Garuda Puran: Can women also perform cremation? There is a description in Garun Purana

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Garuda Puran: It is often seen that after someone’s death, it is the men who are responsible for his cremation. Women are generally considered to be prohibited from going to cremation grounds, but are women prohibited from performing cremations in the scriptures? Is this clearly described in Garun Purana? Let us know what is mentioned in Garun Purana about cremation of women?

Garun Purana is included in 18 Mahapuranas. Garun Purana explains in detail about death and the journey of the soul after birth. Funeral rites have also been mentioned in Garun Purana. The matter related to the last rites is written in Chapter 8 of the Preta section of Garuda Purana. In this chapter, Lord Shri Hari Vishnu has told Garuda that after the death of a person, who has the right to perform his last rites?

What has Lord Vishnu told to Garun?

Lord Vishnu told that first of all the son, grandson, great-grandson i.e. the next generations of the children perform the last rites. Only they have the right to perform the last rites. If these are not available then the last rites can be performed by brother, brother’s son and their descendants. Apart from these, relatives born in the same clan can also perform the last rites.

Can women perform last rites?

Lord Vishnu further tells Garun that women like wife, daughter or sister can perform the last rites only if there is no male member in the family. At the same time, if no relatives are present in the family, then the prominent person of the society has the right to perform the rites of the deceased. This clearly shows that nowhere in the scriptures have women been prohibited from performing the last rites.

Not allowing women to go to the crematorium or stopping them from performing the last rites is just a social tradition. It has no religious rules. This tradition has been created over time.

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