The *Antyesti *rite of passage is structured around the premise in ancient literature of Hinduism that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe The soul (Atman, Brahman) is the essence and immortal that is released at the *Antyeshti* ritual, but both the body and the universe are vehicles and transitory in various schools of Hinduism. The human body and the universe consist of five elements in Hindu texts – air, water, fire, earth and space. The last rite of passage returns the body to the five elements and its origins. The roots of this belief are found in the Vedas, for example in the hymns of Rigveda <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigveda> in section 10.16, as follows,
Rig Veda 10.16.1 मैनमग्ने वि दहो माभि शोचो मास्य त्वचं चिक्षिपो मा शरीरम् । यदा शृतं कृणवो जातवेदोऽथेमेनं प्र हिणुतात्पितृभ्यः ॥ mainam agne vi daho mābhi śoco māsya tvacaṃ cikṣipo mā śarīram | yadā śṛtaṃ kṛṇavo jātavedo 'them enam pra hiṇutāt pitṛbhyaḥ || *English translation:* “Agni <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/agni#hinduism>, consume him not entirely; afflict him not; scatter not (here and there) his skin nor his body; whenJātavedas, you have rendered him mature, then send him to the Pitṛs <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/pitri#hinduism>.” *Commentary by Sāyaṇa: Ṛgveda-bhāṣya* The first six ṛcas are to be recited at (orupon) the death of an initiated person n-- dīkṣitamaraṇe; not his skin nor his body: may be an allusion to thespiritual, or suṣma śarīra <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sharira#hinduism>; do not reduce him to ashes <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/ase#hinduism>, bhamībhūtam mā kuru <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kuru#hinduism>].. Rig Veda 10.16.2 शृतं यदा करसि जातवेदोऽथेमेनं परि दत्तात्पितृभ्यः । यदा गच्छात्यसुनीतिमेतामथा देवानां वशनीर्भवाति ॥ śṛtaṃ yadā karasi jātavedo 'them enam pari dattāt pitṛbhyaḥ | yadā gacchāty asunītim etām athā devānāṃ vaśanīr bhavāti || *English translation:* “When you have rendered him mature, then give him up, Jātavedas <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/jataveda#hinduism>, to the Pitṛs <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/pitri#hinduism>; when he proceedsto that world of spirits, then he becomes subject to the will of the gods.” *Commentary by Sāyaṇa: Ṛgveda-bhāṣya* When he proceeds to that world ofspirits: when he obtains the quickening of life, prāṇa <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/prana#hinduism> preraṇam, wrought by Agni <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/agni#hinduism> Rig Veda 10.16.3 सूर्यं चक्षुर्गच्छतु वातमात्मा द्यां च गच्छ पृथिवीं च धर्मणा । अपो वा गच्छ यदि तत्र ते हितमोषधीषु प्रति तिष्ठा शरीरैः ॥ sūryaṃ cakṣur gacchatu vātam ātmā dyāṃ ca gaccha pṛthivīṃ ca dharmaṇā | apo vā gaccha yadi tatra te hitam oṣadhīṣu prati tiṣṭhā śarīraiḥ || *English translation:* “Let the eye repair to the sun; the breath to the wind; go you to the heaven or to the earth, according toyour merit; or go to the waters it it suits you (to be) there, or abide with your members in the plural nts.” ………………………………….Don't burn him through, Agni; don't scorch him; don't singe his skin, nor his body.| When you will make him cooked to readiness, Jātavedas, then impel him forth to the forefathers.|| When you will have made him cooked to readiness, Jātavedas, then deliver him to the forefathers.|| When he will embark on the (way) leading to (the other) life, then he will lead at the will of the gods.| Let your eye go to the sun, your life-breath to the wind. Go to heaven and to earth as is fitting.| Or go to the waters, if it has been fixed for you there. Take your stand in the plants with your limbs.|| The final rites of a burial, in case of untimely death of a child, is rooted in Rig Veda's section 10.18, where the hymns mourn the death of the child, praying to deity Mrityu to "neither harm our girls nor our boys", and pleads the earth to cover, protect the deceased child as a soft wool. So we do know why we burn and not as answered in Q and A KR IRS 17 10 23 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: 'gopala krishnan' via iyer123 <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2023 at 20:42 Subject: [iyer123] CULTURAL QA 10-2023-16A To: Patty Thatha <[email protected]>, Iyer < [email protected]>, Kerala Iyer <[email protected]> *CULTURAL QA 10-2023-16A* *All the BELOW QA are from Quora digest to me on 16-10- 2023.* *Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers * *.Compiled **and posted by R. Gopala krishnan, on 16-10-2023* *Q1 Why do Hindus burn their dead while Muslims and Christians bury them?