Home When someone has passed away
When someone has passed away
We are so sorry for your loss. Pandit Ji is here to help with the last rites, gently and calmly. Please call Pandit Ji.
One step at a time
You do not need to know the rituals, and you do not have to do everything at once. Call Pandit Ji, and he will guide the family through each step calmly, in Gujarati, Hindi or English, and explain what each prayer means.
If you wish, you can softly say the name of God, and light a diya (small oil lamp). Some families place a few drops of Ganga water (holy water of the Ganges) and a tulsi (holy basil) leaf in the mouth. Do only what feels right and is possible. Pandit Ji can guide you by phone.
For registration and other legal steps, your funeral director and GOV.UK will guide you. GOV.UK: what to do after someone dies
What to keep ready
These are the items Pandit Ji usually asks the family to keep ready. He will guide you gently on each one.
- Abil, gulal, kumkum and chandan (10 g each)
- Jav (barley) and white til (sesame) (200 g each)
- Ganga water (1 small bottle)
- Panch dhatu (small pieces of five metals)
- Darbh (sacred grass)
- Tulsi (holy basil) leaves
- White cloth (3 metres and 1 metre)
- Butter (4 packets)
- Coconuts with tail (4)
- Rice flour (500 g)
- A clay matki (pot) (1)
- Agarbatti (incense)
- A chandan (sandalwood) piece and a chandan wood garland
- Ram Naam cloth (yellow, ready-made)
- A white handkerchief
- Raw khichadi (mung and rice mix, 1 small bowl)
- A few coins (sava, the traditional offering)
- Flower petals
- A clay diya (small lamp) with cotton, ghee and matches
- Panchamrut (1 bowl)
- 5 small plates, 5 small bowls and 3 spoons
On the morning, please keep ready 6 medium pind (rice balls) made from rice flour mixed with a little ghee, panchamrut, a pinch of til and jav, and water. Keep one bowl of Ganga water separately.
If anything is unclear or difficult to arrange, please call Pandit Ji.
How Pandit Ji helps
- Antim Sanskarthe last rites, the final sanskar (life ceremony). Pandit Ji leads the prayers at home or at the funeral director’s chapel, and at the crematorium.
- Asthi Visarjanplacing the ashes in flowing water, in the UK or in India, as the family wishes.
- Kriyathe rites after a death, usually on the 11th, 12th or 13th day. Pandit Ji brings what is needed, and the havan kund (fire pit).
- The 13 daysprayers in the days after a death, up to the 13th day. Pandit Ji explains each day simply, so nothing feels rushed.
- Garud Purana sacred scripture read in the days after a death, for the peace of the departed soul, if the family wishes.
- Shraddh and Tarpanprayers and offerings to remember the departed, each year and in Pitru Paksha (the fortnight for the ancestors).
Pandit Ji is here to help
Call Pandit Ji. He will guide you calmly, one step at a time, in Gujarati, Hindi or English.