"From afar I could smell the smoke of the dead burning body. It smelled like burnt hair. So I covered my nose trying to get closer to see the ritual behind the smoke now clouding the area, I smell the smoke of burning wood mixed with the odor of burnt flesh." -mywanderlust
After an hour of preparation they brought out a body wrapped in linen and lying on what amounted to a bamboo ladder borne by four Hari Krishna’s who lifted the body up on to the pile of wood, covered it with grasses and then, with very little additional ceremony, they lit the pyre.
The Pashupatinath Temple is a sacred Hindu temple located on the banks of the Bagmati River 5 kilometres north-east of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
It is considered one of the sacred temples of Hindu faith. Listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site, the temple serves as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath.
The Heritage complex of Pashupati is full of beautiful ancient and medieval architecture. Amazing shrines are built everywhere around the area.
Within the temple ground, it is normal to see several Sadhus covered in a plain piece of clothing with white powder spread all over their body.
In Hindu tradition, the dead are cremated on the banks of the holy Bagmati River. It is the ultimate wish of a Hindu to be cremated along the river bank. The body must be dipped into the river three times before cremation.
Learning about cultures is a great way of understanding a place and people there.
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Thanks for reading!
Upvoted and followed you :)
Thank you sir
This looks like a really amazing experience to me, but also a huge culture shock. Here in the Netherlands we have such other traditions, but it is just that what makes travel amazing i believe.
I went to Netherlands last year (Amsterdam) and I was also culture shocked. If you know what I mean. lol
I think i get what you mean lol Amsterdam is a place of its own. But also in Amsterdam they are beginning to regulate a lot which damages amsterdams uniqueness unfortunatelly.
its like cremation.
What a lovely post :)
This must have been strange but also kind of beautiful to witness, if you are not from their culture.
I only thought they did these types of cremations in India.
Thank you dan, indeed it was an amazing experience. They also do it in India and other hindu countries
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Thank you for sharing about this.:)
That's really cool. I never made it to Pashupatinath when I was in Nepal, I have a feeling you got a much more authentic view of Hindu cremation than most tourists in Varanasi with all its touts and scams...
I will have to post some of my Nepal travel stories on my feed now too :)
Es curioso es ver las tradiciones de cada país...
Buen post amigo!