Pashupatinath— Lord Pashupati's Teachings on Life, Death and Cultural Awareness

Pashupatinath Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Each country’s traditions are vibrant in their own way. Some appeared to be louder and bolder, and some tend to be quieter and more subtle, yet equally meaningful. Besides the typical cultural celebrations, which are more publicly displayed in real life and on the internet, such as weddings, certain religious festivals, and New Year celebrations, funerals tend to be less represented and discussed. After travelling in Nepal for 2 months, experiencing locals’ daily lives, writing about mountains, hospitality, culture, and food, I went on discovering the more untouched and untold part of the culture— funeral rites.

Pashupatinath Temple

I am going to skip all boring openings. I actually visited Pashupatinath Temple at the recommendation of a good friend, as she said the cremation ceremonies were interesting to experience.

Quick background: Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Nepal, with Pashupati meaning the Lord of all Animals, who is seen as one of the epithets of Lord Shiva. It sits on the Bagmati River, serving as a major Hindu pilgrimage site with cremation ghats where the Nepalese Hindus cremate their deceased loved ones. As this article’s main focus is not on introducing a temple or an attraction but on an observation of a funeral rite, you might refer to more professional sources for the temple’s history and further information.

Together with a fellow traveller I met on Couchsurfing a few days prior, I took a small walk around the river bank, then quietly sat on the riverbank of the Bagmati to observe one of the cremations that had just started around the ghat. Alongside, there were many other tourists, as well as Kathmandu locals who were also observing the ceremony—

A body covered with a white cloth, with only the head exposed, was being carried with a metal stretcher towards a one-man-sized step sloping down towards the river. Gently being placed, their naked feet were washed in the holy waters of the Bagmati. Although the river is visibly contaminated, it is still revered for its ritual and symbolic purifying powers, believed to help the soul detach from earthly bonds, purify sins, and potentially attain mukti— liberation from samsara for those who have fulfilled their karmic journey. Across the river, relatives stood close to the water, bidding farewell. After further preparation and rituals, the body was draped in an orange satin cloth and adorned with marigolds.

At the same time, the cremation pyre was being prepared. A platform to lay the body was constructed from layers of bamboo and wood, adorned with more marigolds. After circumambulating the structure three times, the body was placed on top, and additional wood was carefully layered over it. The chief mourner then circled the body three times in an anti-clockwise direction before lighting the funeral pyre. Standing close, he added wet straws as the fire began to rise, until smoke billowed upward, marking the beginning of the soul’s journey from the physical world.

We did not stay until the end, but later observed another ceremony where a pile of ashes was being swept into the Bagmati River, symbolising a return to its source and the completion of the natural cycle of life. Following the ritual, the soul of the deceased is believed to be released from the body, continuing its journey in samsara, with the possibility of attaining mukti depending on karma and spiritual progress.

Life, Death and the Living

The Hindu cremation ceremony is a quiet yet powerful ritual, even to the eyes of a non-Hindu. At Pashupatinath, everything felt unspokenly loud, brimming with meaning. It is never merely a funeral; it embodies deeply rooted cultural significance, religious beliefs, and the wishes of the bereaved, who hope their loved ones will be released from earthly attachments and continue their spiritual journey. The ritual is both solemn and intimate, yet performed in public, illustrating how life, death, and the divine are deeply intertwined in Hindu thought. After all, most funeral rituals around the world are performed for the living— not only to honour the deceased, but also to provide comfort, guidance, and emotional closure. Witnessing such a ceremony, one cannot help but reflect on the impermanence of life, the cyclical nature of existence, and the cultural aspiration for release, peace, and transcendence.

Travel Mindfully in the Modern Era

Many tourists might find Pashupatinath overwhelming and intimidating. Some may simply summarize what they’ve heard from others and call the temple ‘the place they burn bodies’. In my opinion, this reflects a lack of cultural awareness. I was raised in a comparatively ‘Westernised’ city in Asia, Hong Kong, yet I did not experience the slightest cultural shock— a term often used (and overused) by foreigners when travelling to countries with very different customs. In fact, cremation is a common funeral practice in many countries, including European states. Perhaps it is the public and ritualized nature of Hindu cremation, which openly displays the concept of death, that contrasts sharply with the private and solemn Western funeral rituals.

However, it is important to note that Pashupatinath, like many other Hindu temples, is primarily built as a Hindu pilgrimage site, not a tourist attraction. Only families of the deceased and other Hindu devotees would be present at the ceremonies before the temple was displayed to tourists. What is seen as an ‘open display’ might be no different in principle from a funeral house in the West, where cremations are conducted behind closed doors. After all, in most countries, outsiders would not enter a funeral home to observe a stranger’s cremation, right? Although it is true that in parts of South and Southeast Asia, bystander behaviour may differ due to social norms, family structures, and education, a topic for another discussion.

In this era of easy access to information, I strongly advise travelers to cultivate cultural awareness and keep an open mind while exploring the world. But be mindful of what content you consume, especially when videos and blogs from self-proclaimed ‘travel influencers’ flood the internet. Eye-catching topics often involve exaggerated or negative phrases, such as 'I Got Scammed in ___’ for South Asia. This is, unfortunately, just the tip of the iceberg. Through multiple random discussions and conversation with people, I discovered how easy it is to form impressions and stereotypes of countries and places through the internet, even if false or misleading information are used. For instance, the impression of Cambodia being dangerous as a tourist destination has spread like wild fire after kidnapping cases have been reported in news. Medias exaggerated the danger, ignoring that fact that victims do not get snatched to scam centers under broad daylight, rather fallen into online job scamming ads for working in Cambodia with offers that are too good to be true. Even online news media Even online news media often sacrifice accuracy nowadays, what would make a self-run online page a completely reliable source?

As a former Asian and International Studies student in a Bachelor level, I found even academical discussions and lectures sometimes were over-generalised using limited information. I had a lecturer overgeneralising India as a poor developing nation when we had to engage on a discussion on the topic 'Would you rather live in China, an authoritarian state with better economical power; or India, a democratic state with poor economical conditions'. Only later did I realise that India’s economic landscape is highly diverse, with several developed states and a growing middle class, challenging the oversimplified notion of India as a poor country.

Needless to say, while many influencers prioritise reach and views over accuracy, it is also our responsibility to educate ourselves with reliable information. Please do not let these sensationalised perspectives on the medias nowadays shape your understanding of a culture or place before you have witnessed or experienced it yourself. If you have certain constrains that limits you from those experiences, at least try to learn it from a friend who has travelled to, or lived in the region.

Holy Cow!!!!