RE-PRESENTING DEATH AND DYING IN THE HINDU HOLY CITY OF KASHI
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i9.2020.1673Keywords:
Death, Dying, Kashi, HinduismAbstract [English]
Albeit we know that death is inescapable, we try to avoid it as long as we can so that we can enjoy the immediate and worldly pleasures. Conspicuously, the negative facet of death has always been emphasized. This study represents the positive aspect of death and, simultaneously, the importance of death for human existence. Interestingly, many scholars have discussed that a human being can never imagine his death, though he knows that he has to die. When we talk about death in relation to Kashi, we find most of the positive aspects of death and dying in Kashi. Though most of the Hindu religious texts have delineated the greatness of Kashi as one of the sacred places of pilgrimage, this study endeavors to show that not all people who die in Kashi will achieve moksha. It is interesting to note that for many Indian people, death is a matter of joy in Kashi. This study explores, though not restricted to, the question of death and dying in India in general and in Kashi in particular.
Downloads
References
Berkson, Mark. Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures. Virginia, THE GREAT COURSES, 2016. Print.
Cioran, E. M. The Trouble with Being Born. Translated by Richard Howard, New York, Seaver Books, 2011. Print.
Eck, Diana L. Banaras: City of Light. Gurgaon, Penguin Random House India, 2015. Print.
Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time. Translated by John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson, UK, Basil Blackwell, 1962. Print.
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death &Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy & Their Own Families. Foreword by Ira Byock, New York, Scribner, 2014. Print.
The Padma-Purāṇa. Edited by J. L. Shastri, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1990. Print.
Parry, Jonathan P. Death in Banaras. New Delhi, Cambridge UP, 2018. Print.
The Skanda-Purāna. Edited by Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1996. Print.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.