The delta of the mighty Ganges, a derelict little temple on its banks, a lonely funeral ground where the local Hindus burn their dead, the solitary presence of Baiju, a low-caste untouchable who builds the funeral pyres. It is here that an old and dying brahmin, Sitaram, is brought in by relatives and friends to lie on the banks of the holy river, waiting for his death. While the whole community of brahmins waits, Ananta the astrologer discovers that the planets foretell Sitaram's imminent death, but he must take a mate along with him. So the widowed Sitaram must be married off to create the mate the stars demand. For a poor brahmin, it represents a possibility of being saved from the shame of an unmarried daughter and the glory of her canonization as a sati. The only discordant note is struck by Baiju's sarcasm and his pleading in vain wih the village doctor to inform the constabulary. The high priests pay no heed to a drunken untouchable. Yashobati arrives at the funeral grounda as a bride for a dying old man...