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As to a smệtivacana being unjustifiably ascribed to some ancient Smstikāra one may cite the example of Kamalakarabhasta (17th Cent.) who in his Nirnayasindhu (trtiya pariccheda, uttarärdha, p. 626, Nirnayasāgara edn.) cites brahmacaryam cared vāpi pravised vā hutāśanam as said by Manu (tathā ca manuh). But the stanza does not occur in the available Manusmrti.
If we now leave the Dharmaśāstra texts and look to the two epics we find that the Rāmāyana contains a single instance in its late Uttarakānda of Vedavati's mother. This was alluded to a little while ago. There is no other instance of sati in the Rāmāyana. None of the wives of king Dasaratha commits sati at his death. It is therefore significant to note that there are few stanzas, considered interpolated in the critical edition in which Kausalyā either gives expression of her wish to commit sati idam sariram älingya praveksyāmi hutāśanam 2.60.* 1534) or says that she is not able to ascend the funeral pyre as she craves to see Rāma after his return from the forest (nyāyyaṁ dharmyam yaśasyam ca mărgam satstrinişevitam / adhigantum na saksyämi rāmasamdarśanāśayā // 2. App. 20.6 ff.; 21. 11. ff.). It is quite clear that these stanzas must have been inserted when the custom of sati had gradually begun to gain ground,
When we come to the Mahābhārata we notice that the custom of sari was not uncommon among the Yādavas who had established themselves in the west. At the death of Vasudeva his four wives Devaki, Bhadrā, Rohiņi and Madirā ascended the funeral pyre (16.8.18.24), and at the death of Krşņa five of his wives, viz.,Rukmini, Gandhari, Saibyā, Haimavati and Jāmbavati entered fire independently, i.e. not with Kșşna's body (16.8. 71).. In the Vişnupurăņa the number of Krşna's wives who entered fire is raised from five to eight and they are said to have burnt themselves along with Krşņa's body (5.38.1-2). There is no other Yadava woman reported in the Mbh. to have committed sati, although Vişnupurāņa again reports Revati to have entered fire with Balarama's body (5.38.3).We can thus see that the custom of sati had gained more ground between the period of the composition of the Mausala parvan of the Mbh.and the composition of the Vişnupurāna.
These instances of sati from among the Yādavas as reported in the Mahābhārata are not so commonly known.
The incident of sati from the Mbh. that is widely known is of course that of Madri. It has a two-fold significance. In the first instance it is the earliest instance of sati recorded in Sanskrit literature; and, secondly, Mādri is the only woman in the Kuru family who is reported to have committed sati. It is therefore necessary to have a close look at it since, as we have seen above, committing sati is not recommended by the authors of the Dharmaśāstra until about third century A.D.
There are two contradictory narrations available in the Mbh.regarding the incidents that took place after the death of Pāndu. According to one narration, when Pandu died Kunti offered to ascend the funeral pyre as she was the elder wife (aham jyestha
Madhu Vidya/476
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