The Hindu practice of Sati or Suttee, wherein a woman, after the death of her husband, would be burned alive on her husband's funeral pyre, was primarily practiced in India during the period 500-1800 AD. Today, it is illegal, and condemned, but for hundreds of years, Hindu widows died in this disturbing manner, often compelled by their family members.
Sati is explicitly advocated for in Hindu scripture, as the duty of a woman, which if performed, would result in reward:
Vishnu Smriti - Chapter 25
1 Now the duties of a woman (are as follows):
12 Not to act by herself in any matter;
13 To remain subject, in her infancy, to her father; in her youth, to her husband; and in her old age, to her sons.
14 After the death of her husband, to preserve her chastity, or to ascend the pile after him.
Parashara Smriti - Chapter 4
30 If a woman follows her departed lord, by burning herself on the same funeral pile, she will dwell in heaven for as many years as there are hairs on the human frame, - which reach the number of three crores and a half (35 million).
Daksha Smriti - Chapter 4
19 A woman, who, after the demise of her husband, ascends the funeral pyre, becomes of good conduct, and lives gloriously in the celestial region.
Agni Purana - Chapter 222
21 A widow as well as the wife of a man who has gone abroad, should not decorate her person. She should always be bent on the worship of god and the welfare of the husband.
22 (A woman whose husband has gone abroad) should wear some ornaments for the welfare (of the husband). The woman (widow) who enters the (funeral) fire along with the (dead) husband would also reach heaven.
Kurma Purana - Chapter 34
108 A woman who enters the funeral pyre along with her husband, shall uplift him even if he is a Brahmana-slayer, an ungrateful fellow or one defiled by great sins.
109 Learned men know this to be the greatest expiation for women.
Garuda Purana - Chapter 107
29 A wife immolating herself with the dead body of her husband at the same funeral pile, shall live in heaven for as many number of years as there are hairs on the human body. A man, bitten by a dog, or by an animal of the kindred species, is purified by mentally reciting the Gayatri Mantra.
Skanda Purana - Book 3, Section 2, Chapter 7
53 A chaste woman who follows her husband from the house to the cremation ground for self-immolation undoubtedly attains the merit of a horse-sacrifice at every step.
54 Just as a snake-catcher forcibly retrieves a snake from its hole, so also a chaste woman retrieves her husband from the messengers of Yama and goes to heaven.
The above scripture led to the horrendous suffering of countless women. Their doctrine compelled them to forfeit their lives, and to die in pain, for no legitimate reason beyond a misplaced sense of duty, and the false promise of an extended stay in a paradise, which did not exist.
In order to make the reality of Sati more tangible, what follows are some contemporary accounts of Sati, when it was still being practiced in India:
The Life and Letters of Raja Rammohun Roy - Chapter 3, pg. 40-41
It has been established on the testimony of European eye-witnesses that at the beginning of the nineteenth century, at any rate, force was used to prevent the victims from escaping from the burning pyre. Mr. J. Peggs published a booklet under the name of "The Suttee's cry to Britain" in which he wrote:
"The use of force by means of bamboos is, we believe, universal through Bengal. In the burning of widows as practised at present in some parts of Hindustan, however voluntary the widow may have been in her determination, force is employed in the act of immolation. After she has circumambulated and ascended the pile, several natives leap on it, and pressing her down on the wood, bind her with two or three ropes to the corpse of her husband, and instantly throw over the two bodies, thus bound to each other, several large bamboos, which being firmly fixed to the ground on both sides of the pile, prevent the possibility of her extricating herself when the flames reach her. Logs of wood are also thrown on the pile, which is then inflamed in an instant."
Francois Bernier (1620-1688 AD) - Letter to Monsieur Jean Chapelain, October 4, 1667 AD
At Lahor I saw a most beautiful young widow sacrificed, who could not, I think, have been more than twelve years of age. The poor little creature appeared more dead than alive when she approached the dreadful pit: the agony of her mind cannot be described; she trembled and wept bitterly; but three or four of the Brahmens, assisted by an old woman who held her under the arm, forced the unwilling victim toward the fatal spot, seated her on the wood, tied her hands and feet, lest she should run away, and in that situation the innocent creature was burnt alive. I found it difficult to repress my feelings and to prevent their bursting forth into clamorous and unavailing rage; but restrained by prudential considerations, I contented myself with silently lamenting the abominable superstition of these people.
James Tod (1782-1835 AD) - The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, pg. 1615-16
The Bijollia chief is greatly reduced, though his estates, if cultivated, would yield fifty thousand rupees annually, but he cannot create more vasi, unless he could animate the prostrate forms which lie scattered around him. It was his daughter who was married to prince Umra, and who, though only seventeen, withstood all solicitation to save her from the pyre on his demise. I made use of the strongest arguments, through her uncle, then at Oodipoor, promising to use my influence to increase his estate, and doubtless his poverty reinforced his inclination; but all was in vain - she determined "to expiate the sins of her lord." Having remained two or three days, we continued our journey in quest of the antique and the picturesque, and found both.
While we can thank God that Sati is now outlawed, it cannot be ignored or dismissed as something non-Hindu. It was a horrible practice, directly tied to the false religion of Hinduism, and only outlawed when the British came to power in India.