Hindu Funerary and Ancestral Rites

Hindu funerary and ancestral rites are the sequence of Vedic and Puranic observances that mark death and sustain the departed within the family lineage in Hinduism. Antyeshti, literally the last sacrifice, is the cremation rite performed for the body soon after death, treated in Hindu tradition as one of the samskaras marking the end of earthly life. Shraddha is the later commemorative rite performed on death anniversaries and during the Pitru Paksha fortnight to honor the pitrs, the ancestors of the paternal and maternal lines, believed to bring peace to them in the afterlife. Tarpana is the accompanying Vedic libation offering of water and sesame performed to satisfy ancestors and deities as part of the same ancestral observance. These three rites are linked stages of one funerary and ancestral tradition, distinct from a single generic death custom by their fixed place in the Hindu calendar and their own named liturgical form.