marwadi are an Indian ethnic group that originate from the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India. Their language, also called Marwari, comes under the umbrella of Rajasthani languages, which is part of the Western Zone of Indo-Aryan languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birla Mandir</span> Hindu Temples

The Birla Mandirs refer to different Hindu temples or Mandirs built by the Birla family in different cities across India. All these temples are magnificently built, some in white marble or sandstone. The temples are generally located in a prominent location, carefully designed to accommodate a large number of visitors. The worship and discourses are well organized. The first one was built in 1939 in Delhi collectively by Jugal Kishore Birla and his brothers and their father. Later temples were built by and managed by different branches of the family. For both of the temples in Varanasi, the Birlas joined other donors to support the cost.

Ambaji (Ambājī) is a census town in Banaskantha district in the state of Gujarat, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rani Rashmoni</span> Indian Zamindar and philanthropist (1793-1861)

Rashmoni Das, popularly known as LokamataRani Rashmoni, also spelled as Rani Rasmani,, was an Indian businesswoman, entrepreneur, Zamindar, philanthropist and the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata. She remained closely associated with Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa after she appointed him as the priest of the Dakshineswar temple. She was also one of the earliest social reformers in early nineteenth-century Bengal and was one of the forerunners of the Bengal Renaissance. Besides, she also led many of the resistances against the encroaching British administration and their presence in all walks of colonial society in the Bengal province. Her other construction works include the construction of a road from Subarnarekha River to Puri for the pilgrims, Babughat, Ahiritola Ghat and Nimtala ghat for the everyday bathers at the Ganges. She also offered considerable charity to the Imperial Library, and the Hindu College.

Roongta are the Marwari Agrawal community originally belonging to the Town of Bagar in Rajasthan, India. Community of Bagar, Pilani and Jhunjhunu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roop Kanwar</span> Indian victim of Sati

Roopkuvarba Kanwar was an Indian Rajput woman who was allegedly forced to immolate herself in an act of Sati at Deorala village of Sikar district in Rajasthan, India. At the time, she was 18 years old and had been married for eight months to Maal Singh Shekhawat, who had died a day earlier at age 24, and had no children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tripura Sundari Temple</span> Hindu temple in Tripura, India

Tripura Sundari Temple is a Hindu temple of the Goddess Tripura Sundari, better known locally as Devi Tripureshwari. The temple is situated in the ancient city of Udaipur, about 55 km from Agartala, Tripura and can be reached by train and road from Agartala. It is believed to be one of the holiest Hindu shrines in this part of the country and witnesses the highest number of visitors for a temple in North-East India, after Kamakhya Temple in Assam. The state of Tripura is named after this temple. Popularly known as Matabari, the shrine is set upon a small hillock that resembles the hump of a tortoise (Kurma). This shape called Kurmapṛṣṭhākṛti is considered the holiest possible site for a Shakti temple, hence also bestowing the name of Kurma Pīṭha. The Goddess is served by traditional Brahmin priests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarapith</span> Temple town in West Bengal, India

Tarapith is a town and Hindu pilgrimage site located in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is particularly known for its Tantric temple and its adjoining Hindu crematory ground. The Tantric Hindu temple is dedicated to the goddess Tara.

Divrala is a village in the Sikar district of Rajasthan, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinglaj Mata Temple</span> Hindu temple in Balochistan, Pakistan

Hinglaj Mata, also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, and is the middle of the Hingol National Park. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in Shaktism denomination of Hinduism. It is one of the three Shakti Peethas in Pakistan, other two being Shivaharkaray and Sharada Peeth. It is a form of Durga or Devi in a mountain cavern on the banks of the Hingol River. Over the last three decades the place has gained increasing popularity and became a unifying point of reference for Pakistan's many Hindu communities. Hinglaj Yatra is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan. More than 250,000 people take part in the Hinglaj Yathra during the spring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagar, Jhunjhunu</span> Village in Rajasthan, India

Bagar, or Baggar, is a town and municipal council in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, a northwestern state in India. Known for its heritage havelis, it is located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Jhunjhunu city on NH 8 towards Chirawa-Loharu.

