The dead are burnt, except infants, whose bodies are buried. Mourning
is observed for thirteen days for a man, nine days for a woman,
and three days for a child. The _shraddh_ ceremony or offering of
sacrificial cakes to the spirit is performed either during the usual
period in the month of Kunwar (September), or on the anniversary day
of the death. It was formerly held that if a Kshatriya died on the
battlefield it was unnecessary to perform his funeral rites because
his spirit went straight to heaven, and thus the end to which the
ceremonies were directed was already attained without them. It was
also said that the wife of a man dying such a death should not regard
herself as a widow nor undergo the privations imposed on widowhood. But
this did not apply so far as self-immolation was concerned, since the
wives of warriors dying in battle very frequently became _sati_. In the
case of chiefs also it was sometimes the custom, probably for political
reasons, that the heir should not observe mourning; because if he did
so he would be incapable of appearing in an assembly for thirteen days,
or of taking the public action which might be requisite to safeguard
his succession. The body of the late chief would be carried out by the
back door of the house, and as soon as it left his successor would
take his seat on the _gaddi_ or cushion and begin to discharge the
public business of government.