History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c72.176

v5.c72.176

Embalming the dead for some time at least was not quite unknown in India. The Sat. Śr. 29. 4. 29 and Vaik. Śr. 31.23⁵³⁹ prescribe that if an āhitāgni died away from his people his corpse should be laid down in a tub or trough filled with sesame oil and brought home in a cart. In the Rāmāyaṇa it is several times said that the body of Daśaratha was placed for several days in a tub containing oil till the arrival of Bharata (vide Ayodhyā 66. 14–16, 76.4). In the Viṣṇupurāṇa⁵⁴⁰ it is stated that the body of Nimi being covered with oil and fragrant substances did not become decomposed and looked as if the death was recent.