VIRUDHUNAGAR: A sati stone depicting a warrior who died in jallikattu, dating back to 17th century, has been discovered in Ramanujapuram near Aruppukottai by a history professor.
The stone, dating back to 17th century CE, was identified by R Vijayaraghavan, Assistant Professor in the Department of History at SBK College, Aruppukottai.
The stone – named as Kalveeramman – had been worshipped by the locals for decades. Speaking to TNIE, Vijayaraghavan said: “The stone must be around 320 years old. Though we find sati stones occasionally, what makes this one special is that the warrior must have died in jallikattu, as two jallikattu bulls are carved near him.
His wife had died soon after by ‘sati’ which can be identified with the L-shaped position of her hand”. He said apsaras (heavenly women spirits) have also been sculpted at the bottom so as to show that the spirits of the couple were happily received.
Erstwhile practice
Sati was an erstwhile practice wherein a widow kills herself by sitting on her husband’s pyre. “The custom was followed as widowed women faced intolerable living conditions due to the customs followed back then, which forced the women to choose death over life. The stones were erected to praise their courage,” he said.