Antyesti
Antyesti (
The details of the Antyesti ceremony depend on the region, social group, gender and age of the dead.[5][6][7]
Etymology
Antyeṣṭi (अन्त्येष्टि) is a composite Sanskrit word of antya and iṣṭi, which respectively mean "last" and "sacrifice" or "auspicious ceremony".[8] Together, the word means the "last sacrifice". Similarly, the phrase Antima Samskara literally means "last sacred ceremony, or last rite of passage".[9]
Scriptures
The Antyesti rite of passage is structured around the premise in ancient literature of Hinduism that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe.[10] The soul (Atman, Brahman) is the essence and immortal that is released at the Antyeshti ritual, but both the body and the universe are vehicles and transitory in various schools of Hinduism. The human body and the universe consist of five elements in Hindu texts – air, water, fire, earth and space.[10] The last rite of passage returns the body to the five elements and its origins.[6][10] The roots of this belief are found in the Vedas, for example in the hymns of Rigveda in section 10.16, as follows,
Don't burn him through, Agni; don't scorch him; don't singe his skin, nor his body.|
When you will make him cooked to readiness, Jātavedas, then impel him forth to the forefathers.||
When you will have made him cooked to readiness, Jātavedas, then deliver him to the forefathers.||
When he will embark on the (way) leading to (the other) life, then he will lead at the will of the gods.|
Let your eye go to the sun, your life-breath to the wind. Go to heaven and to earth as is fitting.|
Or go to the waters, if it has been fixed for you there. Take your stand in the plants with your limbs.||— Rigveda 10.16 [11]
The final rites of a burial, in case of untimely death of a child, is rooted in Rig Veda's section 10.18, where the hymns mourn the death of the child, praying to deity Mrityu to "neither harm our girls nor our boys", and pleads the earth to cover, protect the deceased child as a soft wool.[12]
Antyesti practices
The ceremonial offerings varies across the spectrum of
Shmashana - the cremation ground
The cremation ground is called
Cremation rituals
The last rites are usually completed within a day of death. While practices vary among sects, generally, his or her body is washed, wrapped in white cloth, if the dead is a man or a widow, or red cloth, if it is a woman whose husband is still alive,[7] the big toes are tied together with a string and a Tilak (red, yellow or white mark) is placed on the forehead.[6] The dead adult's body is carried to the cremation ground near a river or water, by family and friends, and placed on a pyre with feet facing south.[7]
The eldest son, or a male mourner, or a priest – called the lead cremator or lead mourner – then bathes himself before leading the cremation ceremony.
All those who attend the cremation, and are exposed to the dead body or cremation smoke take a shower as soon as possible after the cremation, as the cremation ritual is considered unclean and polluting.[17] The cold collected ash from the cremation is later consecrated to the nearest river or sea.[15]
In some regions, the sons and other male relatives of the deceased shave their heads and beards and invite all neighbours, friends and relatives, on the tenth, eleventh or twelfth day, to eat a simple meal together in remembrance of the deceased. This day, in some communities, also marks a day when the poor and needy are offered food in memory of the dead.[18]
Modern cremation methods
Both manual bamboo wood pyres and electric cremation are used for Hindu cremations.[19] For the latter, the body is kept on a bamboo frame on rails near the door of the electric chamber.[20] After cremation, the mourner will collect the ashes and consecrate it to a water body, such as a river or sea.
Burial in Hinduism
Apart from the cremation method,
Post Antyesti rituals
Other Indian rituals after death include Niravapanjali, Tarpana, Śrāddha,[21] Rasam Pagri,[22] Pitru Paksha.[23][24][25]
Genealogy registers
Many people visit Hindu pilgrimage sites to perform, Śrāddha ceremonies, like
.- Hindu genealogy registers at Chintpurni, Himachal Pradesh
- Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar
- Hindu genealogy registers at Jawalamukhi,Himachal Pradesh
- Hindu genealogy registers at Kurukshetra, Haryana
- Hindu genealogy registers at Peohwa, Haryana
- Hindu genealogy registers at Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra
- Hindu genealogy registers at Varanasi
Observance by Hindu communities outside India and Nepal
Trinidad and Tobago
Hindus brought into Trinidad and Tobago as indentured laborers for plantations between 1845 and 1917, by the British colonial government, suffered discriminatory laws that did not allow cremation, and other rites of passage such as the traditional marriage, because the colonial officials considered these as pagan and uncivilized barbaric practices. The non-Hindu government further did not allow the construction of a crematorium.[29] After decades of social organization and petitions, the Hindus of Trinidad gained the permission to practice their traditional rites of passage including Antyesti in the 1950s, and build the first crematorium in 1980s.[29]
United Kingdom
In the
See also
- Antam Sanskar
- Cremation in the Christian World
- Cemetery H culture
- Raj Ghat and associated memorials
- Sanskara (rite of passage)
References
- ^ Museum record 2007,3005.2 The British Museum, London
- ISBN 81-85843-03-1, p.411 to 413
- ISBN 9781440836596.
- ^ Antayesti Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany
- ISBN 978-8120803961, pp. 234-245
- ^ ISBN 978-0813540689, pp. 99-100
- ^ ISBN 978-1898723608, pp. 59-60
- ^ anta, yASTi Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary] Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany
- ^ antima, saMskara Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary] Cologne Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, Germany
- ^ a b c Terje Oestigaard, in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Death and Burial (Editors: Sarah Tarlow, Liv Nilsson Stut), Oxford University Press, ISBN , pp. 497-501
- ISBN 978-0140449891, see chapter on Death
- ISBN 978-0140449891, see chapter on Death
- ^ "Cremation of Gandhi's body". UPI.
- ISBN 978-0791432617, pp. 39-42
- ^ ISBN 978-0199172542, p. 58.
- ISBN 978-8120803961, page 272
- ISBN 978-0199231355, pages 757-758
- ISBN 978-0415522366, pp. 66-67.
- ISBN 978-0595701834, p. 292.
- ISBN 978-0700712670, p. 38.
- ^ "Shradh Puja: Five Facts you should Know about Death Anniversary Ritual In Hinduism". NewsGram. 4 September 2017. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-8135-4449-6,
... rasam pagri is the passing of the deceased male's turban to ... 'When people have the funeral gathering, a turban (pagri) is put on the elder son to show he is now responsible for the family ...
- ISBN 978-81-8324-113-7.
- ISBN 978-81-206-0523-7.
- ^ Vidyarathi, L P (1978). The Sacred Complex in Hindu Gaya. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 13, 15, 33, 81, 110.
- ^ Tracing your Asian roots Archived 26 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine www.overseasindian.in.
- ^ Hindu Pilgrimage Marriage Records www.movinghere.org.uk.
- ^ 10 Places Across The World That Help You Trace Your Ancestors, India Times, 29 Jan 2016.
- ^ Marion O'Callaghan (1998), "Hinduism in the Indian Diaspora in Trinidad", Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 2-10.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Jerome (2010-02-10). "Hindu healer wins funeral pyre battle". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ^ Roy, Amit (2010). "UK funeral rights for Hindus". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010.
Further reading
- S. P. Gupta: Disposal of the Dead and Physical Types in Ancient India (1971)
External links
- The Logic of Cremation in Indic Contexts: An Anthropological Analysis, Roger Ballard, United Kingdom, A High Court of Justice ordered analysis of the demand for a right to traditional Hindu and Sikh cremation ritual in the United Kingdom (2006), with Addendum and Supplementary submissions to the Court, Heidelberg University Archive
- My father's Hindu funeral Tanith Carey, The Guardian (2011)