Pashupatinath: The shade of Everyday Darkness
Pashupatinath Temple- a place of pilgrimage for the followers of Sanatana Dharma (eternal religion) which shows the comprehensive aspect of Hindu death rituals, symbols, and processes has been chosen as a part of Dark tourism.
The existence of crematoria (ghats) in the Pashupatinath area is a reminder that all life eventually comes to an end and as mortal finite beings, we shall live so we shall die. Henceforth, as the central tenet of dark tourism is death, Hindu death rituals in Pashupatinath could be firmly brought into the realms of dark tourism discourse.
The ghat is the funeral or crematorium site situated at the bank of the river, the confluence of the river where the last rites especially of Hindus are performed in order to burn the deceased body and flow the residual ash into the flowing water. The Aryaghat is situated on the eastern side of the Pashupatinath temple and the Bhasmeswarghat on its southern side is the famous ghat of this Pashupatinath Area. The Aryaghat is the main crematory site of Kathmandu valley and the most sacred one to the Hindus due to the presence of the holy river and Lord Pashupatinath. There are two pyres at Aryaghat among which pyre one is near Bramhanal. There is a tradition of placing the corpse at Bramhanal and purifying it with holy water and then bathing the corpse in Bagmati river water prior to fire cremation. There was a tradition in the past, members of the royal family used to get cremated with state honors at no. 1 pyre of Aryaghat. To date, these pyres are considered special. Likewise, no. 2 pyre was for Rana’s rule
At the funeral rituals, the sanctifier’s body is also a kind of actual oblation, in which the body is not to be devoured, but prepared for the world beyond, where the crematory fire will take him.
Burn him not up, nor quite consume him, Agni: let not his body or his skin be scattered,
O all possessing Fire, when thou hast matured him, then send him on his way unto the Fathers.
When thou hast made him ready, all possessing Fire, then do thou give him over to the Fathers,
When he attains unto the life that waits for him, he shall become subject to the will of gods.
The Sun receives thine eye, the Wind thy Prana (life-principle, breathe); go, to earth or heaven.
Go, if it is thy lot, unto the waters; go, make thine home in plants with all thy members.
The Hindus divide the body into two: the “Deha” and “Sharira”. The word “Deha” comes from the root “Daha” which means to burn. The cremation ceremony of the dead body is called Daha Sanskara. The Sharira comes from the root “Siryate” which means that perishes. For Hindus, death is the separation of the soul from the body (at the time of the death the soul, which is believed to be residing in the body, throws away the body as one casts off his garment in other words death could be explained as the state of the soul when it changes a body. This transformation is sequentially conducted through various processions called Sanskaras. The word Sanskaras means to “complete”, “prepare”, “makeover”, “fully form”, and above all, to purify (shuddhi). Every Sanskara is regarded as a transformative action that “refines “and “purifies” the living body, initiating it into new status and relationships by giving it a new birth. It is believed that “through the Sanskaras, one conquers the earth after the birth and conquers the heaven after death”
The Hindu scriptures teach us to perform the sixteen rites (Sanskar) during human life. Antyeshti Sanskaras is the final rite performed for the eternal peace of the Soul. It is a series of rituals performed to mark the death of a person. The rituals consist of washing and preparing the dead for cremation. The intent of the Antyeshti ritual is to convert the body into substances that formed the body at birth i.e. water, air, fire, earth, and ether so that they can return back into the universe at death, completing the cycle of life at an individual level, and keeping the cosmic cycle in motion at a macrocosmic level. The last sacrament in the life of a Hindu is the Antyesti Sanskara or the funeral with which he closes the concluding chapter of his worthy career. At his departure from this world, his survivors consecrate his death for his future felicity in the next world. The word Sanskar denotes that it is a life cycle ritual. The major part of the last sacrament is the practice of reducing a corpse to ashes and burning it down which is called cremation. The Hindus have multi-aspects of cremation whereas they mostly practice cremation with the help of fire, i.e., burning the corpse on the open pyre. Notably, the hermits, saints, and children are buried. Cremation purifies various impurities through Agni(fire). If these Antyeshti Sanskar (Final Rites) are carried out with proper eligible ceremonies, the soul is blessed with eternal peace and gets the opportunity to enjoy the heavenly happiness it desires.
The deceased body covered with a white cloth is taken out from the stretcher and placed on the Bramhanal with its feet touching the water of the Bagmati River, then the deceased body is purified by sprinkling the holy water that comes to Bramhanal from the main sanctum of the Pashupatinath temple. The priest chants mantras and hymns during this process. The clothes along with other items are taken off from the deceased body and flown in the Bagmati River. The body is then wrapped with white cloth and then with a yellow cloth known as pitambar and on top of it with a sacred orange cloth. The body is then taken from Bramhanal and placed on a bamboo stretcher. Relatives, near ones, offer flowers and garlands, especially marigolds, and give condolences. After that, the corpse is tied at three places with a cord made up of babiyo (Eulaliopsis binata). The corpse is then carried on the stretcher on four sides. Paddy and lava (made from roasting paddy) are spread ahead of the corpse till on the way to the pyre. The corpse is moved around the prepared pyre anticlockwise three times and then placed on top of the pyre heading north. The cord is cut off. The eldest son or the one who lights the pyre gets cleaned himself moves three rounds with dagbatti (fire), facing south, and lights the pyre at the mouth of the corpse. During the process, the priest provides guidance and chants mantras and hymns. When the pyre starts burning the Cremator (Ghat) covers the pyre with wet straw and adds fire from beneath and side. During this process male mourners shave their hair and change into white clothes, some change their clothes at the places where kaj-kriya is performed. Normally it takes 2 to 2 ½ hours for the complete burning of the corpse. The remnants of the pyre are cleaned with water separating astu (ashes), which are covered with a wet white piece of cloth and kept in a small earthen or bronze container, later on, it is flown at Bagmati River or buried on the bank of the river. The cremation process is completed after this.
