page_title: Ghat
section_title: Shmashana - the cremation ghats
hierarchical_section_title: Ghat / Type of ghats in India / Shmashana - the cremation ghats
caption_attribution_description: English: A water color painting of Pune as seen from the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers in late 1700s, by British artist Henry Salt
context_page_description: Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped-hills with valleys, such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aapravasi Ghat. Roads passing through ghats are called Ghat Roads.
context_section_description: Ghats such as these are useful for both mundane purposes (such as cleaning) and religious rites (i.e. ritual bathing or ablutions); there are also specific "shmashana" or "cremation" ghats where bodies are cremated waterside, allowing ashes to be washed away by rivers; notable ones are Nigambodh Ghat and Raj Ghat in Delhi on the Yamuna, the latter of which was the cremation area for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and numerous political leaders after him, and the Manikarnika Ghat at Varanasi on the Ganges.
caption: A late 18th-century painting of Pune with the Shmashana ghat at the confluence of Mula and Mutha rivers in the foreground
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