ABSTRACT
The women being members of warrior clans whose menfolk died freely and readily in battle, the pyre seemed a smaller matter and the sacrifice a fairer thing than it did to the women of peace-loving races. The courage of its satis, no less than the desperate valour of its men, casts a sombre magnificence about the story of Chitor. There were three testimonies as to the voluntary nature of suttee during the first twenty years of last century. It is generally supposed that a Suttee takes place with the free will and consent of the widow, and that she frequently persists in her intention to burn. But there are many reasons for thinking that such an event as a voluntary Suttee very rarely occurs: few widows think of sacrificing themselves unless overpowered by force or persuasion, very little of either being sufficient to overcome the physical or mental powers of the majority of Hindoo females.