* *A1 Rama G, Lives in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India Jul 5* *There are many reasons.* *I explain it in brief without touching the Deep philosophy behind it.* *1.A person dies because of various reasons apart** from accidental deaths. There may be health issues. Contagious diseases.* *What is the safest method to get rid of a body where there is no life and start decaying within few hours?* *In burial , body may not vanish fast in extreme** cold weathers. So, this is the best disposal method.* *2. We Hindus consider body is a tool to hold subtle body called soul**. Like a clothing. When the soul departs the body, it's of no use. Just like worn clothes. Soul will depart for it's next birth or whatever. So, spiritually and mentally to disconnect with the departed souls we burn them.* *3. All people keep on burying where is the place on earth?* *4. We know dead won't comeback. No point in keeping the body. Body comes from five elements. Should go back to those ‘pancha bhuthams'.* *5. Finally, life won't stop with the dead person. Remaining family should move on to survive. To tell how temporary the body we love on this earth is, how much detachment we should have with this earthy things and human beings, this is done.* *There is so much other philosophical knowledge and deep meaning behind this rituals.** That is not that easy to understand. So, I refrain from telling that.* *Q2 When Panchali died, why did Yudhistira replied to the Pandavas that she loved Arjuna more than the other Pandavas? I heard that Draupadi loved all the pandavas equally.* *A2 Mahabharata Researcher,Have read many versions of Mahabharata epic1y* *Draupadi did loved all Pandavas. But she didn’t loved them equally**. She loved them for their merit or quality. She loved them for what they were individually.* *One example - In Vana Parva, Draupadi found a flower and she showed it to Bhima and asked for more**. Bhima went ahead to fetch the flower. But the flower she got she gave it to Yudhisthira. Now we can say that she probably gave the flower to Yudhisthira out of reverence for Yudhisthira as he was eldest and King and King will be happy if he gets the flower from Draupadi.We can also say that she probably asked Bhima to fetch flower because she knew Bhima would be more than happy to bring flower for her.* *So she loved both but not in same way. Pandavas were all considered Indra - the best. However they were not Indra in same aspect.* * We can say Yudhisthira was Indra among those who knew Dharma. Bhima was Indra among those who possessed strength. Arjuna was Indra among who possessed warrior skill, knowledge and more importantly valor. Similarly twins were also Indra in different aspect. Draupadi clearly knew the merits of each Pandavas and she recounted that in front of Jayadratha in very detail. Draupadi also mentioned later that all Pandavas were fit to marry her Individually.* *However Mahabharata was story of warriors and Arjuna get the bigger role and higher fame. His importance in the life of Pandavas were also immensely high due to that. Think about it- what if there was no war and only peace. No bad people - only good people. All were good and doing their duties effectively without any jealousy, anger etc. Technically in that scenario the role of a warrior would have become minimal to zero. Apart from Indra aspect Arjuna possibly had also Nara aspect where he shares eternal bond with Krishna. Possibly due to that he was more balanced in terms of all qualities - Indra among the Indras. Krishna himself stated that Arjuna was his manifestation among the Pandavas indicating he was the best. Draupadi did considered Arjuna as best of Pandavas as well. Apart from that Mahabharata no where mentioned any clear partiality from the side of Draupadi. Draupadi died out of fatigue and Yudhisthira mentioned her partiality to Arjuna as reason of her fall. This is what we know. What possibly he meant to say Draupadi was just fall short of the expected standard required for being in heaven in human body. Beyond that Mahabharata neither provided any description of ‘equal treatment’ that Draupadi supposed to do with her husbands nor it provided any description of any ‘partial treatment’ that she actually did with Arjuna.* *Q3 What is the most dangerous chemical on Earth?* *A3 Mathew P. Vanderburg,Jun 13* *When someone says "hazardous chemical," people think of chemicals like cyanide, arsenic, or tetrodotoxin.* *And yes, they are quite venomous, but not even close to the most dangerous of them all.* *The most poisonous and deadly chemical is botulinum toxin.