The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c35.33

v2.c35.33

The ceremony of the burning of the body is followed by the departure of the mourners who do not turn round: they wash themselves and offer libations of water for the dead: they change their garments: they pass under a yoke¹ of branches of the purifying Parṇa tree, they touch on entering the house purifying things, water, fire, dung, mustard grains, and barley grains, the power of which lies in the name Yava, which is constantly connected in the Vedic mind with *yu*, ‘restrain’ (demons). Perhaps,² too, at this point, and not merely at the putting away of the bones, there takes place the ceremony of removing from the house, and placing in a desolate place, the fire which must not go through the door. It is impossible to believe that this fire was really in the view of the Rigveda kept for the making of offerings to the dead, though the exact meaning of the references to it in the Rigveda is hard to ascertain.³ Moreover, until the bones are collected, or for three or ten days, the relatives must observe certain restrictions: they must not use their ordinary beds, but sleep on the ground, must observe chastity, cook no food, and live on what they buy, or what others give to them. The nature of these observances is obvious: it is in some way to avoid the risk which death has brought into the vicinity of the relatives: the view that the Preta of the dead is near at hand is clear. The prohibition of cooking is attested by the Avesta also: after death the relatives should cook nothing for three days, and the Parsis observe this rule to the present day.⁴ Clearly the death has infected the food and the vicinity in which it was, and to eat it will bring injury. The sleeping on the ground is less easy to explain: it is possibly an effort to avoid the attention of the spirit if it returns: possibly it may be traced to the view that the relative, by contact with the dead, has contaminated himself and must be purified, before the bed can be safely approached, if it is not to be infected for all time to come: or communion with the earth may be desired. The abstinence from intercourse may be explained, as it is explained by Oldenberg,⁵ as due to the danger that injury might thus be done to any child which might perchance be born.