Holy land on the Ganges River and cremation origin in India

The city of Manikarnika in Varanasi, India, is famous not only for its ancient architecture but also for the cremation rite.

Learn about the origin of the burial custom in India

Manikarnika, Varanasi, India, 1922. (Photo: Public Domain).

India is famous for many unique religious practices that exist in parallel. The temple is everywhere. One of the most famous places is the city of Manikarnika in Varanasi.

Manikarnika Ghat is one of the oldest and most sacred places in Hindu religion and legend. It is said that if anyone is cremated here after death, their soul will rest forever. For centuries, it has always been believed that the funeral rite at Manikarnika Ghat helps people escape from endless reincarnation.

Ahilya Ghat on the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India.(Photo: CC BY SA 2.0).

"Ghat" in Hindi means stair leading down to the river bank. The stairs leading down to the banks of the Ganges River are not to be missed, because only Varanasi city has 87 such stairs. Most were built in 1700, when the city became part of the Maratha Empire. Most of the ghat serve the bathing needs of the people, others are places to celebrate the ceremony. Only a few ghats, including Manikarnika Ghat, were used as a cremation for the dead.

Shiva brought Sati's corpse to the top of the trident.(Photo: Public Domain).

There are many different legends about the name of Manikarnika Ghat, associated with two Hindu gods, Vishnu and Shiva. The first legend says that one day, Vishnu used Chakra (wheel of reincarnation) to dig a hole in the sight of Shiva. They were both so attentive that they did not notice the earring (Manikarnika) falling into the hole.

The second legend tells that Mata Sati burned himself after one of Brahma's sons, Raja Daksh Prajapati, humiliated Shiva at the Yagya ceremony (ritual offerings in sacred fire). As a result, Shiva brings Mata Sati body to the Himalayas. Her body parts fell along the way. Where they fall, people make Shakti Peeth (Sati / Shakti goddess temple) there. Mata Sati's ear piercings fall on Manikarnika Ghat.

God Shiva and his wife Parvati.(Photo: Public Domain).

The third legend says that God Vishnu fought for centuries to please Shiva and asked him to reconsider the destruction of Kashi. In response to Vishnu's request, Shiva came to Kashi with his wife Parvati. When he arrived, he dug a well on the banks of the Ganges River to bathe. While bathing, he accidentally dropped a precious earring into the well. So the new city is named Manikarnika.

The fourth legend says that Shiva, while playing, dropped her earrings to the ceiling, forming Manikarnika Ghat.

Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, India.(Photo: CC BY 2.0).

Located next to Manikarnika Ghat is the sacred well Manikarnika Kund , which is believed to have been dug by Vishnu during creation and destruction. Manikarnika Sanctuary is also famous for Shiva and Mata Durga temples, built by Awadh region (Maharaja) in 1850.

The temple where the funeral is performed is one of the important places for the Shakitism school of Hinduism, and is a sacred place for believers to visit. The Chakra-Pushkarini Kund well or Manikarnika Kund is also found here. Believers believe that the trace on the circular marble slab is the footprint (Charanapaduka) of Vishnu, because according to them he spent many years meditating at Ghat.

Identify the pyre in Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, India.(Photo: Fair Use).

Cremation is a fundamental principle in Hinduism , by which the soul is washed and freed from the body. Cremation ritual is valued because it is a step to reach nirvana. The steps in the ritual must be carried out according to regulations, otherwise the soul will not be able to reach the afterlife.

The ceremony is called Dom. The body of the dead is clothed, carried by a stretcher and placed on a pyre. The ashes after cremation are considered a reminder that everything will be destroyed, and that is the destiny that has been predetermined.

It is believed that after the cremation, the soul is liberated, saved and in contact with Shiva. Children under the age of two and men are considered sacred and can be buried in the ground after death, because their bodies are not contaminated by sin, so they do not need to wash with fire.

There are buildings dedicated to dying people. They lay here, waiting for their last breath and receiving the pure death on the banks of the Ganges. Their bodies will be washed with water from the Ganges River and placed on the stairs leading to the river bank for two hours to dry. Then, they were placed on wooden planks above the cremation that the family had chosen before.

Agni god fire.(Photo: Public Domain).

The bodies of the dead are placed in a certain direction, so that they can easily reach the afterlife. The foot is facing south, the direction of the god of death Yama. The head turns north, the direction of the genius.

An important member of the family will set fire to the pyre, and the dead body becomes the sacrifice for the god of Agni. When the cremation was finished, people took water from the Ganges to extinguish the fire and throw ash into the river.

Smoke rises from the pyre in Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, India.(Photo: CC BY 3.0).

The curious thing is the jubilant atmosphere at Manikarnika Ghat. People here are also concerned about death but have a very different concept about it. For them, death is not a sad thing but just "peeling off the skin" no longer needed.

Therefore, the funeral venue is often very busy. Families join the game together. They moved back and forth between the pile of firewood prepared to cremate the dead. Animals around the crowd of people gathered. Manikarnika Ghat has become a place to attract curious people in the past few decades.