Jauhar is a historical practice of mass self-immolation by women in the Indian subcontinent, predominantly among the Rajputs, to avoid capture, enslavement, and rape by foreign invaders when facing certain defeat in a war. During Jauhar, Hindu women committed suicide with their children and valuables in a massive fire, to avoid capture and abuse in the face of inescapable military defeat. The term Jauhar often connotes both Jauhar-immolation and the Saka ritual. The men would ritually march to the battlefield expecting certain death, which in the regional tradition is called Saka. The practice was intended to show that their honor was valued more highly than their lives. Jauhar was performed during war, usually when there was no chance of victory. Women chose to burn themselves for the sake of preserving royal lineage and defending territory. Fire is also a symbol associated with purity, which is why these rituals were performed. Jauhar and Sati may seem similar on the surface, but the underlying motives behind the practices were vastly different. Sati was the mandatory custom of a widow to commit suicide by sitting on her husband’s funeral pyre, as people believed that she could be with her husband in the afterlife. Jauhar was the prerogative of Rajput royal women, if they so chose.