** In fact, 1 nanogram can kill a healthy human being.* *It was first discovered as a cause of food poisoning in the late 18s due to poorly prepared** sausages in Germany.* *Later, however, Professor Emile Van Ermengem** isolated the bacterium Clostridium botulinum for the first time.* *Despite how dangerous and lethal this substance is today, it is used by many people who want to "freeze" their face so as not to age by injecting very small doses.Modern medicine calls it Botox.* *Q4 What is the greatest trick in mathematics?* *A4 Shelly Knight, Lives in London Updated Oct 7* *You will fool or at least, surprise, almost everybody with this wonderful trick**! * *Give a person a calculator to use. Tell them to type any three digits (example 839). Tell them to repeat the digits so they get a six figure number (839839). * *Then you show them how incredibly quick you are! Just glance at the number and say, “That number will divide exactly by 13″. Tell them to do it. Glance at this answer and say, “That number now will divide exactly by 11”. Tell them to do it. Finally say, “Your answer will now divide exactly by 7”. Tell them to do it and to their surprise, the final answer will be the first three digits they thought of!!! (ie 839) It is a good exercise to get people to prove this always works.* *My note- The point is any three digits repeated divided by 13, again by 11 and again by 7 we get the first number* *I have taken taken simple 123, repeating 123123* *Dividing by 13 I got 9471. Again divided by 11 I got 861. Again divided by 7 I got 123. * *Update: To learn more about the fascinating world of math tricks, check out this article on The Masterclass of Math: Discovering the Greatest Trick that Stumps the World* *Q5 Why do Brahmins/upper caste people appear lighter skinned compared to the lower castes?* *A5 A S, cultural nationalist Apr 25* *The Brahmins from different parts of India look different. The difference in looks between Brahmins and other castes widens as we move further south.** Coming across Indians of different ethnicities,cultural backgrounds etc throughout my life,I have observed a pattern.* *Brahmins from the Himalayas,Haryana,Punjab are very tall, lighter skinned and are hairy(the men).* *Brahmins of UP,Bihar(maithli specifically) are light like their Himalayan counterparts but could be dwarfer than them**. But there are many who are quite tall anyway. My friend 52 da Poot is a Maithli brahmin and he is quite tall and fair. But there are few like my maternal aunt who is fair but is quite short in height.She is a dwivedi.* *Among the east Indian brahmins,the difference in looks between odia brahmins and odias of other castes is the most**.* *Odia brahmins in general are much fairer and taller than odias of other castes**. * *Bengali brahmins have a more wheatish to light brown skin tone.** Exceptionally there are a few really light skinned bengali brahmins but they are not as light as brahmins of the north. They are also dwarfer than their counterparts in the north.* *Another interesting difference can be seen in Assam and other north eastern states. While the** majority of the people have mongoloid features,the brahmins look completely different. They have more Indo-european features.* *The Marathi brahmins also look quite different** from other castes.They are lighter than other castes but are of average height.* *The south Indian brahmins are wheatish to brown and could also be dark brown**.They are also of average height.* *my <https://www.quora.com/profile/Priyal-Parnami> note- I have added the QA for the colour of East, North and South Indian Brahmins. Among** Brahmins very dark complexioned are rare. But I have seen very dark Brahmins coming for upakarma in the near the temple, but their face had Brahmin appearance. Thenkalai iyengars are more brownish in my observation. But there is nothing in skin colour.* * <https://www.quora.com/After-Mahabharata-did-Krishna-meet-Radha-again-what-happened-of-her>* *Q5 After Mahabharata, did Krishna meet Radha again, what happened of her? <https://www.quora.com/After-Mahabharata-did-Krishna-meet-Radha-again-what-happened-of-her>* *A5 Priyal Parnami, <https://www.quora.com/profile/Priyal-Parnami>Bhagvad Gita, Garg Samhita, Padma Puran, Ling PuranUpdated 11mo <https://www.quora.com/After-Mahabharata-did-Krishna-meet-Radha-again-what-happened-of-her/answer/Priyal-Parnami>* *After Mahabharata, did Krishna meet Radha again, what happened of her?Priyal Parnami's answer: To everyone who is commenting that Devi Radha does not exist, please see this � You n... <https://www.quora.com/After-Mahabharata-did-Krishna-meet-Radha-again-what-happened-of-her/answer/Priyal-Parnami>* *To everyone who is commenting that Devi Radha does not exist, please see this **👇* [image: Description: https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-779aa6df04f15fed5dc35287c0affbb2-pjlq] [image: Description: https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-cf078b4ed72d2a0b6860b3c0fd26ad1d-pjlq] *You need to read Mahabharata again! Here the mention of all the main 8 wives of Lord Krishna comes separately & Shriji comes separately. And we all know the “Shriji” means “Shri Radhe”.