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308 Buddhi 3. Davis RH (2002) Chola Bronzes in procession. In: Dehejia V (ed) The sensuous and the sacred: Chola Būloka Kailasam Bronzes from South India. American Federation of Arts, New York, pp 46–63 4. Davis RH (2009) A priest’s guide to the great festival: ▶ Citamparam (Chidambaram) aghorasiva’s mahotsavavidhi. Oxford University Press, New York 5. Fuller CJ (1984) Servants of the goddess: the priests of a South Indian temple. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Burial (Hinduism) 6. Good A (2004) Worship and the ceremonial economy of a royal South Indian temple. Edwin Mellen Press, Lubomír Ondračka Lewiston 7. Hudson DD (1977) Siva, Minaksi, Visnu–reflections Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, on a popular myth in Madurai. Indian Econ Soc Hist Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Rev 14:107–118 Czech Republic 8. Husken U, Michaels A (eds) (2013) South Asian fes- tivals on the move. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 9. Jacobsen KA (ed) (2008) South Asian religions on display: religious processions in South Asia and in In Vedic India, bodies were disposed of in differ- the diaspora, Routledge South Asian religion series. ent ways ([11, 12]; [15], pp. 168–170); burial was Routledge, London one of them ([8], pp. 61–67). In fact, inhumation 10. Kaali S (1999) Spatializing history: subaltern carnivalizations of space in Tiruppuvanam, Tamil was the original dominant Indo-Aryan funeral Nadu. Subaltern Stud 10:126–200 practice ([28], p. 151), and traces of it are found 11. L’Hernault F, Reiniche M-L (1999) in Vedic literature ([25], pp. 232–233). There are Tiruvannamalai: un lieu saint sivaite du Sud del some surprisingly detailed parallels between l’Inde, 3. Rites et fetes. Ecole francaise d’Extreme-Orient, Paris Vedic funeral customs and old Indo-European 12. Mines DP (2005) Fierce gods: inequality, ritual, and ones ([34], pp. 365–366). Archeological excava- the politics of dignity in a South Indian village. Indiana tions of Sintashta-culture graves (from Chelya- University Press, Bloomington binsk, Russia) have helped scholars decipher 13. Pillay KK (1953) The sucindram temple. Kalakshetra Publications, Adyar, Madras some puzzling Ṛgvedic verses about burial prac- 14. Smith HD (1975) A descriptive bibliography of the tices ([2], pp. 408–409). This knowledge provides printed texts of the pancaratragama. Oriental Institute, clear evidence that inhumation was the earliest Baroda form of funeral practiced by Vedic Indians. 15. Welbon GR, Yocum GE (eds) (1982) Religious festi- vals in South India and Sri Lanka. Manohar, New Although burial was soon replaced by cremation Delhi (antyeṣṭi) as the standard Vedic and, later, Hindu 16. Younger P (1982) Ten days of wandering and romance funeral custom ([14], p. 74), burial has never with lord Ranganathan: The pankuni festival in disappeared completely from Hindu society. On Srirankam temple, South India. Modern Asian Stud 16:623–656 the contrary, inhumation is much more common 17. Younger P (1995) The home of dancing Sivan: the among today’s Hindus than is generally believed. traditions of the Hindu temple in Citamparam. Oxford It is practiced by many communities, either regu- University Press, New York larly as a standard funeral practice or occasionally 18. Younger P (2002) Playing host to deity: festival reli- gion in the South Indian tradition. Oxford University in certain situations. Press, Oxford Low-Caste and Scheduled-Caste Communities Buddhi Burial is by far most widespread in low-caste and, in particular, scheduled-caste (Dalit) Hindu com- ▶ Reason (Hinduism) munities. Unfortunately, no official statistical data Burial (Hinduism) 309 about interment are available, but exhaustive a good death in the same terms: it should be the result research conducted by the Anthropological Sur- of a natural death after having achieved old age; vey of India, which describes 4693 Indian com- violent and premature deaths, as well as deaths munities [38], indicates that burial is a standard from visible diseases or snakebite, are excluded funeral practice in most Hindu (as well as non- ([36], pp. 38–39). The ritual