Three 16th century sati stones found

MADURAI

Three stones with sculptures, belonging to the 16th century, were found at Chatrapatti village of Peraiyur taluk in Madurai by D. Muneeswaran, Head of the Department of History (Postgraduate) of Saraswathi Narayanan College.

All the three stones depicted the ancient practice of sati, said Mr. Muneeswaran, who found these stones near a tank. He said sati was practised in Madurai during the Nayak rule. “According to the practice, women had to immolate themselves after the death of their husbands. They were sometimes forced to commit sati,” he said. Sati stones usually had sculptures of husbands and wives next to each other.

Among the three stones found now, the first sati stone had sculptures of a Nayak period chieftain and his wife. The second sati stone had sculptures of two women and a man. “In both these sati stones, women had a lemon in their right hand and a mirror in their left hand,” he said.

The third stone had a sculpture of a man with a crown and two women on either side of him. “This stone was found in a very damaged condition,” he said, adding none of the stones had any inscriptions.