There is an intense period of mourning immediately following the cremation which lasts thirteen days. The performance of Kriya is one of the crucial Sanskaras, or rites of passage, that mark the journey of a Hindu through life and engage not just the recipient but the whole family. Traditions vary, but there are often said to be 16 rites of passage. The first is conducted before birth; the last involves a series of rituals after the soul has left the body to help it complete its transformation from a preta, or disconnected spirit, into a pitri (ghost), or honored ancestor. Typically, the mourners who sleep at the Kriyaputri Bhawan (mourner’s house) are the sons, daughters, and daughters-in-law of the deceased, who engage in the strictest austerities and greatest number of rituals. Mourners are considered impure, which does not mean bad but rather a state of vulnerability and distress. It is an unsettled period when the spirit of the deceased is still attached in a subtle sense to the living, and neither the living nor the dead have quite moved on. Working to purify the body aids in purifying and focusing the mind. A person who is ritually impure also is not in the right condition to make divine offerings, so purification and prayer bring them to a state where they will be able to do that again. It should be noted that mourners at the Kriyaputri Bhawan are near Pashupatinath temple but not inside the temple complex, where mourning would not be conducted. Hindus often try to stay near sacred sites during mourning, but funerals and mourning don’t occur inside temples. The mourning goes on for twelve days. The picture of the deceased is placed and a lamp is lit in front of it. The family members must ensure that the lamp is on during this time. It is believed that during this time the soul is still wandering. On the thirteenth day, a big ceremony is arranged as per the ability of the family. People are invited and delicacies are made. A puja is arranged for the departed soul. With this, the kriyakaram (death ritual also called kriya karma in Nepali) ceremony comes to an end. Each region has different variations of these ceremonies. However, the overall ceremony is almost the same for all.
The rituals of sraddha are a way to pay tribute and gratitude to the ancestors. It is believed that if the rituals are performed with full faith, love, and respect, the ancestors get happy and blessed with all the good fortune. It is stated that by offering this puja to the forefathers and departed dear ones, their souls feel gratified and they bless the person with happiness and prosperity. The shraddha is performed during the lunar days of the Ashwin month. Conceptually, it is a way for people to express heartfelt gratitude and thanks towards their parents and ancestors, for having helped them to be what they are and for praying for their peace. It also can be thought of as a “day of remembrance”. It is performed for both the father and mother separately, on their respective ‘tithi’ — death anniversaries as per the Hindu calendar — Bikram Sambat. In addition, it is performed for the entire community of ‘pitri’- both from the paternal and maternal side -collectively during the pitrupaksha or shraddhapaksha (Fortnight of ancestors), right before Shraddha Navaratri in autumn. The ritual is observed at the bank of the Bagmati River in Pashupatinath area opposite the ghats.
The phenomenon of Hindu death tradition in the ghats of Pashupatinath is inclusive of all the death-related rituals and is a threshold of transition and transgression, a place between life and death. The findings are narrowed down to the aspects of dark tourism like emotional feeling, personal connection, death and suffering, and unique learning experiences. There is a difference in cultural and religious values, aspects like engaging entertainment, education/learning, memorial sites, and dying and death between the eastern and the western view of dark tourism.
It surely is considered a complex, culturally contested, and ideologically laden liminal place. It may offer freedom and peace for some, but are likely to cause anxiety, constraint, or threat for others. This psychodynamic defense mechanism of accepting reality and taking the lesson through the experience of others can be called as intellectualization of emotion.
Another phenomenon that encourages site consumption as a dark tourist product is the incidental visitors whose visits to the sites are often unplanned and their visit to the site is for reasons other than to experience events related to death and burials. As a result, the accidental visitors turn into dark tourists as death rituals are processes that anchor every human being. Henceforth, they participate in the spectatorship. Additionally, dark tourists could be classified into tourists as information seekers and hobbyists. These individuals are at burial sites and graveyards to explore and make discoveries. For a hobbyist, maybe the photographs are more significant than their connection and emotion to death rituals at Pashupatinath Aryaghat. In contrast, for someone with the quest, it is the opportunity for the visitor to learn about the cosmology and belief of Hindus regarding death. Each tradition and steps that are taken during the death ritual represent some meaning which might attract the tourist to learn more.
There are a number of photographs and videos that are uploaded on various social media and websites about the aryaghat where they have analyzed and interpreted the overall death rituals.
This shows that aryaghat provides a unique learning experience for tourist.
Furthermore, the Hindu death ritual site that offers authentic death-related experiences should be brought into dark tourism scholarly debates.
Thank you!
