Shmashana outside Indian village A ''śmaśāna'' (Devanagari: श्मशान) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

crematory A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also be ...

ground, where dead bodies are brought to be burnt on a

pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...

. It is usually located near a river or body of water on the outskirts of a village or town; as they are usually located near river

ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

s they are also called ''smashan ghat''. The word has its origin from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

language: ''shma'' refers to ''shava'' ("corpse"), while ''shana'' refers to ''shanya'' ("bed"). The other

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

also use ''śmaśāna'' for the last rites of the dead.

Hinduism

As per

Hindu rites Samskara (IAST: , sometimes spelled ''samskara'') are sacraments in Hinduism and other Indian religions, described in ancient Sanskrit texts, as well as a concept in the karma theory of Indian philosophies. The word literally means "putting to ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, the dead body is brought to śmaśāna for ''

Antim Sanskar Antyesti ( IAST: Antyeṣṭi, sa, अन्त्येष्टि) literally means "last sacrifice", and refers to the funeral rites for the dead in Hinduism, which usually involves cremation of the body. This rite of passage is the last sam ...

'' (last rites). At the cremation ground, the chief mourner has to obtain the sacred fire from the Dom caste, who reside by the śmaśāna and light funeral pyres (''chita'') for a fee. Various

Hindu scriptures Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

also give details of how to select the site of śmaśāna: it should be on the northern side of the village with land sloping towards the south, it should be near a river or a source of water and should not be visible from a distance. Dead bodies are traditionally cremated on a

funeral pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...

usually made of wood. However, nowadays in many cities of

there are electric or gas based furnaces used in indoor crematoria.

Early Buddhism

In the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

discourses,

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

frequently instructs his disciples to seek out a secluded dwelling (in a forest, under the shade of a tree, mountain, glen, hillside cave, charnel ground, jungle grove, in the open, or on a heap of straw). The

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...

and

Sutrayana Sūtrayāna ( sa, सूत्रयान) is the Indo-Tibetan three-fold classification of yanas. A yana is a Buddhist mode of practice that leads to the realization of emptiness. The three yanas of the Sutrayana are Sravakayana or Pratyeka ...

tradition of the "Nine Cemetery Contemplations" (Pali: ''nava sīvathikā-manasikāra'') described in the ''

Satipatthana Sutta The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 10: ''The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), and the subsequently created Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 22: ''The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), are ...

'' demonstrate that charnel ground and cemetery meditations were part of the ascetic practices in

Early Buddhism The term Early Buddhism can refer to at least two distinct periods in the History of Buddhism, mostly in the History of Buddhism in India: * Pre-sectarian Buddhism, which refers to the teachings and monastic organization and structure, founded by Ga ...

. 'Cemetery contemplations', as described in '' Mahasatipatthana Sutta'' ( DN: 22) and the ''

Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta ( Majjhima Nikaya 10: ''The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), and the subsequently created Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta ( Dīgha Nikāya 22: ''The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), ar ...

'' ( MN: 10):

Spiritual role

The śmaśāna is said to be abode of ghosts, evil spirits, fierce deities, tantrics. Therefore, people in general prefer to avoid going near śmaśāna at night. Per

rituals women do not go to śmaśāna, only males go to śmaśāna to perform last rites. Only the

Doms The Dom (Sanskrit ''ḍoma'', dialectally also Domra, Domba, Domaka, Dombari and variants) are castes, or groups, scattered across India. Dom were a caste of drummer. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the occupations of sing ...

and

Chandala Chandala ( sa, चांडाल, caṇḍāla) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, traditionally considered to be untouchable. A female member of this caste is known as a ''Caṇḍ� ...

s reside in or near śmaśāna. Śmaśāna is a place, where followers of

Vamamarga ''Vāmācāra'' ( sa, वामाचार, ) is a tantric term meaning "left-hand path" and is synonymous with the Sanskrit term ''vāmamārga''. It is used to describe a particular mode of worship or '' sadhana'' (spiritual practice) that is ...

Aghori The Aghori (from Sanskrit '; ) are a monastic order of ascetic Shaivite sadhus based in Uttar Pradesh, India Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the mos ...

, Kapalika, Kashmiri Shaivism,

Kaula Kaula may refer to: People * Prithvi Nath Kaula (1924–2009), Indian librarian * William J. Kaula (1871–1953), American watercolor painter * William M. Kaula (1926–2000), Australian-born American geophysicist Other uses * USS ''Kaula'' (AG-3 ...

of now scarce Indian tantric traditions do sadhana (for example

Shava sadhana Shava sadhana (śāva sādhanā) is a Tantric sadhana (spiritual practice) in which the practitioner sits on a corpse for meditation. Shava sadhana is part of the ''vamachara'' ('heterodox') practice of worship, which is followed by the esoteric ...

) and rituals to worship Kali, Tara, Bhairav, Bhairavi,

Dakini A ḍākinī ( sa, डाकिनी; ; mn, хандарма; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of female spirit, goddess, or demon in Hinduism and Bud ...

, Vetal, etc. invoke occult powers within them. Śmaśāna is also used for similar purpose by followers of Tibetan Buddhist traditions of Vajrayana,

Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...

for sadhna of Chöd, Phowa,

Zhitro In Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Zhitro ( bo, ཞི་ཁྲོ) or Shitro ''zab-chos zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol'', also known as ''kar-gling zhi-khro'' refers to a cycle of teachings revealed by the terton Karma Lingpa and traditionally believed ...

, etc. The deity called

Shmashana Adhipati ''Shmashana Adhipati'' is a name given to a deity either male or female and also together as a consort, who rules Shmashana, cremation ground. The Shamashana Adhipati literally translates to Lord of Shmashana. The name ''Shmashan Adhipathi'' is gi ...

is usually considered to be lord of Śmaśāna.

References

{{Death in Hinduism Buddhism and death Burial monuments and structures Cremation Death and Hinduism Indian words and phrases Pali words and phrases

Hinduism

Early Buddhism

Spiritual role

See also

References