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The Iconography of sati



• An Archaeological Study Of Sati Memorial pillars of
  Central India




Presented by; Ameeta Singh
Sarojini Naidu Government Girls College Bhopal MP
India
The Iconography of Sati : An archaeological study
      of sati memorial pillars of central India

• This article is based on my extensive field work
  as a part of my post doctoral research. I worked
  as an explorer to find out sati monuments and
  documented these memorial pillars as a source
  of history .I surveyed about 500 villages in last
  four years and wandered the region ,on a
  nomadic basis to collect the information. As a
  result I found about 3000 sati memorials in
  seven districts of central India. These memorials
  of sati show that the practice of sati was
  common in central India.
•   Surveyed Districts
                   •   Bhopal , Neemach ,Sagar
Area of Research   •   Vidisha , Mandsour
                   •   Raisen , Rajgurh
  Central India    •   Ujjain , Shivpuri
                   •   Dhar , Guna
                   •   Chattarpur, Ashoknagar
Chanderi
 Sundarsi           Khimalsa




Amjhera
            Eran
Widow sacrifice was universal
Scandinavia – The legend of Balder in which Nanna
  ascend his pyre.
 Indo-German custom
  In Greek legend Evadne burned with her husband.
 Egypt The King Amenhetap’s tomb some slaughtered
  body of females were found.
 In China The widow who committed suicide had
 honorary gateways erected in their honor by imperial
  Command.
The iconography of sati
Depiction of sati by European travelers
The Iconography of Sati
These depictions
 on sati
 memorial were
 common in
 central India
 ,Gujarat and
 Rajasthan
Sacred relics of sati
• Sati stones are usually found on the
  outskirt of small towns and villages
  and the people of these areas,
  usually the family members of
  deceased couple, worship these
  memorials with flowers and kumkum
  (vermilion) it is strong belief among
  the people that sati Mata (mother)
  worship will bring fortune for their
  family.
• The sculptures on these sati stones usually depict the
  husband and wife and sometimes the event in which
  her husband lost his life. A few even graphically
  portray the event such as a fierce fight which led to
  death of the hero and the depiction of lady with wifely
  devotion. Some of these stones bear inscriptions
  explaining the event and also the name of sati and her
  husbands name and title of the family. Based on the
  alphabets of the inscriptions , we are able to date the
  period of the sati stone was installed .They in fact are
  very important records for understanding the social
  and cultural milieu of the period
The earliest inscriptional record of
      sati in Central India
 Eran This inscription is carved on a pillar,
 records the death of Gopraja ,a noble of Gupta
 King Bhanugupta and his wife cremated herself
 on his funeral pyre. it is dated in the Gupta year
 191 ( A.D.510-511)
The earliest sati stone found in Balod a small
 village in central province. There are three
 inscriptions on it. The third inscription is in
 characters which James Prinsep ascribed to the
 2nd century A.D. This inscription is therefore very
 important as being the earliest sati record yet
 found.
Sati stones
sati stones
with inscription
   and without
    inscription
  depicted the
   sun, moon,
  hand, flower
  and coconut.
    In second
  panel a lady
 embraces the
    feet of her
loving husband

