OVER HUNDRED HUMAN BODIES ARE BURNT EVERY DAY

 Images of cremation ghats in       Banaras

According to Hindu belief, if the dead body is cremated at the ghats of Ganga river in Banaras the soul will attain 'Moksha' and thereby escape the cycle of death and rebirth. Hindus from all around Banaras and also from distant places bring the bodies of their dear ones to various ghats of Banaras. There are 88 burning ghats in Banaras, with different names for each one like Dashshwsmedh ghat, Ahilya ghat, Tulsi ghat, Durbanga ghat, Assi ghat, Manikarnika ghat etc. An average of over 3,000 human bodies are burnt there every month.

Varanasi is the most holy place in India for Hindus. According to Hindu mythology the fight between Brahma and Shiva took place here. During this fight Shiva pulled out one of the five heads of Brahma and that head fell down here and went deep into the earth. Another story is that at the beginning of time Shiva and Parvati stayed here for long and the holy river Ganga came into being here from the head of Shiva.

The body for cremation is usually placed on wood and after performing the Agni puja, the fire brought from Agnikhund, the fire place, and put fire on the body. While poor people are using ordinary wood for the rituals, the rich use sandalwood. The normal expenses for burning a body may be somewhere between ₹3,000 to ₹10,000. The priest take ₹300 to ₹1,000 or more depending upon the status of the people. 

It takes about 6 hours to a full day for a body to burn out completely. It is also found that soon after the relatives are left the partially burnt body is left into the river and the half burnt wooden pieces are taken back to sell for another customer. It is not a rare sight that unburnt and half burnt bodies are floating around the water.

K V George