Immediate family guidance
A telephone conversation to help you understand what needs to happen first, and prayers at home where the family wishes them.
Funeral & Remembrance
Hindu funeral priest support, guided with care.
Support with Hindu funeral prayers, crematorium rites, remembrance ceremonies and the steps that follow — explained clearly and prepared around your family tradition.
Calm guidance at a difficult time
A short conversation is often enough to make the next few days feel possible. Nothing needs to be decided before you call.
Home & crematorium prayers
Prayers at home before the funeral and the rites at the crematorium, arranged around the confirmed crematorium time and any funeral-director arrangements.
Family tradition respected
Hindu last rites vary between families, regions and traditions. What your family observes is asked about rather than assumed.
Asthi Visarjan support
Practical help understanding the immersion or scattering of ashes, and the options available here in the United Kingdom.
A few helpful details
What to share when you call
Only share what is known. The arrangements do not need to be complete before you call.
- Your town or postcode and proposed venue.
- The funeral date and crematorium time, if known.
- Your family tradition and language or explanation preferences.
- Whether help is for funeral prayers, post-funeral remembrance or ashes.
Please do not send medical records or identity documents through an enquiry.
Availability and the arrangements are discussed personally before a ceremony is confirmed.
Where to begin
A respectful farewell, handled with care.
If you have lost someone, we are very sorry. There is no need to have decided anything before you call. A short conversation can help make the next steps clearer.
Once the crematorium time is known — whether arranged through a funeral director or directly — the prayers your family observes can be planned around it at home, at the crematorium and afterwards, with the sequence explained beforehand.
Where your family is already working with a funeral director, we can speak with them directly about timings, what the rites require at the crematorium and how long to allow, so you are not left relaying instructions between two parties. If a funeral director has not yet been appointed, that is fine too — the ceremony side can be discussed first.
We work closely with funeral directors across the country. If your family needs practical assistance, we can help you understand the next steps and, where appropriate, coordinate alongside your chosen funeral director.
We also work with suitable locations and providers across the United Kingdom for Asthi Visarjan — the respectful immersion or scattering of ashes — subject to local access, environmental, safety and operator requirements.
Telephone is quickest: +44 (0) 7717 154 215.
How we can help
Support at each stage, at your pace
Families observe these rites differently, and that is as it should be. What follows is offered as guidance, not a fixed order of service.
Crematorium rites
The prayers appropriate to your family’s tradition, conducted calmly and explained gently to those present who may be unfamiliar with them.
Prayer meeting or remembrance
A prayer meeting at home or at a venue, with readings, bhajans or a short address where the family would like them.
Post-funeral rites where observed
The observances some families hold in the days after the cremation. Practices differ, so the sequence is agreed with you rather than fixed in advance.
Shraddha & remembrance
Remembrance prayers where your family observes them, whether the loss was recent or many years ago.
Asthi Visarjan / ashes scattering
Guidance on immersing or scattering ashes, including UK water options, and prayers at the riverside or on board where that is arranged.
Ashes scattering & water remembrance
A respectful UK option when travelling to India is not practical.
Asthi Visarjan is the immersion of cremated remains in flowing water. Many families take ashes to India; others choose a UK river or coastal setting, which can be done with the same care.
The tidal Thames
The Port of London Authority states that no permission from the Authority is needed to scatter ashes into the tidal Thames. It advises choosing a safe, quiet spot, not scattering from bridges, and putting no containers or plastic into the water. Access may still need the landowner’s permission.
River Soar, Leicester
Leicester City Council provides a designated ashes-scattering site on the River Soar, immediately behind the National Space Centre.
Other rivers & coastal water
Other local rivers and coastal locations may be suitable, considered case by case. Access, environmental and safety rules differ by location, so the relevant authority or landowner is asked before anything is arranged.
Private boat charter
A private charter can be considered where a family wants privacy, subject to operator availability, passenger and safety rules, and the requirements of the waterway.
Prayers and mantras are offered on the bank or on board, and the ashes are scattered or immersed respectfully. Loose natural petals are sometimes used, though anything placed in the water depends on local environmental rules and, where a boat is used, the operator’s terms. Please choose a safe, quiet place away from anglers, swimmers, moorings and water abstraction points, and leave no containers, plastic or wreaths in the water.