consequences of a B Hindu) Dalit communities and is quite common in good death, however, are opposite in different com- low-caste communities as well. munities. Whereas the good death of a high-caste Three factors, however, complicate this pic- Hindu leads to a pompous cremation ritual (antyeṣṭi), ture. First, in communities where burial is the in low-caste and Dalit communities a good death normative practice, individual families that tradi- typically means that a festive burial will follow. tionally prefer cremation may exist ([37], p. 91). In other words, unlike in higher castes, whose members should all follow the same funeral cus- High-Caste Hindus toms, Dalit society allows greater liberty in decid- ing how to dispose of a dead body. Second, for If a high-caste Hindu dies a bad death, his or her financial reasons burial may be a common prac- body cannot be cremated and must be disposed of in tice even in communities that clearly prefer cre- a different fashion. Burial is practically the only mation (but that deem burial acceptable; [10], other option, whether it is an earth burial, or, more p. 197). The high cost of wood means that even commonly, a water burial in which the corpse is the simplest cremation is quite expensive and thus disposed of in a river (or in rare cases in the sea). out of reach for most members of these commu- Earth burial is traditionally reserved only for small nities. Third, the standard funeral practices within children. The texts do not agree on the age at which a community can change over time. This process a child should no longer be buried and instead can (called Sanskritization) is motivated by the desire be cremated in the traditional way ([25], of members of lower-caste communities to move pp. 227–228); actual practices are also quite diverse up in the local social hierarchy by emulating the in different communities ([17], pp. 510–511). The customs of high-caste Hindus. Since cremation is question is clear only in the case of Brahman boys: regarded as a ritual characteristic of higher castes, after initiation (upanayana), they must be cremated. many Dalit and low castes have decided to aban- In all other cases of bad death, water burial don their traditional funerary customs and have should be used. Although what defines a bad accepted cremation as their new standard funeral death is seemingly obvious, it is still a murky practice ([18], p. 68; [26], pp. 175–176). issue in Hindu texts and in everyday practice. Apparently, burial in low-caste and Dalit Hindu Today, there is a strong tendency to consider as communities is a complicated topic. Not only is it many deaths as possible good deaths ([35], difficult to determine who exactly practices burial, pp. 185–186). Thus, most people who have died but it is nearly impossible to generalize what such a violent death (typically in a car crash or another funerals look like. Contrary to high-caste Hindus, type of accident, as a result of crime, etc.), which who are – at least theoretically – bound by textual is theoretically a bad death, are in fact cremated. prescriptions that ensure their death rituals follow a The bodies of those who have died of snakebite, relatively uniform pattern, low castes and Dalits do of several feverish diseases, and of diseases that not possess similar unifying normative texts. Con- visibly harm the body (such as leprosy) are sequently, funeral rituals in these communities are unequivocally disposed of in water. The bodies extremely diverse, and therefore, no general of young unwed girls are also commonly thrown descriptions can be made. into rivers. It must, however, be added that water Nevertheless, all strata of Hindu society have one burial is illegal in India. Nonetheless, this custom death-related concept in common: the distinction is still widely practiced, and the Ganges in partic- between a good and a bad death. All Hindus define ular suffers drastically because of it. 310 Burial (Hinduism) Liṅgāyats and Nāths the other hand, in some places practicing crema- tion may help the Nāths be better accepted into The Liṅgāyats and the Nāths are two large, impor- upper-caste Hindu society because burial is usu- tant Indian communities that traditionally