What are Hindu funeral rites (antyeshti)?

Grihya Sutras (Ashvalayana and Paraskara)

The household rule books of the Vedic schools give the oldest form of the rite. Elders carry the body, and the relatives follow, the older ones first. At the place of cremation the performer recites Rig Veda verses: “Go on, go on, on the ancient paths”. The texts turn the living back to life. In the Ashvalayana rite the widow, who has lain beside the body, is raised with the verse “Arise, O wife, to the world of life”.

After the cremation the relatives bathe. Each pours out one handful of water and says the family line (gotra) and the name of the one who has died. They do not cook that night; they eat food that is bought or brought to them, without salt for three nights. People who know the old stories sit with them and tell them, to comfort them. Later, the bones are gathered into an urn and given back to the earth with the verse “Go to thy mother Earth”, and a shraddha follows.

These books also allow for distance. Paraskara says that if someone dies far away on a journey, the relatives begin the water offering and the mourning from the day they hear the news. If the period has already passed, they keep it for one night or three nights. For a child younger than two, the rule is burial, not cremation, and no water offering.

Sources for this reading

• Hermann Oldenberg (tr.), The Grihya-Sutras, Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies, Part I (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 29, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886), Ashvalayana Grihya Sutra IV.1–5: the body carried by aged persons, relatives following, the older first (IV.2.2, IV.2.9); the widow raised with “Arise, O wife, to the world of life” (Rig Veda X.18.8; IV.2.18); “Go on, go on, on the ancient paths” (Rig Veda X.14.7; IV.4.6); one handful of water with the gotra and the name; no cooking that night, bought or ready-made food, no saline food for three nights (IV.4.10–16); ten days for Sapindas (IV.4.18); bones gathered into an urn, “Go to thy mother Earth” (Rig Veda X.18.10), then a shraddha (IV.5.1–10). Oldenberg died 1920: public domain. Retold in our words; short phrases quoted. (pp. 236–246; pp. 239 (leaf n250) and 244 (leaf n255) checked on the page images)
• Oldenberg, Grihya-Sutras Part I (SBE 29, 1886), Paraskara Grihya Sutra III.10: a child that has not reached two years is buried without burning and gets no water libation (III.10.2–7); those versed in ancient tales entertain the mourners (III.10.22); “If one dies while being absent on a journey, (his relations) shall sit … from the time when they have heard (of his death), performing the water libation … until the period … has expired; if (that period has already) elapsed, through one night or three nights” (III.10.44–45). Public domain. (pp. 355–359; pp. 358–359 (leaves n369–n370) checked on the page images)
• Oldenberg, Grihya-Sutras Part I (SBE 29, 1886), Ashvalayana Grihya Sutra IV.6.6: the family sit at night “repeating the tales of the aged, and getting stories of auspicious contents, Itihasas and Puranas, told to them”. Public domain. (p. 248 (leaf n259), checked on the page image)

Dharmashastra (Manu)

The Laws of Manu set the time of mourning for close relatives at ten days, and name shorter periods in some cases. Mourners eat food without added salt, bathe, avoid meat and sleep on the ground. Manu gives a separate rule for relatives who live far away. If the news comes within the ten days, they mourn for the days that remain. If it comes after the ten days, they mourn for three days. If it comes after a year, a bath is enough. Manu also says that a child who dies before the age of two is buried in clean ground, not cremated. The number of days differs between communities, and the family priest says which rule the family keeps.

Sources for this reading

• Georg Bühler (tr.), The Laws of Manu (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 25, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886), V.59 (ten days among Sapindas, or shorter), V.68–69 (a child that dies before the end of its second year is buried in pure ground, not burnt), V.73 (mourners eat food without factitious salt, bathe, abstain from meat, sleep on the ground), V.74–77 (a relative who dies in a distant country: the remainder of ten days; after ten days, three days; after a year, a bath). Bühler died 1898: public domain. Retold in our words. (pp. 178–181; p. 181 (leaf n326) checked on the page image)

Later custom (as recorded in 1883 and 1920)

Later custom keeps the old core and adds much. Margaret Stevenson recorded the practice of Brahman families in Gujarat in 1920. When a person is near death, a lamp of ghee is lit beside them, and the family priest reads from the Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads, or recites the thousand names of Vishnu. After death, a tulsi leaf and a few drops of Ganga water are placed in the mouth, and the son or a near relative says “Om” in the ear. The body is bathed and wrapped in new cloth, and the family bows to it and walks around it. At the pyre the nearest relative, nearly always the eldest son or the husband, lights the fire and says “Om”. When no body can be found, families make a small figure of darbha grass and perform the same rites for it.