  Chanderi museum
The divine signs of sati


• Hand with bangles in upright
  position
• Sun ,Moon and Stars
• Standing couple
• Shivling or worship of
  Shivling
• Mirror
• Lemon
• Coconut
• Husband’s profession ex.
Bangla;The Sati ground
This place has many memorial pillars in group
 scattered between the village and the river.
 Inscribed and with sculptural panels depicting
 various scenes such as warriors engaged in
 battle, dying as heroes and enjoying in heaven
 the company of heavenly nymphs or worshiping
 a shivling. The inscription suggest a battle was
 fought here in 1281 A.D.and the king Gopaldev
 won and his followers who died in battle were
 commemorated here. About 139 sati stones also
 found here refer same battle in which wives of
 some of the dead heroes cremated themselves
 as satis.
Some interesting facts about sati
“Immolation is not always confined to
  widows; among few suttee which have
  occurred last year,1829 (One at Amjhera
  and the other at Khachrod) have been
  mothers who burnt to death of their only
  sons”
                       Sir John Malcolm
                  Memoirs of Central India
Earliest record of mother sati
               • Sesai in Guna district
                 a mother sati
                 memorial is found
                 with inscription
                 recording self
                 immolation of mother
                 (name last) sorrowing
                 for her two sons who
                 were killed in battle
                 datable to 6th century
                 A.D.
Mother sati stones at Amjhera
Mother Sati’s the earliest mother sati memorial was found
                   in Sesai (Gupta age)
Johar Cenotaph at chanderi
              It is a marking
              site of mass
              immolation of
              Rajput ladies
              during the battle
              fought between
              Babar The
              Mughal Emperor
              and Medinirai in
              1527 A.D.
• For instance I found many sati memorial
  pillars at chanderi a medieval fort city,
  depicted that these memorial were set up
  during the reign of the great Sultan
  Giyasuddin of Mandu who ruled over
  Malwa and Chanderi (in central India)
• The larger sati memorial pillars also gave
  a sculptural representation of the manner
  of death of the satis husband. In that way
  we can learn whether he was a horse
  solider or foot soldier and what kind of
  weapons in use at that time.
Sculptural representation of sati

The panel also depicted husband and wife
 doing worship of shivling (symbolic
 representation of Lord shiva) this indicates that
 the sati is united with her husband in the
 heaven.
 Some sati memorial pillars depict only a
 woman’s hand with bangles placed between
 emblem of sun and moon and a short inscription
 with the date of burning of the sati with her
 husband. But some of the longer records gave
 the name of the village and the reigning king,
 they also gave valuable aid both to history and
 geography
Inscribed sati memorial
Sati stones showing Shivling worship and
  inscription bears name of sati and his
                 husband
Hand with bangles depicts the
      blessing of sati
Table 1 sati stones of central India
District       Village      No. of sati   Period
                            stones
Rajargh        Sundersi     40            10th to 17th
               Jirapur      20            17th 18th
                                          century
Vidisha        Ahmadpur     15            17th 18th
                                          century
Dhar           Amjhera      37            14th ,17th , 18th
                                          century
Ashoknagar     Chanderi     34            13th to 18th
