Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man is a novel by Indian author U.R. Ananthamurthy, first published in 1965. The book tells the story of a man from India's highest social class who dies unexpectedly, thereby creating an internal conflict in his town.
Naranappa is a member of the Brahmin caste, India's upper class. At the beginning of the book, he dies of a fever and leaves his community in disarray. They are uncertain about how to handle his funeral rites. Tradition dictates that he be cremated, as befits his status as a Brahmin. However, he has been cast out for drinking, eating meat, and fishing in the pond of the local temple. He is especially reviled for leaving his wife for Chandri, a woman from a low caste. Naranappa was never formally excommunicated, so there is a great deal of disagreement about how his body should be dealt with. The Brahmins turn to Praneshacharya, a devoted and studious member of the community. Praneshacharya struggles with the weight of the decision, sympathizing with Chandri as he rereads multiple texts in search of an answer. Things continue to get more and more muddled, as no decision is reached and Naranappa's corpse rots in the village temple. In highlighting his characters' many hypocrisies, Ananthamurthy paints a picture of moral vacuity in a decaying social order.
Samskara is regarded as a masterpiece of contemporary world literature. From the time of its publication in 1965, the novel was widely read and very well-received and well-reviewed. Speaking of the book, essayist Pankaj Mishra writes, "Ananthamurthy’s most controversial and celebrated work, Samskara, is a novel about a decaying Brahmin colony. . . . Throughout the novel, Ananthamurthy builds extraordinary tension and atmosphere. It is an India that is instantly recognizable to its Indian readers." In 1970, the novel was adapted into a film directed by Pattabhirama Reddy, starring Girish Karnad and Snehalatha Reddy. The film also received extensive praise and is widely credited as spearheading the "Parallel Cinema" movement in India.
