dahyamÄne 'gnibhir dehe
patyuḥ patnÄ« sahoá¹aje
bahiḥ sthitÄ patiá¹ sÄdhvÄ«
tam agnim anu veká¹£yati
dahyamÄne - while it is burning; agnibhiḥ - by the fire; dehe - the body; patyuḥ - of the husband; patnÄ« - the wife; saha-uá¹aje - along with the thatched cottage; bahiḥ - outside; sthitÄ - situated; patim - unto the husband; sÄdhvÄ« - the chaste lady; tam - that; agnim - fire; anu veká¹£yati - looking with great attention will enter the fire.
GÄndhÄrÄ« 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 therefore she 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 satÄ« rite, and the action is considered to be most perfect for a woman. In a later age, this satÄ« 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 satÄ« rite as chastely as it was done by GÄndhÄrÄ« and others in past ages. A chaste wife like GÄndhÄrÄ« would feel the separation of her husband to be more burning than actual fire. Such a lady can observe the satÄ« 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 NÄrada Muni to MahÄrÄja Yudhiá¹£á¹hira forbade him to go to his widowed aunt.