Why is the body offered to Agni after death?

Listen to this audio or read article below

Why is the body offered to Agni after death?

We will very briefly look at the cremation rites, daha samskara.  

In English, there is a difference between a funeral and cremation.  

The rites performed after death are called funerals.  

A funeral is followed by either cremation or burial.  

Offering the body to Agni is called cremation.  

In Sanatana Dharma, it is always cremation,  

and the Abrahamic religions do a burial of the body.

Funeral rites are very elaborate. We are only going to briefly touch upon the important aspects to get an overall picture.  

Depending on the community and the Grihya Sutra, the procedure can vary a little bit.

For the householder, the homa that is performed at the time of Vivaha,  

the same Agni he is supposed to keep unextinguished till his end,  

and offer ahutis to this Agni in the morning and evening.  

Like Sandhyavandana, this is a daily ritual called Aupasanagni.  

This is one’s own Agni.  

It is a part of oneself, generated at the time of marriage and worshiped and strengthened throughout life.  

It is to this Agni that the mortal remains are to be submitted,  

offered as a final homa.  

Over a period of time, the Chaitanya inside the person and the Agni outside become one and the same.  

It is to this Chaitanya inside the body, which is represented by the Agni outside, to which the physical body is dissolved.  

In that sense, if you see,  

death happens when the Chaitanya leaves the body.  

So, cremation is once again rejoining the body, the Pancha Bhutatmaka body, with the Chaitanya.  

But who will do this?  

The son or the performer of the cremation, the Daha Samskara.  

For ease of understanding, let’s say the son is doing the rites.  

The son has to first kindle the father’s Aupasana Agni at home.  

It is this Agni that he will carry to the cremation ground.  

Be clear here: the body is submitted to one’s own Agni, one’s own Chaitanya.  

The son is only doing this on behalf of the father.  

If you have seen this procedure,  

a rope is placed between the dead body and Agni while the son is generating it.  

This is to establish the connection between the deceased person’s body and his own Agni that is being generated by the son on his behalf.  

As soon as the son rekindles this Agni, he offers the offerings that the father should have made on the previous evening and the current day morning,  

if he by any chance had not made them.  

This Agni hereafter is called Pretagni,  

because its last and final purpose is consuming the preta or the mortal remains.  

Preta means the dead person, the deceased person.  

As the body is laid with its head towards the south, Bhumi is prayed to provide comfort to the body.  

In the Pretagni, ahuti is offered to Yama, recognizing him as the god leading good people to Swarga and bad people to Naraka.  

The body is bathed, given new clothes, adorned with chandana and a garland, because it is an offering to be made to Agni.  

Rice is cooked in the Pretagni.  

This Agni, cooked rice, and all other required materials are carried to the Shmashana along with the body.  

As the body is carried from home to the Shmashana, bali with the cooked rice is to be offered to bhutas on the way.  

These bhutas are benevolent spirits, they are devayonis, aligned with Devas.  

The whole distance is divided into four parts. On completion of the first quarter of the distance, the body is kept down, and one third of the cooked rice is offered as bali.  

In the same way, the rest of the cooked rice is offered in two more places.  

Through this, appropriate mantras emphasizing the removal of sins, receiving results of good deeds done by the deceased person, and attainment of a good loka (Satgati) are chanted.  

Upon reaching the cremation ground, the son chants a mantra to clear the place where daha will happen of unwanted spirits.  

Permission is sought from Yama for taking up the place for performing daha.  

The pyre is prepared.  

Agni, brought from home, is reinstalled.  

The body is laid on the pyre.  

Agni, brought from home, is placed on the chest of the body.  

Praying to Agni:  

'Please do not overburn this body, bones should be available to perform Asthi Sanchayana.'  

Now, a very important point:  

What happens to the soul or spirit of the deceased? It goes and joins the forefathers in Pitruloka.  

What happens to the body?  

This is clear from the mantra chanted at the time of daha.  

This mantra is addressed to the preta itself:  

'Oh Preta, may your eyes go to Surya, prana go to Vayu. You attain heaven (divinity), earth (as a human), water (as a fish, etc.), or plants, depending on the merit of your deeds.'

Note: By saying 'may your eyes go to Surya,' it means the dissolution of all the senses into the respective elements of the universe. Prana represents all the pranas in the body. The purport here is that eyes and prana may go to the respective gods (Surya, etc.) and stay there until ready to assume a new body.  

Agni is the carrier, as usual in any homa.  

He would take the eyes of the body and give them back to Surya Deva from whom they came,  

like that of the other parts of the physical body, giving them back to the divinities from whom all of them came.  

This is the role of Agni here.  

Nine more ahutis are offered.

The guardians of the path hereafter of the preta are three groups: goptas, rakshitas, and abhirakshitas.  

1. To goptas  
2. To rakshitas  
3. To abhirakshitas  

Then there are:  

4. To khyata, who would spread the fame of the deceased in paraloka  
5. To apakhyata, who would spread information about the misdeeds of the deceased so that others would refrain from doing so  .

They both will pass on information about what all the deceased person did on earth to the inhabitants of where he is going.  

6. To abhilalapati, who would again and again show the right directions  
7. To apalalapati, who would again and again prevent going in the wrong direction.

All the above seven are forms of Agni only.  

8. To Agni, the facilitator of this karma, as his fee  
9. To Agni, whose any other aspect is not mentioned here  

The son chants some more mantras, the essence of which are:  

Agni’s presence all over in every world is recognized so that he can carry the parts of the body to appropriate places.  

'May this preta attain Swarga and live there happily. I can see you rising up to heaven with beautiful wings.  

May Yama protect his path.'  

The role of two of Yama’s dogs is recognized, who are harsh to sinners and would protect the good.  

'Let this preta attain the world attained by those who have performed somayaga, those who know madhu vidya, those who have attained veera mrityu, and those who have performed intense tapas.'  

Then the relatives pray for purity.  

It is important to understand here that Daha Samskara is not for disposing of the dead body. Here, the body is considered as a havis (offering) itself. The word used is Pitru Medha, as in Ashvamedha Yaga. It is like having lived a noble and religious life, at the end of it, submitting the body to divinity.

Knowledge Bank

Restriction on number of idols at home

You should not worship 2 Shiva Lingas, 3 Ganesha idols, 2 Surya idols, 3 Durga idols, 2 Shankhas, 2 Salagramas and 2 Gomati Chakras at home. It can cause unrest.

Which are the Upanishads of Shukla Yajurveda?

Primarily - Isha Upanishad and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. There are a few more lesser known Upanishads - Jabala Upanishad, Hamsa Upanishad, Subala Upanishad, Mantrika Upanishad, Trisikhi-Brahmana Upanishad, Mandala-Brahmana Upanishad, Turiyatita-Avadhuta Upanishad, Satyayani Upanishad.