                                          century
Khimalsa       Sagar        51            1453 to1823
Sculptural representation of sati
• The memorial pillars usually divided in three
  vertical panels The lower panel portrays ,the
  scene of battle. The husband of sati shown
  prominently either on foot, on horse or on
  elephant back . In case of king or Generals an
  umbrella is shown over his head. The top panel
  represents the heaven Sun and Moon . The
  representation of sati which is common in India
  from north to south is the right hand of sati bent
  upward to the elbow sometimes holding lemon
  between the thumb and forefinger.
Sculptural representation of sati
• The holding of a lemon is a symbolic
  representation of offering themselves to
  their husbands. Lemon is also used for
  sacrificing ritual in Hindu religion. The
  husband usually shown on her right by
  holding the right hand of sati or placing his
  left hand over shoulder of sati. If the hero
  is having more than two wives committing
  sati then all of them were shown.
Sati’s of khimlasa
The Sager district contains large numbers of sati
 stones. Khimalsa an old town , contains the
 largest numbers of sati stones ;51 of these are
 inscribed. Almost all are dated but in about a
 dozen pillars figures are illegible. The dates
 range between 1453-1823 A.D. Some of them
 mention the names of the Mohammedan
 Emperor Shahjahan, Nourangshah
 (Aurangzeb)and also the names of Sarkar the
 district to which khimalsa belonged. The sati’s of
 khimalsa belonged to various castes such Kori
 (weaver) Nai (Barber) Silat (mason) ,etc. In
 some of them the caste name is written, in
 others the caste marks are carved, such as a
 hammer and anvil for a blacksmith, razor for a
 barber, and so on.
Medieval references of sati in
           central India
• Ibnabatuta
 While passing through
  the city of Amjhera he
  witnessed three
  women committing
  sati whose husband
  were killed in fighting
  at Sumera of Sindh.
 I have registered 37
  sati stones in one
  funeral ground here.
Sati cenotaphs at Amjhera
Royal Cenotaphs at Amjhera
• At the funeral of rulers
  attendants also used
  to burnt with wife or
  wives. This stone
  depicts a attendant,
  carrying fan (chanvar)
  burnt alive with the
  ruler.
The royal sati
Sati cenotaph
Sati stone with inscription
Depiction sun and moon symbolize the glory of sati as long as they
                             exit
Sati
stone
The iconography of sati
Forgotten sati
The iconography of sati
The iconography of sati
The iconography of sati
Sati ritual depicted a lady sitting
  amidst the fire holding her
         husband’s body
Sati earthen ware memorial sketch by
          Fanny Parks 1820
The iconography of sati
FOUR FACED SATI MEMORIAL
• Earliest example of
  Sati memorial cubical
  shaped with depiction
  on each face.
• Mainly of 11th and 12
  th century period.
• Profession and daily
  routine can also be
  found.
“During my long sojourn in India I have
observed that nearly all the sati
monuments are placed on the western
bank either of a stream or of a reservoir,
with the face towards east.” Cunningham
Sati stones usually found near water
sources. I found about 20 sati stones and
cenotaphs near this reservoir at Chanderi
Sati in converted Muslims
• There are some examples of Muslim sati
  also Cunningham mentioned some Muslim
  sati tomb in central India. This indicates
  that these converted Muslim followed the
  Hindu faith.
The iconography of sati
The iconography of sati
The handprints of sati which left out by the satis later engraved on
                           Fort walls
The iconography of sati
The iconography of sati
The iconography of sati
Handprints of satis
Deceased




