Sati

“ Everywhere, in niches of the walls, under trees, on pedestals at frequent corners, are idols, hideously ugly; red idols, idols with silver faces and stone bodies, some with mouths from ear to ear, big idols, little idols, the worst omnium gatherum imaginable. Sati, nothing visible but her curious silver face, beams over a black mother-hubbard sort of gown that conceals whatever she may possess in the way of a body ”

“ One day, whilst out hunting, he happened to pass a funeral pyre, upon which a Brahman’s widow had just become Sati (a holy woman) with the greatest fortitude. On his return home he related the adventure to Sita Rani, his spouse, and she at once made reply that virtuous women die with their husbands, killed by the fire of grief, not by the flames of the pile. To prove her truth the prince, after an affectionate farewell, rode forth to the chase, and presently sent back the suite with his robes torn and stained, to report his accidental death. ”

“ Durgā, who is also called Satī and Annapurnā, is the goddess who distributes rice to the hungry. To the world she is as mother, who cares not for herself, but for her children only; and Çiva is the ideal of a Hindu householder, never ruffled in temper, immoveable, immaculate and merciful, their union representing the fulfilment of the spiritual vows given and accepted in marriage, that two will live for one another and for others. How perfect this mutual love was, is proved in the death of Satī. Her devotion to Çiva was so great that she could not bear to hear him abused by her father Dakṣa. ”

“ The story alluded to by the poet is this;—"Daksha was the son of Brahma and father of Satí, whom, at the recommendation of the Rishis, or Sages, he espoused to Siva, but he was never wholly reconciled to the uncouth figure and practices of his son-in-law. Having undertaken to celebrate a solemn sacrifice, he invited all the Gods except Siva, which so incensed Satí, that she threw herself into the sacrificial fire."— (Wilson, Specimens of Hindu Theatre, Vol. II. p. 263.) The name of Satí meaning good, true, chaste woman, is the modern Suttee, as it is pronounced and corruptly written. ”

“ The Satî having thus secured the honour of deification by her sacrifice, is able to protect her worshippers and gratify their desires. Some are even the subject of special honour, such as Sakhû Bâî, who is worshipped at Akola.24 Even the Drâvidian Kaurs of Sarguja worship a deified Satî, another [188] link connecting the cultus with the aboriginal races. She has a sacred grove, and every year a fowl is sacrificed to her, and every third year a goat. ”

“ In Hindu mythology she is once described as Adya Sakti, Primæval Energy, Primum Mobile of the Gods, again she is said to be Sati, the daughter of Daksha, Cœlum, and next as the progeny of Himavat and consort of the Kailasian Siva, in which last attribute she is compared with the Olympian Juno, consort of Jove of the Greek Pantheon, and with Isis, Isi, the wife of Osiris, Isvara, of ancient Egypt, as also with the Holy Virgin, Alma-mater of Christian theology, with Allahat of the idolatrous Arabs, and with Astarte or Ashtaroth of the early Assyrians. ”

“ Carried over by the west wind, I passed over to the east to the quarries of Aku and the land of the goddess Herit, mistress of the red mountain (Gebel Ahmar) . Then I fled on foot, northward, and reached the walls of the prince, built to repel the Sati. ”

“ It was after Sati burned herself that the sorrowing Shiva was wounded by Kamadeva, the love god, whom he slew by causing a flame of fire to dart from his third eye. This god is the son of Vishnu and Lakshmi. He is usually depicted as a comely youth like the Egyptian Khonsu; he shoots flowery arrows from his bow; his wife Rati symbolizes Spring, the cuckoo, the humming bee, and soft winds. As Manmatha he is the “mind-disturber”; as Mara, “the wounder”; as Madan, “he who makes one love-drunk” ”

“ Calling a means an end does no harm, except that it disguises its real character; but it does not deprive it of its real nature, that of a means. You may pass a law that all cats are dogs, just as you can call a means an end. But you can no more change the nature of means thereby than you can turn cats into dogs; consequently I am justified in holding that, whether regarded as ends or as means, Sati, enforced widowhood and girl marriage are customs that were primarily intended to solve the problem of the surplus man and surplus woman in a caste and to maintain its endogamy. ”