Monier Monier-Williams recorded in 1883 that, a few days after the cremation, the family gathers the ashes and bones and gives them to a sacred river, if possible the Ganga. Places such as Nashik on the Godavari keep a set place for this.

Sources for this reading

• Margaret Stevenson (Mrs Sinclair Stevenson), The Rites of the Twice-Born (London: Oxford University Press, 1920), chapter VII, “Death”: a lamp of clarified butter beside the dying person, and the family priest asked to read from the Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads, or to recite the thousand names of Vishnu (p. 142); a tulsi leaf in the mouth, drops of Ganges and Jamna water, and Om whispered in the ear by the son or a near relative (p. 143); the body bathed and wrapped in new cloth, the family bows and walks round it (pp. 144–145); the pyre lit by the nearest relative, nearly always the eldest son of a man who has died or the husband of a woman who has died, repeating Om (p. 150); a figure of darbha grass burnt with the same rites when no body can be found (p. 151). Stevenson describes Brahman families of Gujarat and Kathiawar. She died in 1957 (Library of Congress name authority n86817364, “Stevenson, Sinclair, Mrs., 1875-1957”): the book is public domain in the US and India, but in copyright in the UK, the EU and Australia until December 31, 2027. Cited only: facts restated in our own words, nothing quoted; her own judgements are not repeated. (pp. 142–151; pp. 142, 143, 150 and 151 (leaves n169, n170, n177, n178) checked on the page images)
• Monier Monier-Williams, Religious Thought and Life in India, Part I (London: John Murray, 1883), chapter XI, “Death, Funeral Rites, and Ancestor-worship”: the bone-gathering ceremony, after which the ashes and bones are “thrown into some sacred river—if possible the Ganges”; the Garuda Purana's rule of an effigy of kusha grass when the body is not found (p. 300); the Asthi-vilaya-tirtham at Nasik on the Godavari (pp. 301–302). Monier-Williams died 1899: public domain. His own judgements are not repeated. (pp. 300–302; p. 300 (leaf n315) checked on the page image)

For families far from home (practice today)

First call the family priest or the local temple. They know the family's custom and can guide each step, in person or by phone. Then call close family, in India and abroad. The texts already make room for relatives who hear the news far away.

In a hospital, tell the nurse in charge that the family follows Hindu rites. Ask if the family may sit with the person, keep a lamp (many hospitals allow only an electric one) or play a recording of the Gita or of the name of God, and, after death, place a tulsi leaf and a few drops of Ganga water in the mouth. Ask for the hospital's chaplaincy or spiritual care team if the family needs help. A doctor must confirm the death, and sometimes a medical examiner or coroner must check it. This can take a few days. Such a wait is common, and the family priest can guide the family while it waits.

In England and Wales, the medical examiner's office tells the family when it may register the death, and the family registers it within five days of that (in Scotland, within eight). The register office then gives the “green form”, which the funeral director needs. In the United States the funeral home usually files the death certificate. Under the Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule, a funeral home must give prices by phone and a written price list, and the family may buy only what it wants. No state law requires routine embalming. For cremation, a simple container may be used instead of a casket.

Many crematoria abroad can let the family take part. Ask, when the cremation is booked, if the family can see the coffin enter the cremator, and if a son, husband or other family member may start it, in place of lighting the pyre. Ask the funeral home too if the family may wash and dress the body and say prayers there before the cremation.