<i>The Age of Kali</i> Book by William Dalrymple

The Age of Kali is a 1998 travel book by William Dalrymple. The book's theme is trouble in the Indian subcontinent and the Hindu belief in a time called the Kali Yuga when many problems will come to exist in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rani Bhatiyani</span> Hindu goddess

Rani Bhatiyani sa is a Hindu goddess, worshipped in Western Rajasthan, India, the region Kashmir, and Sindh, Pakistan. Her major temples are in Jasol, Barmer District and JOGIDAS Jaisalmer, where she is called Bhuwasa. She is especially venerated by the Merasi Manganiyar community of bards. The women of the Dholi (singer) community sing the Ghoomar songs, in her honour, where she is praised as the princess of Jaisalmer. The goddess is said to have given her first vision to a dholi. The goddess is also called Majisa (Mother) and songs are sung in her honour by bards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandela, Rajasthan</span> Town in Shekhawati, Rajasthan, India

Mandela is a town in the Shekhawati region and Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan state in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashapura Mata</span> Hindu goddess

Ashapura Mata is an aspect of Devi, a Hindu goddess. She is one of the kuladevis of Kutch and Rajasthan, and the Jadeja clan of gujarat and Chauhans inhabiting the western indian provinces. She is a goddess regarded to fulfill the wishes of her adherents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maheshwari</span> Hindu caste in India

Maheshwari, also spelled Maheshvari, is a Hindu caste of India, originally from what is now the state of Rajasthan. Their traditional occupation is that of commerce and as such they form part of the wider Bania occupation-based community that also includes castes such as the Khandelwals, Oswals and Agrawals, Gahois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rani Sati Temple</span> Hindu temple in Rajasthan, India

Rani Sati Temple is a temple located in Jhunjhunu, Jhunjhunu district, in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the largest temple in India devoted to Rani Sati, a Rajasthani lady who lived sometime between the 13th and the 17th century and committed sati (self-immolation) on her husband's death. Various temples in Rajasthan and elsewhere are devoted to her worship and to commemorate her act. Rani Sati is also called Narayani Devi and referred to as Dadiji (grandmother).

Jhunjhunwala is an Indian toponymic Marwari surname from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, India. They belong to Marwari community hailing from Rajasthan. Jhunjhunwalas follow Marwari traditions and are pure vegetarian community. Dialect that can be commonly heard by people belonging to this town is Marwari.They are the worshippers of deity Rani Sati in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hardgrove, Anne (August 1999). "Sati worship and Marwari public identity in India". The Journal of Asian Studies. 58 (3): 723–752. doi: 10.2307/2659117 . JSTOR   2659117. S2CID   162498846.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Sen, Mala (2002). Death by Fire: Sati, Dowry Death, and [https://chalisaspdf.com/rani-sati-dadi-ki-chalisa/ Female Infanticide in] Modern India. Rutgers University Press. pp. 42–51. ISBN   9780813531021.{{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)
  3. 1 2 3 Courtright, Paul B (1994). "The iconographies of Sati". In Hawley, John Stratton (ed.). Sati, the Blessing and the Curse: The Burning of Wives in India. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195360226.
  4. Narasimhan, Sakuntala (1992). Sati - Widow Burning in India. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 7. ISBN   9780385423175.
  5. 1 2 3 Weinberger-Thomas, Catherine (1999). Ashes of Immortality: Widow-Burning in India. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   9780226885698.
  6. Vaid, Sudesh; Sangari, Kumkum (27 April 1991). "Institutions, Beliefs, Ideologies: Widow immolation in contemporary Rajasthan". Economic and Political Weekly: 2–18.
  7. 1 2 Brown, Lindsay; Thomas, Amelia (2008). Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra. Lonely Planet. ISBN   9781741046908.
  8. Rajeswari, Sunder Rajan (2004). Real and Imagined Women: Gender, Culture and Postcolonialism. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN   9780203359662.