Antyesti (Funeral rites)

Why the dead feel thirsty
Why pour you the holy water
Why for the tulsi (basil) leaves

Whose jewellery adorn my body
Wrapped around the white orb
Why for roses, jasmine and marigolds

Who calls there
In so straight 
The southward journey

Where are my beloved four
Who will give mukh-aagni
The pyre still lay in wait

Whose mortal remains
An empty vessel will carry
In an immortal urn