Antim Sanskar by Son in Hindu Tradition: Why Only Boys Have Been Given the Responsibility for Funerals? What Is the Meaning of ‘Putra’ (Son)?

Antim Sanskar by Son in Hindu Tradition: Indian culture have many customs and traditions going on for centuries. One of these is – Antim Sanskar by Son in Hindu Tradition. That means, after the death of a person, his last rites are performed by the son. Especially in Hinduism, there is a strong belief that the son plays the most important role in the last rites process. But why is this so? Is there any religious or social reason for this? Let us try to understand this in simple language.

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Antim Sanskar (Last Rites)
In Hinduism, it is believed that a person gets Moksh (salvation) only when his last rites are performed correctly. The most important is ‘Mukhagni’, which means cremation. This is most importantly performed only by the son in Hinduism.

Meaning of ‘Putra’
According to religious beliefs, ‘Putra’ means who shows path to his parents even after the death. One more belief is, ‘Putra’ is made up of two letters – ‘Pu’ meaning hell and ‘Tra’ meaning deliverer. That is, a son is the one who saves his parents from difficulties in their journey after life. Based on this thinking, this responsibility was given to the son.

Daughters were Not Given Many Rights
In ancient times, the structure of society was somewhat different. In those times, daughters were not given many rights. They had less freedom to go out of the house, take decisions or participate in social work. Therefore, it was also believed that it would not be appropriate for daughters to perform tasks like last rites. This thinking gradually became a tradition.

Another thing is also believed that the son is the heir of the house, he takes the lineage forward, so the responsibility after death is also his. But with time the situation has changed. Now daughters are also supporting their family with full responsibility. Many times daughters take care of their parents and also complete the last rites after death.

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Nowadays Daughters Also Perform Last Rites
Today, both law and society allow the daughters to perform last rites. Society has also started looking at it with respect. Gradually, traditions are changing and people are giving more importance to emotions.