Garud Puran: Which relatives of the deceased should get tonsured?

According to Garuda Purana, the head is shaved after the death of parents or any family member. This is considered an essential rule of Sutak after death. Only men have the right to give hair.

During the last rites, the person offering funeral pyre gets his head shaved. Then after a few days, other members of the family also get shaved and leave their hair.

According to Garuda Purana, hair should be given in Sutak to the father, brother, son, grandson of the deceased. This is considered a means of expressing reverence and respect for the deceased person.

Actually, hair is considered a symbol of pride and ego, giving hair after the death of a family member shows dedication towards the dead soul. According to Garuda Purana, sins are destroyed by shaving the head.

It is believed that during mourning, hair becomes impure, and the family purifies itself by removing it. It is a medium of physical and mental purification.

One reason is that after death, when the dead body is taken to the crematorium and burnt there, some of the harmful bacteria stick to our body and hair. Shaving is done only to completely remove these bacteria stuck to the head.