her garments to benefit from her powers. Lindsey Harlan probes deeper into the sativrata stage. As a transitional figure on her path to becoming a powerful family protector as satimata, the sativrata dictates the terms and obligations the family, in showing reverence to her, must observe in order for her to be able to protect them once she has become satimata. These conditions are generally called ok. A typical example of an ok is a restriction on the colours or types of clothing the family members may wear. Shrap, or curses, are also within the sativrata'''s power, associated with remonstrations on members of the family for how they have failed. One woman cursed her in-laws when they brought neither a horse nor a drummer to her pyre, saying that whenever in future they might have need of either (and many religious rituals require the presence of such a thing), it would not be available to them. Satimata After her death on the pyre, the woman is finally transformed into the shape of the satimata, a spiritual embodiment of goodness, with her principal concern being a family protector. Typically, the satimata manifests in the dreams of family members, for example to teach the women how to be good pativratas, having proved herself through her sacrifice that she was the perfect pativrata. However, although the satimata's intentions are always for the good of the family, she is not averse to letting children become sick, for example, or the cows' udders to wither, if she thinks this is an appropriate lesson to the living wife who has neglected her duties as pativrata. In scriptures David Brick, in his 2010 review of ancient Indian literature, states The earliest scholarly discussion of sati, whether it is right or wrong, is found in the Sanskrit literature dated to 10th- to 12th-century. The earliest known commentary on sati by Medhatithi of Kashmir argues that sati is a form of suicide, which is prohibited by the Vedic tradition. Vijnanesvara, of the 12th-century Chalukya court, and the 13th-century Madhvacharya, argue that sati should not to be considered suicide, which was otherwise variously banned or discouraged in the scriptures. They offer a combination of reasons, both in favour and against sati. In the following, a historical chronology is given of the debate within Hinduism on the topic of sati. The oldest Vedic texts The most ancient texts still revered among