728 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 13

attain any planet he desires by turning the present body into ashes by
self-made fire. TEXT 58

zenrastaryz2 cea: vet aated |
afe: fac ofa aredt afta Feata UI clI

dahyamane’gnibhir dehe
patyuh patni sahotaje
bahih sthita patimn sadhvi

tam agnim anu veksyati

dahyamane—while it is burning; agnibhih—by the fire; dehe—the body;
patyuh—of the husband; patni—the wife; saha-utaje—along with the
thatched cottage; bahih—outside; sthita—situated ; patim—unto the husband;
saddvi—the chaste lady; tam—that; agnim—fire; anu veksyati—looking
with great attention shall enter the fire.

TRANSLATION

While outside observing her husband who will burn in the fire of
mystic power along with his thatched cottage, his chaste wife will enter
the fire with rapt attention.

PURPORT

Gandhari was an ideal chaste lady, a life companion of her husband, and
therefore when she saw her husband burning in the fire of mystic yoga
along with his cottage of leaves, she despaired. She left home after
losing her one hundred sons, and in the forest she saw that her most
beloved husband was also burning. Now she actually felt alone, and there-
fore entered the fire of her husband and followed her husband to death.
This entering of a chaste lady into the fire of her dead husband is called
the sati rite, and the action is considered to be most perfect for a woman.
In a later age, this sati rite became an obnoxious criminal affair because the
ceremony was forced upon even an unwilling woman. In this fallen age it
is not possible for any lady to follow the sati rite as chastely as it was done
by Gandhari and others in past ages. A chaste wife like Gandhari would
feel the separation of her husband to be more burning than actual fire.
Such a lady can observe the sati rite voluntarily, and there is no criminal
force by anyone. When the rite became a formality only and force was
applied upon a lady to follow the principle, actually it became criminal,
and therefore the ceremony was to be stopped by state law. This prophecy
of Narada Muni to Maharaja Yudhisthira forbade him to go to his widow
aunt.
