Anayasena: Essays on Death, Medicine, and Ancient Wisdom
This is the complete collection of the Anayasena series: Six essays exploring what ancient wisdom teaches modern medicine about dying well. Read in order for the full journey, or explore individual essays as they speak to you.
Anayasena (Anāyāsena, अनायासेन): without struggle, effortlessly.
It’s a Sanskrit word from an ancient prayer whispered in temples across India: Grant me a life of dignity and a death without suffering.
This six-part series explores what modern medicine can learn from ancient wisdom about dying well, living with dignity, and letting go with grace.
As a physician, I’ve stood at many bedsides as the monitors went flat. I’ve guided families through difficult choices about ventilators, CPR, and comfort care. I’ve carried questions that medical college training never answered:
- How do I know when we’re extending life versus prolonging dying?
- When does fighting death become cruelty?
- How do families live with the weight of these decisions?
The answers came from unexpected teachers… a patient who taught me about ripeness, a Sanskrit prayer about cucumbers, death ceremonies that structure grief with ancient precision, and death rituals from cultures around the world.
This series is my attempt to bridge the two worlds: (1) Clinical medicine & (2)Timeless human wisdom.
It’s written for (1) families facing end-of-life decisions, (2) physicians carrying the moral weight of these choices, and (3) anyone grappling with the concept of mortality.
Read the series here:
How Do I Know I’m Right?
Shashikiran UmakanthThis is Part 1 of a 6-part series on death, dignity, and what medicine can learn from ancient wisdom. The Weight We Carry The son wants everything done. The daughter wants comfort care. The wife hasn’t spoken in two days. I’m standing at the foot of the ICU bed, looking…
When the Body Knows
Shashikiran UmakanthThis is Part 2 of a 6-part series on death, dignity, and what medicine can learn from ancient wisdom. The Cucumber, the Vine, and Ripeness The wisdom found me a week later. I’m standing in the corridor outside the ICU, discussing with my residents about Mrs. Shantha. Eighty-two, chronic lung…
Anayasena, The Prayer I Whisper
Shashikiran UmakanthThis is Part 3 of a 6-part series on death, dignity, and what medicine can learn from ancient wisdom. Anayasena Maranam and dignity in dying I’m sitting in my car in the hospital parking area. It’s 7 PM. I should be going home. Instead, I’m staring at my phone. At a…
“Anayasena” Series
This article is part of the six-part series that explores what modern medicine can learn from ancient wisdom about dying well, living with dignity, and letting go with grace.
Subscribe to get an email when the other articles are published.
- How Do I Know I’m Right? The weight of end-of-life decisions
- When the Body Knows. The cucumber, the vine, and ripeness
- The Prayer I Whisper. Anayasena Maranam and dignity in dying
- What the World Taught Me. Ancient wisdom across cultures
- The Conversation Nobody Wants to Have. Guidance for families facing end-of-life decisions
- The Weight Doctors Carry. The practice physicians need for end-of-life care
This series is being published between February and March 2026.
For more essays bridging medicine and meaning, explore the Medicine & Meaning section.
Dr. Shashikiran Umakanth (MBBS, MD, FRCP Edin.) is the Professor & Head of Internal Medicine at Dr. TMA Pai Hospital, Udupi, under the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). While he has contributed to nearly 100 scientific publications in the academic world, he writes on MEDiscuss out of a passion to simplify complex medical science for public awareness.
