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The concept of the ideal son in the funeral rituals of classical Hinduism
Faixová, Jaqueline ; Štipl, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Špicová, Zuzana (referee)
The role of the son is one of the key components in the society of classical Hinduism. It is the firstborn son who determines the fate of the whole family not only during their life, but also after it. The transition to the afterlife is greatly influenced by the oldest offspring, it is how he carries out mortuary rituals, the way he lives and acts that determines what realm will the deceased ancestor reach. Rites of passage, so called samskaras and the correct performance of them should cause the individual, in this case the oldest son, to carry out a good life in accordance with dharma, but the rites themself are not sufficient. In addition, there are several requirements that an ideal son has to meet. This thesis aims to present the role of the son in the funeral rituals of classical Hinduism, to examine how far this role is identical across the sources and to what extent it is coherent and where it differs. As for the puranic tradition we will be examining, Garuda Purana Saroddhara and Garuda Purana, and for the shastra tradition a Manavadharmashastra will be studied. The first chapter will introduce the idea of the firstborn son and his role in classical Hinduism. In the following chapters this role will be presented as it is seen by the individual texts and finally a comparison between the...
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