Notes on Death, Ritual, and Liberation in Varanasi

Varanasi: The City of Death and Sacred Death Practices

In contemporary America, death is often hidden; corpses are removed from view or made to look lifelike via embalming and makeup. In Varanasi (also called Banaras), death is openly present and celebrated. It is one of the longest continuously inhabited cities and the most sacred city for Hindus, a “city of death.”
The Ganges (the holy river) runs through Varanasi and is venerated as goddess Bangama, mother Ganges. Hindus come to die, be cremated, and pour ashes into the river.
Varanasi is the city of Shiva, a god with a special relationship to death. Giant images of Shiva are painted on riverbank buildings.
The riverbanks are lined with ghats (long steps to the river) and cremation pyres that consume thousands of bodies each month.
A nighttime boat ride on the Ganges can reveal the burning pyres lighting up the night sky. Diana Eck, in Banaras, City of Light, writes that Varanasi promises more than a good life: it promises a good death.
Death is not denied here. Processions carry corpses to cremation grounds day and night; death is not hidden but visible in daily life.
Many Hindus want to die in Varanasi because the city is seen as a shortcut to liberation from Samsara (the cycle of rebirth, suffering, and death). Dying in Varanasi can enable moksha (liberation).
Some Hindus vow never to leave in their final years so they can die in Varanasi and achieve final liberation.

Core Hindu Concepts: Samsara, Karma, Moksha, and Moksha in Kashi

Samsara: the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth; life is marked by suffering until liberation.
Moksha (liberation): freedom from Samsara via spiritual realization and ethical practice.
In Varanasi, dying is framed as a potential shortcut to Moksha; once the body is cast aside, the soul may escape Samsara.
Moksha is also called Kashi (an ancient name meaning city of light). Light is understood both literally and metaphorically: illumination and wisdom.
A sacred text suggests that liberation can be achieved simply by yielding up the body in Kashi with little effort. Even advanced yogis are said not to achieve liberation in one lifetime, but in Kashi, through dying.
Some Hindus, near life’s end, come to Varanasi and vow to die there to secure final liberation.
Hinduism is a diverse family of traditions with immense variation, but often described as a “reverse river” where innumerable local traditions flow into a shared tradition. Hinduism features innumerable gods, sometimes humorously claimed as 330,000,000, yet emphasizes oneness and unity of all things.

Sacred Texts and Authority

Vedas: the sacred authority for almost all observant Hindus.
Earliest Vedas were composed around 1500\text{ BCE} in the ancient language of Vedic Sanskrit.
Even if most Hindus historically could not read the Vedas, priests chant passages and perform rituals because the Vedic words are believed to have power in themselves, particularly in ritual contexts.
The Vedas emphasize ritual, offerings, and the power of sacred speech.
The Vedic period centered on rituals performed by Brahmin priests, the highest of the traditional four varnas (classes). The system multiplied into thousands of castes and subcastes over time.
Agni (fire) was a central deity in Vedic rituals; fire is the messenger god, and offerings to fire would ascend to the heavenly realms.
The Vedas depict a cosmos where sacrifice is foundational; the universe itself arose from an act of sacrifice when the primordial cosmic being Purusha died and his body parts became the world:
- ext{Moon born from mind, Moon and Sun from eye, wind from breath}
- ext{Brahmin from mouth, Rajanya (Kshatriya) from arms, Vaishya from thighs, Shudra from feet}
This creates an organismic view of the cosmos that binds creation to a social order.

