How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?

Ram Mohan Roy was well-versed in Sanskrit, Persian and several other Indian and European languages. He tried to show through his writings that the practice of widow burning had no sanction in ancient texts. The strategy adopted by Ram Mohan Roy was used by later reformers as well. Whenever they wished to challenge a practice that seemed harmful, they tried to find a verse or sentence in the ancient sacred texts that supported their point of view. They then suggested that the practice, as it existed at present, was against early tradition. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar used the ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry.