In Hinduism, the cremation ritual involves breaking a clay pot. The pot is smashed and carried around with the deceased, who is being held on a pyre. Breaking the pot has great symbolic meaning. The person who fires the pyre or serves as the principal mourner carries the pot, which is filled with water, around the deceased. He stands facing south, holds the pot on his left shoulder, and tosses it rearward until it shatters into pieces.
Once more, breaking them signifies the deceased’s passing from this world and the start of a new one. The respectful cremation procedure is carried out under the direction of a knowledgeable Hindu priest known as Mahapatra. How should the Breaking of Clay Pot be performed? Let’s find out who does it.
Things To Know The Major Details:
In a symbolic sense, shattering the pot signifies the end of the deceased’s relationship with the primary mourner, who fires the pyre. This funeral service aim to help family members and relatives understand that the body is merely a vehicle and that the soul has left the body and started its journey to its destination. Hence, more essential things follow for every death from the family. The pot and the water are also representations of life.
- The clay or earthen pot should be placed on the shoulder of the principal mourner assigned to light the pyre. The water-filled earthen container is punctured with a tiny hole. After placing it on the shoulder, the lead mourner circles the pyre clockwise and, for the first time, anticlockwise. The empty clay pot splits into pieces when the lead mourner drops it reverse side at the end.
- It tells the deceased spirit the time has come for it to depart from the diminished body and guide itself toward incarnation or salvation. Here, the water in the clay or earthen pot represents the soul, while the pot represents the deceased body. The pot cracking represents how the human body will eventually be destroyed and absorbed into the dirt or soil.
- The gradually passing time is symbolized by the water’s progressive flow from the clay pot’s core. The water’s final stage tells the soul that the body is no longer its home. An alternative interpretation of the clay pot breaking is that it signifies the dissolution of all human connections and material attachments. It enables the deceased spirit to start a new journey and find a new home in the human body.
Conclusion:
In Hinduism, the solemn rites performed after death guarantee the deceased soul’s peaceful salvation or reincarnation. Following the guidance of Hindu teachings and scriptures, several morally upright final rites are carried out. The cremation service is an essential final ceremony that involves several practices deemed appropriate for the departed soul and the deceased’s family from a moral and scientific standpoint. Though it is one of the olden days, which still works among the people, it is often a special welcome in India.