Kriya Diet Rules: No Salt, No Spices — What to Eat During Mourning in Nepal

The dietary restrictions during Nepal's 13-day kriya mourning period are some of the strictest in any Hindu tradition. The chief mourner (kriyaputri) eats only what they cook themselves, on a separate stove, using a handful of permitted ingredients — and salt is not one of them.

For 13 consecutive days, the mourner's diet is deliberately bland, deliberately austere, and deliberately weakening. This is not accidental. The physical deprivation is designed to align the body with the emotional state of grief, creating a tangible connection between the mourner's suffering and the soul's transition.

What Is Allowed

Family observance varies. The strictest accounts limit the diet to rice and ghee; some family traditions also allow:

• Rice — the staple, eaten at every meal
• Ghee (clarified butter) — the only fat allowed, used for cooking and as a condiment
• White radish (mooli)
• Cucumber
• Lemon
• Sugar — the only sweetener permitted
• Milk — in some family traditions, though others restrict even this

Meals are strictly vegetarian, cooked over a newly established clay stove or a single-burner electric heater. The mourner prepares and eats alone, using dedicated utensils that are not shared with anyone else in the household.

What Is Banned

• Salt — the most notable restriction, and the one that has the greatest physical impact
• Turmeric — a standard spice in Nepali cooking, but considered too stimulating during mourning
• Oil — only ghee is permitted; no mustard oil, vegetable oil, or sesame oil
• All other spices — no cumin, coriander, chilli, pepper, fenugreek, or any masala blend
• Meat of any kind — no chicken, goat, buffalo, or fish
• Alcohol
• Garlic and onion — classified as tamasic (spiritually dulling) foods in the Hindu dietary framework
• Manufactured or processed food — nothing from packets, tins, or restaurants

Why No Salt?

Salt is the restriction that draws the most questions, especially from younger family members who have never observed a full kriya before.

The theological reasoning is that salt stimulates appetite and physical vitality — qualities that a mourner should suppress during the period when their focus must be entirely on the deceased's spiritual transition. By stripping the diet of flavour and energy, the mourner's physical state mirrors their psychological grief. The resulting lethargy is intentional: it prevents the mourner from resuming normal activities too quickly and ensures they remain in a contemplative, prayerful state.

There is also a practical element. During the kriya, the mourner is ritually impure (ashuddh). Salt was historically associated with preservation and worldly commerce — removing it signals a temporary withdrawal from everyday life.

The Physical Reality

Thirteen days without added salt can take a real physical toll. Salt abstinence is described as inducing physical lethargy during the mourning period.

• Physical lethargy

For elderly kriyaputris or those with pre-existing health conditions like hypertension or diabetes, the austere diet can be difficult to sustain. Families may adapt the rule for health reasons, with guidance from both a physician and the family priest before the kriya begins — ideally before a death occurs, not during the crisis.

How Meals Work During Kriya

The mourning family is considered ritually impure, which means they cannot use their regular kitchen or prepare food for others. The household's cooking responsibilities shift entirely:

• Neighbours and extended family who are not in mourning prepare and deliver vegetarian meals to the household. This community support system is one of the strongest features of Nepali funeral tradition.
• The kriyaputri's meals are separate from the household meals. The mourner cooks alone on their dedicated stove, in their isolation room or at the Kriyaputri Bhawan.
• In Newar tradition, the earthen kitchen stove (culo) is demolished on the tenth day and rebuilt after the mourning period ends — a physical representation of the household's spiritual rebirth.

Diaspora Adaptations

For Nepali families abroad, observing the full dietary restrictions can be challenging. Small apartments without separate kitchens, work schedules that prevent daily cooking, and the unavailability of raw ritual ingredients all complicate the process.

Common adaptations include:

• Using a portable camping stove or hot plate as the dedicated mourning stove
• Cooking a larger batch of plain rice and ghee once daily rather than preparing fresh meals three times
• Allowing limited salt for mourners with medical conditions, with the priest's explicit approval

The key principle is that the spirit of the restriction — austerity, separation from normal life, focus on the deceased — should be maintained even when the letter cannot be followed perfectly.

For the complete kriya protocol, including day-by-day schedules, material lists, and guidance on navigating family expectations around dietary strictness, the Hindu Funeral — Nepal guide covers everything from the first meal to the Day 13 purification feast.