Transition to Upanishadic Thought: From Ritual to Philosophy

Upanishads (circa 6th–2nd centuries BCE) shift from ritual-focused Vedas to more philosophical reflection on ultimate reality and the soul.
Upanishads critique “unsteady boats” of ritual sacrifice as the highest spiritual good; liberation is found beyond mere ritual action.
Key ideas from Upanishads:
- Samsara and Moksha are central concerns; the goal is to cease the cycle of birth and death.
- Reality is ultimately Brahman: the all-pervasive, self-existent, eternal source of all things. Brahman is described as Sat-Chit-Ananda: Sat (truth/existence), Chit (consciousness), Ananda (bliss).
- The true self (atma) is the soul; salvation is realizing the unity with Brahman, not the reward of a personal deity.
Yama: the lord of the dead, considered the first mortal to die, becomes the ruler of the ancestors and a guide for souls in the afterlife. He weighs souls in Naraka (hell), Loka of ancestors, or leads to rebirth; the afterlife is part of cyclical time.
Karma: a moral law of cause and effect; good karma yields favorable rebirth, bad karma less favorable or suffering. The ultimate aim is to exhaust karma to stop further rebirth.
The cycle of rebirth and karmic consequences motivates ethical living and spiritual practice.

The Gods, Death, and Theological Frames

Shiva: central to Varanasi; considered the destroyer in the Trimurti (creator, preserver, destroyer) but also associated with creation in some sense, transformation, and auspicious death.
- Shiva Natharaja: the cosmic dancer who destroys and recreates the universe.
- Shiva is the lord of cremation grounds; many followers visit places of the dead.
Kali: associated with death, time, and transformation. The name Kali derives from Kala (time) and black. Kali embodies the fierce, confronting aspect of reality and death.
Kali imagery: often portrayed with black skin, a long red tongue, a garland of skulls; Kali can also be portrayed as a loving mother. She embodies confronting death to help devote followers detach from attachment to the impermanent world.
Ram (Rama), an avatar of Vishnu, is invoked in prayers for immortality and a peaceful death. A familiar funeral chant is Ram or Rama, as a focal point for the dying.
Darshan: the divine seeing or visual connection between devotee and deity; having the deity’s image near the dying person is considered important for spiritual focus.
Namakirtana (chanting of divine names) and Kirtana (devotional singing) are important practices to sustain mental equanimity during death.
A dying person’s final experiences typically include sacred sounds, incense, and visual connection with the Ishtadeva (chosen deity).

The Four Stages (Ashramas) and the Rite of Detachment

Hindu life is typically divided into four ashramas:
- Brahmacharya (student)
- Grihastha (householder)
- Vanaprastha (forest-dweller)
- Sannyasa (renunciant, wandering ascetic)
The forest dweller stage and especially the renunciant stage emphasize non-attachment and relinquishing worldly ties to cultivate detachment and equanimity toward death.
The end of life is not the end of the person but a transition toward liberation, a process that can involve renunciation practices.

Samskaras and Final Rites: The Death Ritual (Bantyasti)

The death ritual is Bantyasti (final sacrifice).
Sacred elements in Bantyasti:
- Water from the Ganges is poured into the dying person’s mouth.
- A tulsi leaf (sacred basil) is placed in the mouth.
Burial vs. cremation: Hindus generally do not embalm; the body is washed, bathed, and prepared for its journey.
The corpse is adorned with flowers, sandalwood paste, and anointment; it is placed on a bamboo or rope bier and carried to the cremation ground by family members, often along a river (preferably the Ganges).
The procession is led by the eldest son (often with head shaved and wearing white) who circles the body three times before lighting the pyre.
The main crematorium in Varanasi is Manikarnikkabad; cremation fires must be lit from a sacred fire that has burned continuously for centuries (an eternal flame).
The body is believed to release the soul from the head through the Brahmarandra/Brahma Gap; the release is often achieved by the elder lighting the fire.
After cremation, mourners bathe in the river to cleanse themselves of impurity and the associated danger of death.
Pollution and impurity: the post-death period involves substantial ritual impurity; family members may be restricted from entering other homes during this time. The period ends with a ritual feast back home for family and friends.