For the ashes there are several choices. In England, Environment Agency guidance says that ashes themselves do little harm to river water, and some areas name a place on a flowing river for them; keep wreaths, plastic and metal out of the water and off the bank. In the United States, ashes may go into the sea at least three nautical miles from land, and the family must tell the Environmental Protection Agency within thirty days. Rules for rivers and lakes differ by state. Many families take the ashes to India for the Ganga or another sacred river. The Transportation Security Administration lets ashes go in hand luggage in a container of wood or plastic that its X-ray can see through; its officers will not open it. Check the airline's rules, and the papers the Indian consulate asks for, before travel.

Sources for this reading

• GOV.UK, “What to do after someone dies” (page updated December 2, 2024): the doctor confirms the death, which “can take a few days”, and the medical examiner checks the cause; the medical examiner's office confirms when the death may be registered; register within 5 days (8 days in Scotland) of getting that confirmation; the certificate for burial or cremation (“the green form”) goes to the funeral director. Read October 13, 2026; re-read October 15, 2026. Facts restated; nothing copied.
• US Federal Trade Commission, “The FTC Funeral Rule”: prices on the telephone; a General Price List to keep; buy only the arrangements you want; alternative containers for cremation; “No state law requires routine embalming for every death”; a casket or urn bought elsewhere must be accepted. Read October 13, 2026; re-read October 15, 2026 (the page is dated July 2012).
• Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, “Questions about cremation”: relatives may witness the committal (a viewing area, a CCTV room or a supervised group, by crematorium); the crematorium must be told when the cremation is booked. London Borough of Lewisham, “Culturally inclusive funerals at Hither Green Crematorium” (June 11, 2025): a viewing system lets Hindu and Sikh families observe the moment of cremation. Read October 13, 2026; both re-read October 15, 2026.
• Environment Agency, “Funeral Ash Scattering Guidelines” (published by Bedford Borough Council, July 2024): ashes have little impact on water quality; personal items and wreaths must not be put in the water or left on the bank; it names one place on the River Great Ouse for Bedford Borough and says it follows the Agency's national policy. Read October 13, 2026; re-read October 15, 2026 (Environment Agency logo on the leaflet).
• US Environmental Protection Agency, “Burial at Sea”: cremated remains at least three nautical miles from land; notify EPA within 30 days; inland waters are under state rules. Read October 13, 2026; re-read October 15, 2026.
• US Transportation Security Administration, “Cremated Remains” (last updated July 10, 2018): carry-on yes; a container of wood or plastic is suggested; an opaque container will not be allowed; officers will not open a container; some airlines do not allow remains in checked bags. Read October 13, 2026; re-read October 15, 2026.
• Consulate General of India, San Francisco, “Death Documents Attestation – Transportation of Ashes/Mortal Remains to India”: register the death with the consulate through eSEWA; documents and fees for ashes are listed per case. Each consulate keeps its own list. Read October 13, 2026; re-read October 15, 2026.
• Oldenberg, Grihya-Sutras Part I (SBE 29, 1886), Paraskara Grihya Sutra III.10.44–45: rules for relatives who hear of a death from far away. Public domain. (pp. 358–359 (leaves n369–n370))
• Bühler, Laws of Manu (SBE 25, 1886) V.74–77: rules for relatives who hear of a death from far away. Public domain. (p. 181 (leaf n326))

Sources

• Bhagavad Gita, 2.22
• The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Bhagavad Gita 2.22 (SBE 8, p. 45, leaf n58), quoted verbatim from our record of Telang's translation)
• Monier Monier-Williams, Religious Thought and Life in India, Part I (London: John Murray, 1883): “Funeral rites are called ‘the last sacrifice’ (antyeshti), that is to say, the sacrifice of the body in fire”; funeral and shraddha rites both offer balls (pinda) of rice or flour and water. Public domain. His own judgements are not repeated. (p. 285 (leaf n300), checked on the page image)
• Lala Lajpat Rai, The Arya Samaj (London: Longmans, Green, 1915): “The sixteen Sanskars, i.e., sacraments or sacred ceremonies, beginning with conception and ending with cremation after death” (p. 134). Lajpat Rai died 1928: public domain. (p. 134 (leaf n169), checked on the page image)

Samskaras and family rites

We give no muhurat for this rite. The family priest and the family’s own custom guide it.

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