Why mourners wait for the skull to crack on the pyre: kapalkriya and the beliefs around it

Many people wonder why, as a pyre burns, those present wait for the skull to burst or crack. In some Hindu funeral traditions, kapalkriya is linked to the liberation of the soul. The rite is not the same in every tradition.

In many local traditions, people wait for the skull to burst during cremation. In some places a formal rite, called kapalkriya, is performed for this. In the religious view, the human body is made of the five great elements (panchamahabhuta). Hindu philosophy holds that after death the body merges into earth, water, fire, air and space. Kapalkriya is regarded as a symbol of the body's perishable nature and of the soul's onward journey.

So what is kapalkriya? At cremation, ghee is poured on the body and the pyre is lit. As the pyre burns, tissues such as skin, organs and flesh burn quickly, but the bones, especially the skull, do not. In many Hindu funerals, once the pyre is burning, the skull is broken or cracked with the help of a wooden stick.

It is believed that the kapal, meaning the forehead or skull, is the last stage on the soul's path to moksha as it leaves the body. The skull holds the brain, the main seat of consciousness, which is also called prana. Kapalkriya is performed to release that prana. In ancient times, a skull that remained intact after cremation was called an "incomplete cremation" (apurna dah).

The rite is said to be performed to free the soul of the dead person from the bonds of the body. In some places it is done by the deceased's son or the person responsible for the last rites. But the practice is not the same across all Hindu communities.

According to some other beliefs, the rite is also performed so that an unburnt, intact skull is not used by tantriks for wrongful purposes. It is also believed that until the body turns completely to ash, the grief, love and pull of relationships tied to that person's body cannot end. The practice of kapalkriya marks the end of a person's physical existence.

According to science, the skull cracks because of changes in the bones caused by heat. There is no scientific proof of the liberation of the soul.