Is it right or wrong to eat at the time of death ritual (mṛtyubhoj)? Let's find out what Lord Shri Krishna has said about this...

 

In every Hindu family, when a member or relative passes away, a death ritual called 'mṛtyubhoj' is organized on the thirteenth day. However, many people have questions in their minds about whether it is right to eat during the death ritual or not. So, let's understand the answer to this question and also what Shri Krishna has said about it...

The death ritual (dāh-sanskar) is considered the final sacrament among the 16 sacraments of Hinduism. It marks the completion of the departed soul's journey on Earth. During the death ritual, many rituals and customs are performed, one of which is organizing a feast on the thirteenth day.

Many relatives, acquaintances, and community members are invited to the death feast. While there is a rush of people to eat at the feast, some people question whether it is appropriate to eat during the death ritual.

What do scriptures say about the death feast?

According to a knowledgeable person, after someone's death, certain rituals like performing specific actions on the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth days are necessary. On the tenth day, household cleaning or religious rites are performed, known as 'daśgātr.' On the eleventh day, offerings (pind-dān) are made, and on the twelfth day, monthly offerings and offerings for ancestors are performed along with sprinkling Ganga water in the house. Then, on the thirteenth day, a collective feast is organized with 13 or 16 priests, relatives, and family members, which is known as the 'mṛtyu bhoj.' Only knowledgeable and ascetic Brahmins who chant the Gayatri mantra are invited to this feast. Brahmins used to bring raw materials from their homes, such as grains, groceries, fruits, vegetables, milk, yogurt, sweets, and clothes, to the deceased person's home. They also fed those deceased souls and gave them remembrance marks so that even after leaving this world, their relatives' connection remained.

However, things have changed now. These customs have been distorted, and it is now understood incorrectly. Spending lakhs of rupees in the death feast and feeding thousands of people is not considered scripturally correct by most scholars. The death feast should be organized only for close relatives and needy people, and if someone from an affluent family participates in this feast, it leads to a decline in their karma.

What did Shri Krishna say about the death feast?

सम्प्रीति भोज्यानि आपदा भोज्यानि वा पुनैः।

Whether eating during the death feast is right or not can be understood to some extent from a context in the Mahabharata. The war of Mahabharata was about to begin. To avoid the war, Lord Shri Krishna went to Duryodhana's house and urged him to seek peace and presented a proposal to avoid the war. However, Duryodhana did not heed Shri Krishna's advice. This caused distress to Shri Krishna. He left from there. When leaving, Duryodhana invited Shri Krishna to have a meal, but Shri Krishna declined. Upon this, Duryodhana felt bad. To this, Shri Krishna said, 'Samprīti bhojyāni āpadā bhojyāni vā punaḥ,' which means, 'Hey Duryodhana! Eating should be done only when the giver and receiver both are happy. If there is pain or sorrow in the minds of the giver and the receiver, then eating should not be accepted. This context from Mahabharata is linked to the death feast, where after the death of a loved one, there is deep sorrow in the mind, and there is much grief among the family members. On the other hand, invited guests to the death feast also do not join the feast happily. It is said that this leads to the depletion of energy.