HINDOOSTAN. 
IS8 
fered to fupport her; ihe, in an audible voice, declined 
their affiftance ; and went round firm and determined; 
This ceremony being completed, fire entered the inclofure, 
and feated herlelf on the pile in an upright pofture, and 
placed the head of her deceafed hufoand in her lap. Ghee, 
in large quantities, had been previously poured on her head 
and garments; pieces of camphire, cow-dung, plantain 
grafs, rice, flour, Sec. were then fire wed over the body of 
the dead man. Billets of wood were then placed by the 
officiating Brahmins in a pyramidical form around her, 
and a few bundles of very dry brufhwood were placed at 
the top near her head; the facred fire was then given by 
one of the Brahmins to her Ion, who prefented it to his 
mother. The chief Brahmin remained in converfation 
with her fon'a quarter of an hour, during which period 
Die held the torch in her hand ; a leaf of the Shaffer Was 
all’o carried in ; and as the Brahmin did not bring it out 
again, I fuppofe that this was all'o placed on the pile. 
The Brahmin then took leave of her, and when he came 
to the door (as if anxious that an European lhould be a 
witnefs of her fetting fire to the pile with her own hands,) 
he fuffered me to approach, when immediately I faw her 
bow her head on that of her hulband, and on raifmg it, 
fet fire to the brulliwood above her. It did not burn fo 
quick as was expected, during which time Ihe fat as com- 
pofed as if lire had no interelf in the affair. The Brah¬ 
mins clofe to me, feeing this, threw fome fire on the pile, 
and in two feconds the whole was a complete conflagra¬ 
tion.” 
The firft example we have on record of this extraordi¬ 
nary kind of religious fuicide, is related of a contelf be¬ 
tween the wives of Ceteus, an Indian officer, upwards of 
two thoufand years ago, which of them lhould have the 
privilege of being burned on her husband’s funeral pile : 
It is thus Hated : 
“ The contelf was Itrong between the two wives of Ce¬ 
teus, who had been llain in battle, which lhould have the 
dilfinguifhing privilege of burning on her liulband’s fune¬ 
ral pile, (for to one only it is permitted to make this bloody 
facrifice.) One pleaded her priority of conjugal attach¬ 
ment ; the other objeffed her rival’s pregnancy, and that 
Ihe could not confidently with the laws deftroy her infant 
with herfelf. The reafoning of the younger wife being 
admitted, the elder retired with the llrongelt marks of 
dejebfion and defpondency , as if ihe had been found 
guilty of fome great offence. But' the other, rejoicing in 
her viffory, approached the pile crowned with garlands, 
and clothed- in all bridal array. She was led forth by her 
nearelt relations, who fang hymns in celebration of her 
virtues. She then diftributed the ornamental parts of her 
drefs, which was very rich and much adorned with jewels, 
among her furrouhdi’ng friends. Having taken her lalt 
farewell, Ihe was condufted up the pile by her own bro¬ 
ther, and thus finilhed her life heroically, amid the 
Ihouts and acclamations of an immenfe crowd of fpeefa- 
tors. All the troops under arms marched thrice round 
the pile, while the combultibles were lighting up ; and 
Hie, embracing her hulband’s dead body, expreffed no ig¬ 
noble fears or apprehenfions as the flames aproached her. 
This heroine excited the pity of fome fpeftators ; whilft 
others broke forth into extfavagent praifes of her forti¬ 
tude : but fome of-the Greeks, who were prel'ent, repro¬ 
bated fuch praffices as barbarous and inhuman.” 
The doftrine of the metemplychofis, or tranfmigration 
of fouls, Unqueftionably added fuel to thefe facrifices. 
