Because they believed the source of disease was "bad air" (pollution).
For when the morning breezes blow toward the town at sunrise, if they bring with them mist from marshes and, mingled with the mist, the poisonous breath of creatures of the marshes to be wafted into the bodies of the inhabitants, they will make the site unhealthy.
You can burn many things to make fumes, like sulfur, sappy wood, resins and oils etc. We don't know what they're burning in that picture but it's probably not human bodies.
I wasn't trying to make it sound like hogwash, I think they knew their shit a thousand years ago just like they do today. Look at how USA handled it, a joke. I saw a few things today where mainstream media is trying to depict an "India COVID apocalypse" but some of the photos turn out to be from 3-5 years ago. Not trying to downplay their struggles or anything.
For the benefit of the doubt, here is another picture showing what looks like a body or two:
During the plague they believed areas could be cleansed with smoke and other fragrant items.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory
https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/XGaG2hAAANfAsTGg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomander
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censer
Because they believed the source of disease was "bad air" (pollution).
It's just ancient pest control.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumigation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory
You can burn many things to make fumes, like sulfur, sappy wood, resins and oils etc. We don't know what they're burning in that picture but it's probably not human bodies.
I wasn't trying to make it sound like hogwash, I think they knew their shit a thousand years ago just like they do today. Look at how USA handled it, a joke. I saw a few things today where mainstream media is trying to depict an "India COVID apocalypse" but some of the photos turn out to be from 3-5 years ago. Not trying to downplay their struggles or anything.
For the benefit of the doubt, here is another picture showing what looks like a body or two:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/india-covid-crematoriums-graveyards-b1837109.html
And here is a Hindu funeral pyre article from 2011:
https://www.cnn.com/2011/09/12/world/asia/india-funeral-pyres-emissions/index.html
If it's cremation then it's odd to see no mourners / prayers / flowers / etc.
Also, can you spot a female?