                    Wife 2
Wife 1
The iconography of sati
Example of Anugaman ( to follow), women committing
       sati with husband’s turban or shoes.
Chanderi
Ahmadpur
Ahmadpur
Dated 1885 A.D day Monday name of sati “Dayali” husband’s name
                          ( illegible)
Sati worship in rural India
• When a woman
  committed sati a
  memorial erected in her
  memory, and worship
  made to her as a
  goddess. Partly this is
  worship of general
  homage and respect,
  partly it is for specific
  benefits, of which female
  fertility is important.
Worship of sati stone
Copyright material

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The iconography of sati

  • 1. The Iconography of sati • An Archaeological Study Of Sati Memorial pillars of Central India Presented by; Ameeta Singh Sarojini Naidu Government Girls College Bhopal MP India
  • 2. The Iconography of Sati : An archaeological study of sati memorial pillars of central India • This article is based on my extensive field work as a part of my post doctoral research. I worked as an explorer to find out sati monuments and documented these memorial pillars as a source of history .I surveyed about 500 villages in last four years and wandered the region ,on a nomadic basis to collect the information. As a result I found about 3000 sati memorials in seven districts of central India. These memorials of sati show that the practice of sati was common in central India.
  • 3. Surveyed Districts • Bhopal , Neemach ,Sagar Area of Research • Vidisha , Mandsour • Raisen , Rajgurh Central India • Ujjain , Shivpuri • Dhar , Guna • Chattarpur, Ashoknagar
  • 4. Chanderi Sundarsi Khimalsa Amjhera Eran
  • 5. Widow sacrifice was universal Scandinavia – The legend of Balder in which Nanna ascend his pyre. Indo-German custom In Greek legend Evadne burned with her husband. Egypt The King Amenhetap’s tomb some slaughtered body of females were found. In China The widow who committed suicide had honorary gateways erected in their honor by imperial Command.
  • 7. Depiction of sati by European travelers
  • 8. The Iconography of Sati These depictions on sati memorial were common in central India ,Gujarat and Rajasthan
  • 9. Sacred relics of sati • Sati stones are usually found on the outskirt of small towns and villages and the people of these areas, usually the family members of deceased couple, worship these memorials with flowers and kumkum (vermilion) it is strong belief among the people that sati Mata (mother) worship will bring fortune for their family.
  • 10. • The sculptures on these sati stones usually depict the husband and wife and sometimes the event in which her husband lost his life. A few even graphically portray the event such as a fierce fight which led to death of the hero and the depiction of lady with wifely devotion. Some of these stones bear inscriptions explaining the event and also the name of sati and her husbands name and title of the family. Based on the alphabets of the inscriptions , we are able to date the period of the sati stone was installed .They in fact are very important records for understanding the social and cultural milieu of the period
  • 11. The earliest inscriptional record of sati in Central India Eran This inscription is carved on a pillar, records the death of Gopraja ,a noble of Gupta King Bhanugupta and his wife cremated herself on his funeral pyre. it is dated in the Gupta year 191 ( A.D.510-511) The earliest sati stone found in Balod a small village in central province. There are three inscriptions on it. The third inscription is in characters which James Prinsep ascribed to the 2nd century A.D. This inscription is therefore very important as being the earliest sati record yet found.
  • 13. sati stones with inscription and without inscription depicted the sun, moon, hand, flower and coconut. In second panel a lady embraces the feet of her loving husband Chanderi museum
  • 14. The divine signs of sati • Hand with bangles in upright position • Sun ,Moon and Stars • Standing couple • Shivling or worship of Shivling • Mirror • Lemon • Coconut • Husband’s profession ex.
  • 15. Bangla;The Sati ground This place has many memorial pillars in group scattered between the village and the river. Inscribed and with sculptural panels depicting various scenes such as warriors engaged in battle, dying as heroes and enjoying in heaven the company of heavenly nymphs or worshiping a shivling. The inscription suggest a battle was fought here in 1281 A.D.and the king Gopaldev won and his followers who died in battle were commemorated here. About 139 sati stones also found here refer same battle in which wives of some of the dead heroes cremated themselves as satis.
  • 16. Some interesting facts about sati “Immolation is not always confined to widows; among few suttee which have occurred last year,1829 (One at Amjhera and the other at Khachrod) have been mothers who burnt to death of their only sons” Sir John Malcolm Memoirs of Central India
  • 17. Earliest record of mother sati • Sesai in Guna district a mother sati memorial is found with inscription recording self immolation of mother (name last) sorrowing for her two sons who were killed in battle datable to 6th century A.D.
  • 18. Mother sati stones at Amjhera
  • 19. Mother Sati’s the earliest mother sati memorial was found in Sesai (Gupta age)
