Knowledge Bank

• Bathe/ Sprinkle the body with Ganga water
• Put on chandanam, kumkum, vibhuti/tilak and cover the body with clean, new clothes
• Offer fresh flowers, Ganga water & place Tulsi leaf in the mouth.
• Place the body on darbha grass-sesame salt laced with cow dung patties
• Body should be laid on earth/ground & head should be facing south (GP 4.56 - 57)
• Draw a circle around the body using rice flour (GP 2.12-13)
• Light a clay lamp with sesame oil behind the deceased head (GP 18.5)
• Offer coconut, betel leaves, banana, incense( agarbathi), flowers
• On the day of the funeral, place 1 pindam in a saucer and next to that saucer, place another saucer with a little Tila (sesame seeds) and Ganga water in a cup
• Recite mantra in the right ear of the deceased to remind the departed soul of the deathless state. This action is carried out because the soul does not die and continues to live even after death of the physical body
• Prayers & Rituals- Increase chanting, read Bhagavad Gita/Siva Puranam, sing Thevaram
• Prayer altar at home must be closed

• In the coffin…the body should be laid down on bed of Darbha Grass, Cow Dung, Black Sesame and Salt
• Sprinkle Ganga Water on the body
• Place a Tulsi leaf in the mouth of the deceased

• One at the place of death (entrance) to the house
• The midway to the cremation ground (Place the pindam on any road junction where the funeral vehicle is passing through to the crematorium).
• At the funeral pyre
• In hands of the deceased
• The fifth offered to the spirits in the cremation ground
• The sixth during the collection of ashes

• Keep a picture of the deceased
• Decorate the picture with garlands
• Place a clay lamp* in front of the picture, in a room or a designated prayer area
• Photo of the deceased to face NORTH direction, we must face SOUTH direction
• This clay lamp must be kept lit continuously for 12 days
• On the 12th day this lamp must go off by itself

Day 1 - Cremation Day

• a. Place pindam in the hand of deceased
• b. Appoint a funeral undertaker
• c. Prayers with chanting
• d. Ghee and Cow dung to facilitate cremation. Cremation must be done before sunset

Day 2 - Day 10 - After Cremation Day

• a. Offer pindam & Ganga water to the photo of the deceased
• b. Collect the pindams each day and keep it in a refrigerator until the 11th day when it should be discarded in the river

Day 11 - After Cremation Day

• a. The 11th day puja is generally referred to as the Shaving ceremony
• b. This takes place at the river bed. If there is no river then at one's garage can be the place to perform this prayer. Early in the morning of the 11th day gather all the pindams (10 in total) and other materials to be disposed off
• c. Invite a barber and priest to conduct the ceremony
• d. Conduct Prayers – Offer Tila (mustard seeds), Milk, Ganga water to the deceased
• e. Dispose the 10 pindams in the river
• f. Shave and trim nails (the person who did the cremation)
• g. Offering 8 gifts to a brahmana/priest should be done
• h. 8 gifts = Umbrella, sandals, vastram (clothes), gold, water vessel, stool, tila & salt

Day 12 - Invite Priest to conduct Karumathi Prayers (SAPINDA) (GP 5.55)

Day 13 - Subtle body’s travel begins (GP 15.76)

Monthly Prayers - 16 Shraddas

• After the 12/13th day puja after the funeral of a deceased , one offers 16 pindams ( riceballs offered to the departed one) one pindam every month plus four additional pindams mentioned below for the next 11 ½months
• This entails performing a full puja for each of the 16 pindams
• Pindam offerings are calculated from the date of death

Monthly Prayers - Dates & Tithis

• The 1st Pindam : Offered 15 days after the date of the funeral
• The 2nd Pindam : Offered 30 days (one month) after the date of the funeral
• The 3rd Pindam : Offered 45 days after the date of the funeral
• The 4th Pindam : Offered 2 months after the date of the funeral
• The 5th Pindam : Offered 3 months after the date of the funeral
• The 6th Pindam : Offered 4 months after the date of the funeral
• The 7th Pindam : Offered 5 months after the date of the funeral
• The 8th Pindam : Offered 5 ½ months after the date of the funeral
• The 9th Pindam : Offered 6 months after the date of the funeral
• The 10th Pindam : Offered 7 months after the date of the funeral
• The 11th Pindam : Offered 8 months after the date of the funeral
• The 12th Pindam : Offered 9 months after the date of the funeral
• The 13th Pindam : Offered 10 months after the date of the funeral
• The 14th Pindam : Offered 11 months after the date of the funeral
• The 15th Pindam : Offered 11 ¼ months after the date of the funeral
• The 16th Pindam : Offered 11 ½ months after the date of the funeral

1st Year Prayers

• Sapindakarana or Thevasam should be done at the end of the year after death
• Sodasi (all 16 pindams) should be performed for the purification of the corpse