bury ally understood by high-caste Hindus to be either their dead. The Liṅgāyats (also known as the a low-caste or Dalit custom, or, even worse, a Vīraśaivas), who predominantly live in the South vestige of the possible Muslim origin of the Nāths. Indian state of Karnataka, comprise a group with a complicated identity because many official Liṅ- gāyat representatives do not consider themselves Ascetics and Yogis to be Hindu. It is true that Liṅgāyat teachings and religious practice diverge from mainstream Hin- The majority of today’s Hindus are apparently duism in many key respects (e.g., Liṅgāyats do unaware of the fact that in India, ascetics, yogis, not believe in reincarnation of the soul), but nearly and saints are traditionally buried. In fact, burial has everyone in India (as well as Western and Indian been an organic part of Brahmanical Hinduism scholars) consider Liṅgāyats to form one of many since early times ([1]; [15], pp. 172–174; [25], Hindu traditions, which is also clear from their pp. 229–231; [33], pp. 176–180). There are several history. In any case, Liṅgāyats bury their dead possible explanations for this practice. For example, ([3]; [32], pp. 49–51) in elaborate rituals (which during a standard Hindu cremation ritual, the are described in detail, with accompanying man- funeral pyre should be ignited by the ritual fire tras and photographs, in [30]). Contrary to the kept in the house of the deceased person, but in customs of low-caste and Dalit Hindus, who usu- the case of the ascetic, this fire is interiorized at the ally bury bodies in a lying position, Liṅgāyats moment of renouncement and the physical fire deposit their deceased in a sitting position and extinguished. Therefore, there is no ritually appro- place a stone over the graves, which are called priate fire with which the pyre could be lit. More- samādhi and are concentrated at designated areas, over, before being initiated into an ascetic order, a Liṅgāyat cemeteries. candidate must perform his own death rites, because Another community, or more precisely com- in joining the order he loses his caste status and munities because they are spread over all India, becomes symbolically “dead” to the outside Hindu Nepal, and Bangladesh, who traditionally bury caste society ([13], p. 228; [24], p. 43). their dead, are the Nāths, earlier better known as Consequently, ascetics are not bound by the Jogīs or Jugīs ([7], pp. 305, 310; [19], pp. 99–102; social and religious rules prescribed to other [20], p. 49; [27], p. 410). Similar to Liṅgāyat Hindus. Therefore, the death and ancestor rituals practice, dead bodies in a sitting yogic position of upper-caste Hindus are either not performed or are deposited in graves, which are, however, replaced by different rites ([5], pp. 153–157; [7], rarely marked by gravestones. Typically, a few pp. 46–54; [9], p. 37). While rites differ between stones are put on the grave ([20], p. 50), but orders, all share the practice of burying the body more elaborate and expensive samādhi may be in a sitting yogic position and building a samādhi built for a respected or wealthy member of the stone over the grave ([6], pp. 43–46), which, in the community. Nāths usually do not have cemeteries; case of important figures and heads of the order in they tend to bury their dead near the house where particular, may be quite spectacular and resemble the deceased person lived. This lack of traditional a small temple. These samādhis are usually burying grounds brings serious problems to Nāths located in a monastery or temple complex and living in cities, where there is no space for indi- may attract many pilgrims who come to pay vidual graves. Unless they still have a connection their respects, make an offering, and ask for a with their ancestral village where they can bury a boon ([22], p. 318; [29]; for a similar Jaina prac- deceased family member, many urban Nāths are tice, see [16], p. 8). An alternative to earth burial now forced to deviate from their traditional commonly practiced by ascetics is a water burial funeral practice and cremate their corpses. On (jalasamādhi), in which the body is thrown into a Burial (Hinduism) 311 river, preferably the Ganges, either in a sitting ▶ Nātha Siddhas (Nāths) yogic position or in a stone coffin ([7], p. 46; [9], ▶ Rebirth (Hinduism) p. 37; [13], pp. 228–229). A water burial may be ▶ Saṃnyāsa also elected by a living ascetic who decides to ▶ Sanskritization (Hinduism) voluntarily end his live and die in this way. ▶ Śrāddha B ▶ Vīraśaivism ▶ Yama Conclusion The groups and customs covered in this entry References represent the most important examples of Hindu burial practices. The list is thus not exhaustive; on 1. Acharya D (2010) The Anteṣṭividhi: a manual on the last rite of the Lakulīśa Pāśupatas. J Asiat 298:133–156 the contrary, many other communities commonly 2. Anthony DW (2010) The horse, the wheel and lan- practice burial ([4]; [21], p. 461; [23], guage: how Bronze-Age riders from the Eurasian pp. 161–183). Additionally, there are also com- steppes shaped the modern world. Princeton Univer- munities in which a dying person can choose sity Press, Princeton between burial and cremation. Furthermore, in 3. Assayag J (1987) Le cadavre divin: célébration de la mort chez les Liṅgāyat-Vīraśaiva (Inde du Sud). some upper-caste communities, which strongly L’Homme 27:93–112 prefer the standard Hindu cremation ritual, burial 4. Bouillier V (1976) Funeral observances of a group of can be an acceptable option if a family has finan- non-ascetic Sunyasi in central Nepal. Contrib Nepa- cial difficulties, particularly if the grave may be lese Stud 3:36–45 5. Bouillier V (1997) Ascètes et rois: un monastère de located at or near a sacred place ([31], p. 187). Kanphata yogis au Népal. CNRS, Paris Moreover, many Indian tribes (Ādivāsīs) bury 6. Bouillier V (2008) Grottes et tombes: les affinités des their dead as a standard funeral practice, and sev- Nāth Yogīs avec le monde souterrain. Riv Studi eral of these groups are Hinduized or semi- Sudasiatici 3:33–48 7. Bouillier V (2017) Monastic wanderers: Nāth yogī Hinduized ([39], pp. 151–170). ascetics in modern South Asia. Manohar, New Delhi Burial as a Hindu funeral practice is a compli- 8. Butzenberger K (1996) Ancient Indian conceptions on cated issue. Reliable data from further historical man’s destiny after death: the beginnings and the early and anthropological research, particularly infor- development of the doctrine of transmigration, I. Berl Indologische Stud 9:55–118 mation about the real frequency of burial in 9. Clark M (2006) The Daśanāmī-saṃnyāsīs: the integra- today’s society, are needed to gain a better under- tion of ascetic lineages into an order. Brill, Leiden standing of Hindu burial practices. Further 10. Clark-Decès I (2005) No one cries for the dead: Tamil research is not needed, however, to make one dirges, rowdy songs, and graveyard petitions. Univer- sity of California Press, Berkeley conclusion: burial is obviously a much more com- 11. Datta BN (1936) Vedic funeral customs and Indus mon practice than is generally believed. Perhaps Valley culture. Man in India 16:223–307 the great Indian scholar and expert on death rituals 12. Datta BN (1937) Vedic funeral customs and Indus in India S. Settar is right when he says “most Valley culture. Man in India 17:1–68 13. Denton LT (1992) Varieties of Hindu female asceti- Hindus do not cremate” [40]. cism. In: Leslie J (ed) Roles and rituals for Hindu women. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 14. 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Sherma • Pankaj Jain • Madhu Khanna Editors Hinduism and Tribal Religions With 48 Figures and 32 Tables Editors Jeffery D. Long Rita D. Sherma Department of Religion and Asian Studies The Graduate Theological Union Elizabethtown College Berkeley, CA, USA Elizabethtown, PA, USA Pankaj Jain Madhu Khanna Department of Humanities & Languages Centre for the Study of Comparative Philosophy & Religious Studies Religions and Civilizations The India Centre Jamia Millia Islamia FLAME University New Delhi, India Pune, India ISSN 2542-7628 ISSN 2542-7636 (electronic) ISBN 978-94-024-1187-4 ISBN 978-94-024-1188-1 (eBook) ISBN 978-94-024-1189-8 (print and electronic bundle) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1188-1 © Springer Nature B.V. 2022 This work is subject to copyright. 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