When facing inevitable defeat during a battle, the Hindu (Rajput) tradition of mass self-immolation by women, or execution by their husbands, fathers, or brothers, was practiced in India to prevent capture, slavery, and rape by an approaching Islamic army. According to several Jauhar accounts, mothers and their youngsters have self-immolated. The most notable jauhars in recorded history occurred during conflicts among Hindu Rajput kingdoms in Rajasthan and opposing Muslim forces, with the most famous jauhars occurring during wars between Hindu Rajput rulers in Rajasthan and opposing Muslim armies. Jauhar, on the other hand, is conducted during a conflict, generally when there is little hope of victory. Saka, or the last struggle in war, was part of the ritual.

The name Jauhar is frequently used to refer to both Jauhar-immolation and the saka ceremony. To avoid detention and maltreatment in the face of unavoidable military defeat and captivity, Ahir and Rajput women tried to commit suicide with their kids and belongings in the enormous fire during the Jauhar. Simultaneously or later, the men would rites march to the battleground, anticipating imminent death, a practice known as saka in the area. This was done to demonstrate that their honor was more important than their life.

The usage of Jauhar by Hindu countries has been documented by Muslim authors of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. The mass suicide perpetrated by the ladies of Chittorgarh fort in Rajasthan in 1303 CE, in the face of an occupying horde of the Delhi Sultanate's Khalji empire, is one of the most well-known examples of Jauhar. The Jauhar effect was also experienced in other regions of India, like in northern Karnataka's Kampili kingdom, which succumbed to Delhi Sultanate soldiers in 1327. In Chittorgarh, there is a traditional heroic festival known as the Jauhar Mela, when the forefathers are celebrated.