“ As the fate of the fruit is unknown, a Newari is supposed never to become a widow. At the age of puberty a husband is selected, but the woman can at any moment divorce herself by placing a betel-nut under her husband’s pillow and taking her departure. Adultery is punished by the imprisonment and fine of both the adulteress and her paramour. Sati has been abolished in Nepal by law.
Gaols.—There are three large prisons in the Nepal valley, one for males and two for females ”

“ We had never been able to fathom how deeply Satish loved his uncle. Jagamohan was alike father and friend to him,—and, it may be said, son as well; for the old man had been so regardless of himself, so unmindful of worldly concerns, that it used to be one of the chief cares of Satish to look after him and keep him safe from disaster. Thus had Satish received from and given to his uncle his all. ”

“ I realised that the world into which Satish had been transported had no place for me, his particular friend. The person, whom Satish has so effusively embraced, was not Srivilas, but a representative of all humanity,—just an idea. Such ideas are like wine. When they get into the head any one can be embraced and wept over—I, only as much as anybody else. ”

“ Fig. 4, "Great (?) in knowledge, there is nothing he does not know in heaven and earth, giving rule to the Spirits, who go forth at the sign of his eyes (? reading semed n drtif [i] ) the king of Upper and Lower Egypt Neb-maat- [ra] ... The golden Horus, great by the sword, slaying the Sati. The southerners are coming to him on their bellies, the northerners on account of the power of his spirits. No land stays behind him (ignores him?) ”

“ How then could I venture to appear in the sight of the grandees of my lord, may his victory be glorious, who are an assembly of pious men and the centre of profound scholars? If I were to be led in the ardour of conversation to speak petulantly, I could produce only a trifling stock-in-trade in the noble presence but glass beads are not worth a barleycorn in the bazar of jewellers, a lamp does not shine in the presence of the sun, and a minaret looks low at the foot of Mount Alvend.
Who lifts up his neck with pretentions, Foes hasten to him from every side. Sa'di has fallen to be a hermit. ”

“ Next on the list of our Swahili porters was Sadi ben Heri, who had been up to North Kenia before with the late Dr. Kolb, who was killed by a rhinoceros a couple of marches north of M’thara, Sadi was a short, stoutly built, pugnacious little man, with a great deal to say upon most things, especially those which did not concern him. He was a good worker, but never seemed happy unless he was grumbling; and as he had a certain amount of influence among the men, they would grumble with him, to their great mutual satisfaction but ultimate disadvantage. ”

“ In consequence of that reverence in which the dervish character is held, they did not think of his profligacy and admitted him into their society. The outward character of the holy is a patched cloak; this much is sufficient, that it has a threadbare hood. Be industrious in thy calling, and wear whatever dress thou choosest. Put a diadem on thy head, and bear a standard on thy shoulder. Holiness does not consist in a coarse frock. Let a zahid, or holy man, be truly pious, and he may dress in satin. Sanctity is not merely a change of dress ”

“ III Two years had passed since we lost sight of Satish. My mind revolted against harbouring the least thing evil against him, nevertheless I could not help suspecting that the high pitch at which he used to be kept strung must have been flattened down by this shock.
Uncle Jagamohan had once said of a Sannyasin: ‘As the money-changer tests the ring of each coin, so does the world test each man by the response he gives to shocks of loss and pain, and the resistance he offers to the craze for cheap salvation. Those who fail to ring true are cast aside as worthless. ”

“ Having matriculated, we came to the College at Calcutta; but from that time our lives began to diverge. Satish tried in every way to adopt the manners of Europeans; while I became devoted to my mother-tongue. Satish jeered at me for constantly reading and writing Bengali; while I lost no opportunity of having a fling at him for imitating Europeans. Later Satish went to England and returned a barrister, having completely adopted English ways. ”

“ Was Nirmala's love for literature so great? I thought if Nirmala wrote herself, I would not mind printing the article in The Light of Bengal, after necessary corrections.
Satish had much to relate about her. The happiness of these two young lovers renewed the youth in my mind also. Satish said—"Now I am going. I just looked in to see if the rooms suited you. We shall meet at tea time. You are coming, I hope?" ”

“ When Siddhartha left the grove, where the Buddha, the perfected one, stayed behind, where Govinda stayed behind, then he felt that in this grove his past life also stayed behind and parted from him. He pondered about this sensation, which filled him completely, as he was slowly walking along. ”