Their notions were of courfe not very lpiritualized ; and 
the ideas entertained of a future ftage of exiffence, gene¬ 
rally correfponded with their fervent hopes in prel'ent 
lives ; and thus thefe unenlightened people could have no 
more exalted conceptions of futurity, than as a Hate, in 
which they were to enjoy every delight of their heart in 
an enlarged degree, and an uninterrupted fruition. It 
was therefore natural to conceive, that what had contri¬ 
buted highly to their gratifications on earth, muff do the 
fame in their future exiffence. Hence thofe friends, thole 
relations and domeftics, who had been beft beloved by, 
the deceafed party, and rnoft ufeful to him on earth* 
would alfo be able to continue their fervices, and to con¬ 
tribute to his happinefs, in his new life. Thus followed 
a denre and readinels on moft occafions in beloved wives, 
or favourite Haves, voluntarily to deprive themfelves of 
that life, which was now become ufelefs here, by the de¬ 
ni ife of their lord ; but which might continue to be for- 
viceable to him where he was gone ; fo that it became a 
matter of lhame and reproach, not to be willing to pay 
this laft tribute of relpefl: and duty. From hence then a 
very fair and probable origin may be traced of an immola¬ 
tion of wives to the manes of their hulbands; an immola¬ 
tion partly voluntary, and partly forced ; in which a -di- 
verfity of rites and cuftoms were obfeved, according to* 
the different fontirnents and religious ulages of the na¬ 
tions among whom it prevailed. But whether thefe prac¬ 
tices firft took their rile in India, and were diffufed from 
thence ; or whether they were copied by the Indians from 
other nations, is equally immaterial, and difficult to de¬ 
termine at this diftance of time; as it is alfo, at what 
period the practice of wives burning in India might com¬ 
mence. However it is pretty clear, that fuch a practice 
could not have prevailed before the Indians had departed 
from the purity of their ancient faith and doctrines ; and 
had fallen much from their fame for wifdom and know¬ 
ledge ; or at leaft till their Brahmins ufed that knowledge 
to the purpoles of gaining an undue influence over the 
minds of the vulgar. The firft aeffual example recorded 
is certainly that of the wife of Ceteus mentioned above, in 
the age lucceeding that of Alexander the Great; but then 
it is declared at that time to have been done according to 
a very ancient cuftom or law of that country. 
The Hindoos generally ere<ft a chapel on the fpot where 
one of thefe facrifices has-been performed; either as an 
endowment to pray for the foul of the deceafed, or as a 
trophy of her heroic virtue. 
With refpeCt to the bloody facrifices of animals, and 
even of the human fpecies, by the hand of the fuperfti- 
tious Hindoos, leveral diftinguilhed writers have endea¬ 
voured to call a veil over this lhocking department of 
their religious ceremonies. Without commenting on the 
benevolent motives of fuch writers, or offering the fmalleft 
criticifm upon 1b alleging a fubjeef, we fhall only l'eleft 
a few paflages from the Rudhiradhyaya, or “Sanguinary 
Chapter” of the Hindoo-ritual, as lately tranfiated from 
the Sanlkrit, by W. Blaquire, elq. in the fifth volume of 
the Afiatic Refoarches. From thefe extracts every reader 
will be enabled to judge for himfelf, how far the Hindoos 
are implicated, at the prefent day, in the moft vile of the 
Gentile or Heathen rites. 
“ The ceremonies and rules to be obferved in facrifices-,, 
being duly attended to, are productive of the divine fa¬ 
vour. Birds, tortoifes, alligators, fifti, nine fpecies of 
wild animals, buffaloes, bulls, he-goats, ichneumons,, 
wild boars, rhinocerofes, antelopes, guanas, rein-deer, li¬ 
ons, tigers, men, and blood drawn from the offerer’s own 
body, are looked upon as proper oblations to the goddefs 
Chandica, [a form of Cali,] the Bhairavas, See. It is 
through facrifices that princes obtain blifs, heaven, and 
victory over their enemies. 
“ The pleafure which the goddefs receives from an ob¬ 
lation of the blood of fifti and tortoifes, is of one month’s 
duration, and three from that of a crocodile. By the 
blood of the nine fpecies of wild animals, the goddefs is 
fatisfied nine months, and for that fpace of time continues 
propitious to the offerer’s welfare. The blood of the wild 
bull and guana give pleafure for one year, and that of the 
antelope and wild boar for twelve years. The farabha’s 
blood fatisfies the goddefs for twenty-five years : this is 
reprefented as an animal of a very fierce nature, faid to 
have eight feet. The buffalo’s and rhinoceros’s blood 
for a hundred ; and that of the tiger, an equal number. 
That of the lion, rein-deer, and the human, fpecies, pro¬ 
duces pleafure which lafts a thoufend years. The fleih 
