SshraaDdh: OFFERING RITUALS AFTER CREMATION OF A DECEASED
Posted by Champaklal Dajibhai Mistry on September 27, 2002

dharma-raajaa alias yam-dev (god of death) explains in naarad puran slok 1.14.84-89 about how the SshraaDdh offering is performed after the cremation of a deceased:

"The collection of bones (and ashes after the cremation) should be made by the benevolent kinsman usually on the first, second, third or the fourth day. 

The collection of bones (and ashes) has been permitted to be made on the fourth, fifth, seventh or the ninth day for the people of four varna in that serial order (braahman, kshtriya, vaishya and sudra).

If on the eleventh day, a bull is let loose on behalf of the dead mean, the dead man is liberated from the world of ghosts. He is honoured in the svarga-lok (heaven).

One should stand in the water doming up to his umbilical region and meditate thus within his heart: "May my ancestors come and accept these water bali or uphaar (libations) from these folded palms of mine.

He shall join his two palms and fill them with water. Lifting the joint palms up to the height of a cow's horn, he should pour the water in the middle of the water in the waters he is standing in.

He should stay in the water facing the south and throw up the water into the atmosphere. The abode of the pitru is in the aakaash (space) as well as the southern quarter."

The collected bones and ashes of a deceased are consecrated by offering them to a river or a water body. The highest consecration is attained by offering the ashes to the waters of gangaa-nadi (river ganges) as per naarad puraan, 

We all at PVAF convey pranaam to our guru Dr. G. V. Tagore from whose English translation of the sanskrit naarad puraan we have been blessed with the above knowledge of how SshraaDdh offerings is to be performed.......

.......om namah brhmah....
....our guru brhmah..
.....om tat sat....om shaanti shaanti....



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