Jauhar
The term Jauhar describes a war-related mass suicide that has been passed down several times , especially by Rajput warriors and their wives during the Islamic conquest of northern India .
term
The term jauhar is composed of the Sanskrit words jiv ('life') and har ('defeat') and later mixed with the Arabic word jawhar , which means 'courage' and 'perseverance', but also 'jewel' can mean.
background
The Rajputs are still famous in India today for their pride and willingness to fight. However, when defeats loomed - as with the sieges of the mountain fortresses of Rajasthan - it was considered more honorable to die than to surrender oneself and women and children to the enemy and thus ultimately to the shame of threatened enslavement .
Events
The best-documented Jauhar cases come from the fortress of Chittorgarh in the years 1303, 1535 and 1568: When the besieged could no longer avert defeat, they built a large pyre into which women and children threw themselves; the warriors themselves dared a fatal assault or fell from the fortress walls. Cases have also come down to us from Jaisalmer (1304) and other cities in Rajasthan , but all of them are poorly documented.
See also
- Puputan ( Bali )
- Widow burning ( sati )
literature
RK Gupta, SR Bakshi (Ed.): Rajasthan Through The Ages. The Heritage of Rajputs. Sarup & Sons, New Delhi 2008, ISBN 978-8-17625-841-8 .
