Varanasi: Do you know why certain dead bodies are not cremated in Kashi? Know the religious beliefs behind this.

Religious beliefs have a very deep impact in India, and this is why there are many pilgrimage sites across the country. Every pilgrimage site has its own identity, importance and belief. People turn to special pilgrimage sites to get rid of their sufferings, sins or diseases. One of these is Kashi, which is called Mokshadayini Nagari. It is believed that a person who dies in Kashi gets salvation and travels directly to Vaikunth. This is the reason why many people come and settle in Kashi in the last days of their lives.

Talking about the cremation grounds of Kashi, the pyre never goes off here. At places like Manikarnika and Harishchandra Ghat, the bodies are cremated day and night. But very few people would know that five types of corpses are not allowed to be cremated in Kashi. This mystery was revealed in a video of a sailor that went viral on social media recently. The sailor told that in Kashi, the bodies of saints, children below 12 years of age, pregnant women, people who died of snakebite and those suffering from leprosy or skin diseases are not cremated.

Instead of cremating the sages and saints, they are given Jal Samadhi or Thal Samadhi. Children are considered to be the form of God and burning their bodies is considered inauspicious. There is a possibility of the stomach of pregnant women bursting on the pyre due to the fetus growing in their body, which can make the scene indecent. The dead body of a person bitten by a snake is also not cremated because it is believed that there is life in their body for some time and a tantrik can revive them. At the same time, burning the bodies of leprosy patients is believed to spread the disease. All these beliefs are based on local religious traditions and faiths.