Cremation: Practices, Castes, and Ethical Tensions

Cremation is the most common practice, though some bodies are not cremated:
- Deaths from certain diseases (e.g., leprosy, smallpox) may be refused cremation and buried or disposed of differently, as they are considered unsuitable for sacrifice.
- Holy people (renunciants) are often buried after purification rituals rather than cremated.
- Renunciates may be buried sitting in the lotus posture.
The cremation is often performed by the domes (Doms), a caste historically considered Dalits (oppressed caste) who work with corpses and are sometimes referred to as untouchables due to ritual impurity concerns.
The cremation pyre is usually assembled with sandalwood; the body is placed with the feet facing south toward Yama.
The hereditary task of performing cremation can be linked to the eldest son’s duties in ensuring proper rites and passage for the soul.
The main cremation ground, Manikarnikabad, maintains an eternal flame that must be燃 from this sacred source.
The ritual’s purity laws and social dynamics reflect an intricate balance between ritual significance and social hierarchy.

Afterlife Beliefs: Pathways of the Soul and the Pindas

The soul persists in a subtler body during the journey after death; after cremation, pindas (balls of rice and milk) are offered over the course of about 10\text{ to }13\text{ days}, establishing a reciprocal relationship between the living and the dead.
If proper rites are not followed, the spirit may become a ghost (preyta) trapped between worlds and may cause disturbances in the living; mediums may be used to maintain proper relations.
In Hindu cosmology, the journey of the soul after death can lead to different realms (Naraka, heavenly realms, or reentry into earthly life) depending on karma and the rites performed.

Cultural and Environmental Contexts

While most Hindus are cremated, there are environmental concerns with wood cremations:
- The Indian government promotes electric cremation for environmental reasons: around 50{,}000{,}000 trees are burned annually in cremations, and approximately 8{,}000{,}000\,\text{tons} of greenhouse gas emissions are released in the process.
- Some Hindus reject electric cremation; many still prefer traditional wood cremation. Mark Elmore (scholar) notes that some interviewees view electric cremation as horrific or inappropriate; an elderly woman allegedly preferred being cremated by traditional fire.
The ritual balance between tradition and environmental concerns reflects ongoing adaptations within Hindu deaths rites.

Notable Personal Perspectives and Teachings

Atul Gawande, a doctor and author born in the United States, describes bringing his father’s ashes to Varanasi and participating in the ritual: he felt a strong sense of connection across generations and the idea that death links family members beyond their own lifetimes.
- He writes that we are “a link in a chain” contributing to something larger than our lives, which helps death feel tolerable.
Anant Ravachan (Anant Ramachan) frames dying as a potential opportunity for spiritual growth: dying can cultivate detachment from the finite and appreciation for the enduring infinite.

Practical and Ethical Implications: Death, Ritual, and Community

The rituals surrounding death are as important to the living as to the dead, reinforcing communal bonds and continuity across generations.
The rituals emphasize memory, reverence for ancestors, and the cosmic order of life, death, and rebirth.
The presence of death in daily life in Varanasi shapes attitudes toward mortality, spirituality, and liberation, contrasting with contexts where death is depersonalized or hidden.
The role of priests, family members, and caste-based practitioners demonstrates how death rituals intersect with social structure, ethics, and religious authority.

Key Takeaways

Varanasi presents death as a sacred passage, not merely an end, with death rituals deeply integrated into daily life, ritual space, and urban geography.
Hinduism provides a framework of Samsara, Karma, and Moksha that governs attitudes toward death, the afterlife, and the purpose of life.
The Upanishadic shift from ritual to philosophy highlights Brahman, Sat-Chit-Ananda, and the unity of the soul with the ultimate reality as the path to liberation.
Death rituals ( Bantyasti, pindas, cremation by the domes, and post-cremation purification) are designed to ensure the soul’s safe passage, reinforce social and cosmic order, and support the family in processing loss.
Modern concerns (environmental impact of cremation and the debate over electric vs. traditional wood cremation) illustrate the ongoing negotiation between tradition, ethics, and ecology in Hindu death practices.