* *Second Proof **👇* [image: Description: https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-4aae50d327492f6c7740d65f7b6c6c25-pjlq] *During Draupadi’s Vastraharan, when she became helpless and called Govind. She said- " O Dwarkadhish (King of Dwarka ) Shri Krishna! O Gopanganaon ke pran vallabh ! (The life of Gopis ;their lover ) , the Kauravas are insulting me, please protect me and my pride." Now! If the Gopis never existed , they why would Devi Draupadi call Shri Krishna as "Gopanganaon ke pran vallabh" , at the most difficult time of her life. And if Gopis existed, then Gopi Maharani Shri Radhe also existed, exists & will exist FOREVER!!* *Mahabharata is the history of battle between Kauravas and Pandavas . This was said in Jaya Samhita, Vijaya and at last as Bharat and later named as Mahabharata. It doesn't mentions all the Leelas of Little Krishna. This doesn't mean that there wasn't any childhood of Shri Krishna. Wherever needed it has already mentioned Gopis and Shri Radha. And we gave the proof too. Now looking for Shri Radhe's name anywhere else in Mahabharata is like wasting our time and running from the truth. Shri Radhika's glory can't by understood by going and searching for her name , but by being drowned in her devotion.* *And haters before going, please answer me some questions-* *1. **Why classical dance like kathak and Manipuri dance evolved from Rasleela?* *2. **Nidhivan, bhandirvan, sanket van, seva kunj, maan kund, maan bhavan, radha** kund, radha sarovar, radha bagh, gopeshwar mahadev temple, paigaon, Shyam kund, moti van, prem sarovar, lalita kund, radha van, lalita kund, vishakha kund, Chandrawali kund, Chandrawali temple built 5000 yrs ago. Even Radha's mahal exist there. HOW??* *[I would request all the haters to please go back from here because I won’t tolerate the disrespect of my Radhe more!!]* *EDIT: Please don’t read this above answer. It was based on most of the famous stories about this incident. But, the real story lies in Garg Samhita, written by Garg Muni himself who named Shri Krishna & Shri Balram and saw the entire Krishna Leela from close.* *Yes, Lord Krishna met Devi Radha once again in Dwarka when the Dwapar Yug was comig to an end.** Goddess Radha stayed in Dwarka in her last days on this earth as a maid. But, soon she left realising that her Lord had to complete all his duties left on earth to be reunited with her in their supreme Golok Dham.* *Jay Shri RadheKrishna **🙏**❤**️* *ORIGINAL STORY (EDIT): The story begins with Siddhashram!* *When 100 years of Sridama’s curse passed, Shri Radha & other Gopis decided to leave Kadalivana and go to Siddhashram in the country of Anarta.** Accompanied by his sixteen-thousand queens and all His relatives in the Yadava dynasty, Lord Krishna also went on a pilgrimage to Siddhashram.* *By Shri Radha's order many millions of strong Gopas, weapons in hand, protected the pilgrimage-party in Siddhashram**. Sticks in hand, a hundred groups of very strong Gopis protected and served Shri Radha as she bathed at Siddhashram. As the men of Dwarka, wishing to bathe there, were being beaten with sticks, Lord Krishna’s queens entered that place.* *The queens asked: Who is the girl bathing here? Her power is wonderful. The best of the Yadava** warriors are terrified of her. Who is Her beloved? What is Her name? Where does She live? O Lord, You know everything. O son of Devaki, please tell us.* *The Supreme Personality of Godhead said:* *She is named Radha. She is the daughter of Kirti** and Vrashbhanu. She is the queen of Braja and the queen of the Gopis. She is very exalted. I am her beloved.* *Accompanied by many Gopis, from Braja She has** come to bathe at Siddhashram. The great Yadava warriors are terrified of her. That is her wonderful power.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "iyer123" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/1716769148.10102242.1697469132122%40mail.yahoo.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/1716769148.10102242.1697469132122%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZooRrY_WCVT90e9hrpTEPtC-GmZ03q-x2-Wig4LS%2B_EtCw%40mail.gmail.com.
