|
In hindu
religion death is not treated as the end of
life rather it is treated as a moment when the
‘Atma’ or ‘soul’ after leaving the present
body will starts its journey either for
reincarnation in some new form or for ‘Moksa’
(final emancipation). This is the reason
behind the sanskars after death.To give ‘Gati’
(motion) to the departed soul, ‘Gati-kriya’ (
process of puting in motion) or cremation is
done.
Cremation are of
two types:
When dead body
is available.
When dead body
is not available.
When dead body
is available:
There is no need
to choose a muhurta for cremation. Only when a
body is to be cremated in nakshatra panchak
(i.e. in 2nd half of Dhanishtha,
Shatbhisha, Poorvabhadrapad, Uttarabhadrapad
and Raviti ) proper punchaka shanti is to be
done. One way of panchaka ‘Shanti’ is to
donate ‘pancha-ratnas’ or (five precious gems)
to a brahimna or to five symbolic cremations.
When dead
body is not available:
This will happen
in cases of unnatural death where dead body is
either destroyed or is untraceable. In such
cases cremation of ‘Puttala’ (effigies) made
of ‘Kusha’ (a kind of grass) palasha and rich
flour etc. is done. For ‘Puttala-daha’ or
‘cremation of efigie’ the following process of
choseing muhurta should be adopted.
(a)
When the information about death is
received during ‘Sootaka’: ‘Sootaka’
(impurity) is said to last for ten to sixteen
days after death depending on tradition of a
particular place. If the information about
death is received during this period
‘puttala-daha’ can be done at any time except
in nakshatra panchaka.
(b)
When the information
about death is received after ‘Sootaka’ within
one year : when
information is received within one year the
following considerations are necessary for
choosing a proper muhurta for ‘puttaladaha’
(1)
Nakshatra : Shravana, Hasta,
Swati, Ashwini and Puhya are best.
Uttaraphalguni,
Uttarashada, Uttarabhadrapad, Rohini,
Anuradha,Poorvaphaguni,Punarvasu,
Mrigshira, Chitra and Dhanistha are of medium
category for ‘puttala-daha’.
(2)
Days : Sunday, Monday, Thursday.
(3)
To be avoided : Avoid Bhadra,
avoid Janma and Pratyari Tara of the person
doing cremation (i.e. 1st, 5th,10th,
14th, 19th and 23rd
nakshatra from janma nakshatra) and also avoid
Moon place in 4/8/12 positions from the natel
moon sign of person doing cremation. Also
avoid Friday, Tuesday, Saturday, 1/6/11/13/14
tithes; Tripushkara Yogas, ‘Adhika masa’,
‘Kshaya-masa, Parigha, Vyatipaat, Vaidhriti,
Combustion of Jupiter and Venus and bright
half (Shukla paksha).
All aggressive
nakshatras (i.e.
Poorvaphalguni,Poorvashada,Poorvabhadrapad,Bharani
and Makha ),all ferocious nakshatras (Moola,
Jyestha, Ardra and ashlesha) and Revati should also
be avoided.
(c) When the
information of death is received after one
year : When information of the
death is received after one year
‘puttala-daha’ should be performed in
Uttarayana and all other variables mentioned
in case (b) discussed avobe for chosing
muhurta should be considered. |
