What happens after death according to Hindu traditions?
For thirteen days after a death, Hindu families perform rites for the one who has gone. What do the scriptures say happens to the soul, and why do we feed our ancestors every year?
The verse
The last sacrament
Antyeṣṭi, "the last sacrifice", is the final of the sixteen samskaras. The body is offered to Agni, the same fire that witnessed the person's wedding and household rites. The Rigveda's funeral hymns (10.14–18) ask Agni to carry the departed gently to the ancestors.
Two paths
The Upanishads describe two paths after death: the path of the gods (devayāna), from which there is no return, and the path of the ancestors (pitṛyāna), which leads back to rebirth. Which path a soul takes, they say, depends on how it has lived and what it knew…
The journey continues for members
- Devayana and pitriyana
- The thirteen days and shraddha
- Different traditions
- For life today
Sources
- Rigveda — 10.14–18
- Chandogya Upanishad — 5.10
- Bhagavad Gita — 2.27, 8.24–26
- Garuda Purana — Preta Khanda