  • 20. Johar Cenotaph at chanderi It is a marking site of mass immolation of Rajput ladies during the battle fought between Babar The Mughal Emperor and Medinirai in 1527 A.D.
  • 21. • For instance I found many sati memorial pillars at chanderi a medieval fort city, depicted that these memorial were set up during the reign of the great Sultan Giyasuddin of Mandu who ruled over Malwa and Chanderi (in central India) • The larger sati memorial pillars also gave a sculptural representation of the manner of death of the satis husband. In that way we can learn whether he was a horse solider or foot soldier and what kind of weapons in use at that time.
  • 22. Sculptural representation of sati The panel also depicted husband and wife doing worship of shivling (symbolic representation of Lord shiva) this indicates that the sati is united with her husband in the heaven. Some sati memorial pillars depict only a woman’s hand with bangles placed between emblem of sun and moon and a short inscription with the date of burning of the sati with her husband. But some of the longer records gave the name of the village and the reigning king, they also gave valuable aid both to history and geography
  • 24. Sati stones showing Shivling worship and inscription bears name of sati and his husband
  • 25. Hand with bangles depicts the blessing of sati
  • 26. Table 1 sati stones of central India District Village No. of sati Period stones Rajargh Sundersi 40 10th to 17th Jirapur 20 17th 18th century Vidisha Ahmadpur 15 17th 18th century Dhar Amjhera 37 14th ,17th , 18th century Ashoknagar Chanderi 34 13th to 18th century Khimalsa Sagar 51 1453 to1823
  • 27. Sculptural representation of sati • The memorial pillars usually divided in three vertical panels The lower panel portrays ,the scene of battle. The husband of sati shown prominently either on foot, on horse or on elephant back . In case of king or Generals an umbrella is shown over his head. The top panel represents the heaven Sun and Moon . The representation of sati which is common in India from north to south is the right hand of sati bent upward to the elbow sometimes holding lemon between the thumb and forefinger.
  • 28. Sculptural representation of sati • The holding of a lemon is a symbolic representation of offering themselves to their husbands. Lemon is also used for sacrificing ritual in Hindu religion. The husband usually shown on her right by holding the right hand of sati or placing his left hand over shoulder of sati. If the hero is having more than two wives committing sati then all of them were shown.
  • 29. Sati’s of khimlasa The Sager district contains large numbers of sati stones. Khimalsa an old town , contains the largest numbers of sati stones ;51 of these are inscribed. Almost all are dated but in about a dozen pillars figures are illegible. The dates range between 1453-1823 A.D. Some of them mention the names of the Mohammedan Emperor Shahjahan, Nourangshah (Aurangzeb)and also the names of Sarkar the district to which khimalsa belonged. The sati’s of khimalsa belonged to various castes such Kori (weaver) Nai (Barber) Silat (mason) ,etc. In some of them the caste name is written, in others the caste marks are carved, such as a hammer and anvil for a blacksmith, razor for a barber, and so on.
  • 30. Medieval references of sati in central India • Ibnabatuta While passing through the city of Amjhera he witnessed three women committing sati whose husband were killed in fighting at Sumera of Sindh. I have registered 37 sati stones in one funeral ground here.
  • 31. Sati cenotaphs at Amjhera
  • 32. Royal Cenotaphs at Amjhera • At the funeral of rulers attendants also used to burnt with wife or wives. This stone depicts a attendant, carrying fan (chanvar) burnt alive with the ruler.
  • 35. Sati stone with inscription
  • 36. Depiction sun and moon symbolize the glory of sati as long as they exit
  • 43. Sati ritual depicted a lady sitting amidst the fire holding her husband’s body
  • 44. Sati earthen ware memorial sketch by Fanny Parks 1820
  • 46. FOUR FACED SATI MEMORIAL • Earliest example of Sati memorial cubical shaped with depiction on each face. • Mainly of 11th and 12 th century period. • Profession and daily routine can also be found.
  • 47. “During my long sojourn in India I have observed that nearly all the sati monuments are placed on the western bank either of a stream or of a reservoir, with the face towards east.” Cunningham
  • 48. Sati stones usually found near water sources. I found about 20 sati stones and cenotaphs near this reservoir at Chanderi
  • 49. Sati in converted Muslims • There are some examples of Muslim sati also Cunningham mentioned some Muslim sati tomb in central India. This indicates that these converted Muslim followed the Hindu faith.
  • 52. The handprints of sati which left out by the satis later engraved on Fort walls
  • 57. Deceased Wife 2 Wife 1
  • 59. Example of Anugaman ( to follow), women committing sati with husband’s turban or shoes.
  • 63. Dated 1885 A.D day Monday name of sati “Dayali” husband’s name ( illegible)
  • 64. Sati worship in rural India • When a woman committed sati a memorial erected in her memory, and worship made to her as a goddess. Partly this is worship of general homage and respect, partly it is for specific benefits, of which female fertility is important.