12. Dying and cremation.

The ceremonial aspects of dying and the subsequent cremation is considered the last of the samskara s. There are a long set of rituals following death that are not considered to be samskara s. The sequence of ceremonies associated with dying and death are very elaborate, are related to various and sometimes contradictory doctrines about the fate of the soul after death, and vary somewhat in extent and detail among different thars . These ceremonies are closely related to other South Asian death practices, and we will treat them in a somewhat summary way here.^[53]