The rites themselves are guided by Shastri Ji. Anything practical around them — a boat operator, a river or coastal location, or travel arrangements if ashes are being taken to India — is arranged by the family or by an independent provider, and we are glad to talk through what to ask them. Where a location is being considered, we can discuss whether it is suitable for the prayers your family wishes to observe.
Read more about Asthi Visarjan support in the UK.
Funeral & remembrance support
Quiet, dignified and prepared with the family.
Illustrative editorial photography. No family, venue, location, date or occasion is implied.
How it works
Four steps, starting from wherever you are
- 01
Tell us what has happened
Telephone, or send a short message. It helps to know where you are in the process, but nothing needs to be arranged first.
- 02
Family tradition & immediate needs
What your family observes, who is travelling, and what needs to happen in the next day or two.
- 03
Arrangements confirmed
Crematorium, home or venue prayers, remembrance dates and, where wanted, ashes arrangements, agreed around the confirmed crematorium time and any funeral-director arrangements.
- 04
Prayers, rites & follow-up
The rites conducted with dignity, with clear guidance afterwards on any observances your family keeps.
Questions
Funerals & remembrance
Please telephone with your location and any proposed crematorium date and time. We can discuss what support may be possible, but attendance and timings must be agreed personally before anything is confirmed. You can call even if the funeral arrangements are not yet complete.
The cost is discussed personally once the location, timings and prayers your family wishes to observe are understood. Please explain whether you need home prayers, crematorium rites or later remembrance support so the arrangements and cost can be discussed before confirmation.
Antim Sanskar refers to the funeral or last rites. Shraddha refers to remembrance rites for the departed. Asthi Visarjan concerns the immersion of cremated remains. Families observe these differently, so the prayers and their timing are discussed around your own tradition.
If you are using a funeral director, they will usually coordinate the crematorium booking. If you are arranging the cremation yourself, the crematorium or local bereavement service can guide you through that part. Then telephone us and we can talk through the prayers your family observes, the likely timings and what is needed.
That is common and nothing to be embarrassed about. Hindu last rites differ between families, regions and traditions, so no assumption is made about yours. We will ask what you do know, explain the usual options plainly, and help you choose a form that is respectful and right for your family.
Yes, in suitable places. Many families take ashes to India, and others choose a UK river or coastal setting when travel is not practical. The Port of London Authority says no permission from the PLA itself is required to scatter ashes into the tidal Thames, and Leicester City Council provides a designated site on the River Soar. Access, landowner and environmental rules vary by location, so these are checked before anything is arranged.
Yes. Where the family wishes, brief and quiet explanation is offered so friends and colleagues from other backgrounds can be present respectfully and understand what they are witnessing.
Shared quietly
From families supported through a bereavement
Shared with the family’s permission, in their own words. Nothing here is a rating or a review score; none are collected.
More family experiences“At a very difficult time for our family, your calm manner, compassion and guidance meant a great deal to us. You explained what needed to happen with sensitivity and gave us the space to say goodbye properly and with dignity. We will always remember the kindness and respect you showed our family during those days. Our heartfelt thanks.”
Angus MFuneral & remembrance Funeral & Remembrance
Guidance at a Difficult Time
After losing a loved one, one family was grieving while also trying to understand the Hindu rites that needed to be performed.
Continue reading
- Shraddha & Ancestral RitesRemembrance rites for those who came before.
- Spiritual & Community CarePrayer, presence and guidance when it is needed.
- Hindu Funeral Rites ExplainedA gentle explanation of the rites themselves.
- Meet Shastri JiThe person who would guide you through it.
- What is Shraddha?The annual remembrance rites and Pitru Paksha, gently explained.
- Asthi Visarjan, explainedThe immersion of ashes and the choices UK families have.
Need guidance now?
Tell us where you are in the process.
Telephone if it is urgent, or send a short message. Nothing is confirmed until your family is comfortable with the arrangements.
Prefer to write? Message on WhatsApp.