Vedic Wisdom
After a Hindu cremation the family is left with a question that is both sacred and practical: what happens to the ashes, and where? Here is what the rite means and how families in Britain approach it.
Quick answer
Asthi Visarjan — asthi, bones or ashes; visarjan, release or immersion — is the Hindu rite in which the ashes remaining after cremation are given to flowing water with prayers. Traditionally this is a sacred river in India, above all the Ganga. The rite is understood as the final release of the body to the elements and as a blessing for the departed on their onward journey.
Yes, in many cases. Some families take the ashes to India; many others perform Asthi Visarjan at a river, estuary or the sea in Britain. Where in the UK depends on access, landowner permission, environmental guidance and, where a boat is used, the operator’s requirements. Not every stretch of water is suitable or permitted, so this is checked before the day rather than assumed.
Hindu tradition understands the body as made of the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and space — and the rites after death as returning it to them. Cremation gives the body to fire. Asthi Visarjan gives what remains to water. Flowing water in particular: a river that carries the ashes onward is a picture of the journey the departed are understood to be making, and of the family’s release of them to it. Prayers are offered, the ashes are given, and the family bathes or sprinkles water on themselves before returning home.
The rite is simple in form. It needs the ashes, a little flowing water, a few materials — flowers, milk, sesame, sometimes a clay pot — a family member to perform it and a priest to lead the mantras. It does not need a crowd. Many families find it the quietest and most personal of all the rites after a death.
For families in Britain the questions are mostly practical, and they deserve honest answers rather than reassurance. The tradition strongly associates Asthi Visarjan with the Ganga and other sacred rivers in India, and many families still choose to travel. But the tradition has also always allowed for what is possible, and a great many British Hindu families now perform the rite here with full sincerity.
Commonly
A widely followed pattern. Family custom and the setting may vary it.
01
asthi sanchayan
The ashes are collected from the crematorium, often in the days after the funeral, and kept respectfully until the rite. In some traditions they are placed in a clay or metal pot.
02
intention
At the water, the family member performing the rite names the departed and states the purpose of the offering.
03
Mantras are recited. Flowers, milk, sesame and sometimes ghee or honey are offered to the water and to the ashes.
04
The ashes are given to the water — from the bank, from a boat, or by wading in where it is safe and permitted — with the family facing the flow.
05
water offering
Water is poured from the hands for the departed and the ancestors.
06
The family sprinkles water on themselves or bathes, and leaves without looking back, according to widely kept custom. A simple meal or prayer at home often follows.
Honestly
None of these is more sincere than another. They are practical routes to the same rite.
Many families use a river or estuary. Access to the bank, whether the land is public or private, and environmental guidance on what may be placed in the water all apply. Landowner permission is needed where the bank is private. Only the ashes and natural offerings should be given; nothing plastic or synthetic.
Some families prefer the sea and go out by boat with a licensed operator. Operators set their own requirements about numbers, timing, weather and what may be given to the water. Unless separately agreed, the family selects and contracts the operator; an introduction can be made where appropriate.
Some families take the ashes to the Ganga or another sacred river. Airlines and customs authorities have their own documentation requirements, which change and which the family should check directly with the airline and the relevant authorities. No advice on those procedures is offered here.
Some traditions perform Asthi Visarjan within days of the cremation; others wait until the family can gather or travel. No single timescale is universal and none is promised. What your family’s tradition prefers, and what is practical, is discussed openly.
Shastri Ji can lead the rite, advise on what your family’s tradition observes, and guide you towards suitable locations and providers across the United Kingdom, subject to local access, environmental, safety and operator requirements. He does not provide permits, boats or travel arrangements, and no claim is made about approvals or clearances. Where a funeral is imminent, please telephone and say so; it is given priority.
Questions
Written by Shastri Ji Manishbhai Pandya. Last reviewed . Hindu practice varies between regions, communities, families and sampradayas; this guide explains a widely recognised form and is not a ruling on how any family should observe it.
Whenever you are ready
Tell us where you are and what your family would like to do. Practical options are talked through honestly, and nothing is promised that cannot be kept.