“ And Satni, gazing upon the witchery of her bosom, curved like ivory carving, rounded like the eggs of the ostrich, forgot his loving children; and the deed was written.... Even at that moment a messenger came, saying: "O Satni, thy children are below, and await thee." And he said: "Bid them ascend hither."
Then said Thoutboui: "Still will I test thee, since thou dost so desire. If thou wilt have my love, let thy children be put to death, lest at some future time they seek to claim that which thou hast given. So that the house in which I dwell may be thy house!" ”

“ The tall Khitan lifted his head and gazed at Publio, so that the merchant broke into a profuse sweat.
'What do you wish of me?' he stuttered.
'A ship,' answered the Khitan. 'A ship well manned for a very long voyage.'
'For how long a voyage?' stammered Publio, never thinking of refusing.
'To the ends of the world, perhaps,' answered the Khitan, 'or to the molten seas of hell that lie beyond the sunrise.'
15 The Return of the Corsair
Conan's first sensation of returning consciousness was that of motion; ”

“ Sadly grieved by the misfortune of his patron and disgusted with the miserable condition of Persia, Saʽdī quitted Shīrāz and entered upon the second period of his life—that of his wanderings (1226–1256) . He proceeded via Balkh, Ghaznī and the Punjab to Gujarāt, on the western coast of which he visited the famous shrine of Sīva in Somnath. After a prolonged stay in Delhi, where he learnt Hindūstānī, he sailed for Yemen. Overcome with grief at the loss of a beloved child (when he had married is not known) , he undertook an expedition into Abyssinia and a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. ”

“ Sadi turned with a cry of joy.
"Ludenmayer! You, my friend!" he exclaimed.
"Sadi! Old Sadi the fiddler! Impossible!"
"Indeed, it is possible. Old Sadi, as you say, and so hungry that he could eat the bones off your dishes."
"Then he shall sup with us. A hungry man makes friends with strange company, and we are that, as you guess, Maître Sadi. Come, sergeant, fill our friend a bowl of soup. Let him spy out that to begin with. Eh, Sadi, you will not refuse a bowl of soup even from the Prussians? Then let us see you fall to. We can talk of old friends afterwards." ”

“ In both the heroes are myths pure and simple.
Sita, the field furrow, had received divine honours from the tune of the Rig-Veda and had been worshipped as a goddess. When cultivation gradually spread in Southern India, it was not difficult to invent a poetical myth that Sita was carried to the south. And when this goddess and woman had acquired a distinct and lovely individuality, she was naturally described as the daughter of the holiest and most learned king on record, Janaka of the Videhas.
But who is Rama, described in the epic as Sita's husband and the King of the Kosalas? ”

“ When the purpose of an evil man is revealed to thee, pull him up by the roots, otherwise will he not desire that thou shouldst live. The alarm being raised, I fled quickly from the land. When thou settest fire to a forest of canes, beware of the tigers, if thou art wise.
Whenever I supplicate at the shrine of the Knower of Secrets, the Indian puppet comes into my recollection—it throws dust on the pride of mine eyes. I know that I raise my hand, but not by virtue of mine own strength. Men of sanctity stretch not out their hands themselves: the Fates invisibly pull the strings. ”

“ I had trusted Sadi with many things, and so far he had never failed me. I felt sure that he liked me, which was more than I would have said for any other member of the human race. But all the same, if he had seen it worth his while to rob or betray, I'd a pretty strong notion that blood instinct would prove too strong, and he'd do it. You see, Sadi's mother was half Arab, half Portuguese; his father was all Portuguese—jail-bird Portuguese; his youth had been spent in Marquez, which is on Delagoa Bay; and these things do not breed immaculate honesty calculated to stand every strain. ”

“ If thou wilt be loved by me, therefore, make over to me by deed all thou hast—thy gold and thy silver, thy lands and houses, thy goods and all that belongs to thee. So that the house wherein I dwell may become thy house!"
And Satni, looking into the long black jewels of her eyes, forgot the worth of all that he possessed; and a scribe was summoned, and the scribe drew [Pg 12] up the deed giving to Thoutboui all the goods of Satni. ”