Pativrata

Pativrata (पतिव्रता) is a term used in Hinduism to refer to the conjugal fidelity of a woman towards her husband. It also refers to the term used to refer to a married woman who is faithful and dutiful to her husband. Hindus generally believe that when a wife is devoted to her husband and serves his needs, she brings prosperity and well-being to her family. Pativrata literally means a virtuous wife who has made a vow (vrata) to her husband (pati) of her devotion and protection. A pativrata is described to listen to her husband and act accordingly to his needs. A pativrata is regarded to protect her husband in two ways. Firstly, she attends to his personal needs and encourages him to do his duty (dharma). Secondly, she undertakes various rituals and fasts to please the deities, hoping that they would protect her husband from harm and grant him a long life. Sati is often used as a synonym for a pativrata - one who preserves her purity (sattva) - physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is also used to denote a woman who immolates herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband. The pativrata of a wife towards her husband is a recurring theme in Hindu literature, and occurs in various legends of Hindu mythology. It is a concept that is usually portrayed to be a powerful factor that protects a woman's husband from curses, death, and any ill-omens that threaten his well-being. The Ramayana features Sita, whose pativrata to her husband, Rama, is described throughout the epic. Sita does not hesitate to spend fourteen years of exile that Rama is ordered to undertake in the forest, giving up all of her earthly comforts to fulfil her duty to him. She does not experience any fear when she is abducted by Ravana, and remains faithful to her husband throughout her captivity. In the Uttara Kanda, she does not question the agnipariksha when she is asked to prove her chastity to Rama due to the demands of the common people to do so.