History of Vegitarianism and Cow Veneration in India

Author(s): Willem B Bollee
Publisher: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd

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HISTORY OF VEGETARIANISM IN INDIA
confronted with its reprehensiveness under other circumstances.52 As to this, we read with special interest in vs 32 that meat-eating at sacrifices for deities and fathers is not a transgression, no matter whether the meat was bought, slaughtered by oneself or donated by someone:53 unmistakenly an argument with the Buddhist and Jain views about qualified permission to eat meat which we have come across above (p. [7]). The categorical contention that killing for sacrifice is not killing appears twice: 5, 44 'One should regard the injury to moving and immovable creatures, which the Veda has prescribed for certain occasions, as non-injury,'54 and vs 39: 'Svayambhū himself created the animals for the sake of sacrifice; the sacrifice serves the welfare of the whole world; therefore, killing for sacrifice is not killing."5
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In order to ensure the correct execution of important ceremonies which are threatened by ahimsā, stanza 35 even threatens heavy punishment for the rejection of ritually prescribed flesh-eating: the concerned in question will be reborn twenty-one times as [20] a sacrificial animal.56 On the other hand, doubts are appeased by the doctrine that a high rebirth be ensured to the sacrificed animal as well as to the sacrificer.57 In one stanza (37) a substitute animal appears out of ghee or flour.58
52 Vs 31: Meat-eating for the purpose of sacrifice is divine custom, otherwise it is a demonic (rākṣasa) one; 33: except in times of emergency (apadi), flesheating is only permissible according to precept (vidhina); he who eats meat not in keeping with the regulations will after death be eaten by the animals killed by him; 34: extra-ritual flesh-eating is punished after death more severely than animal-killing out of greed; 36: a brahmin must and is allowed to eat only sacrificial animals consecrated with mantras; 38: whoever kills an animal other than for the purpose of sacrifice will be killed in future rebirths as many times as the animal had hair; 41: animalkilling is exclusively permissible when entertaining a guest (!) and at sacrifices for the gods and fathers; 43: in none of the three stages of life (student, householder, forest-dweller) nor in emergencies should one commit an injury not sanctioned by the Veda.
53 krītva svayam vâpy utpadya parôpahṛtam eva vā devān pitṛmś cârcayitva khadan mamsam na dusyati.
54 ya veda vihita himsa niyatâsmimś carâcare | ahimsam eva tām vidyāt.
55 yajñârtham paśavaḥ sṛṣṭaḥ svayam eva Svayambhuva | yajño 'sya bhutyai sarvasya, tasmad yajne vadho 'vadhah.
56 niyuktas tu yathânyāyam yo māmsam nâtti mānavaḥ sa pretya paśutām yāti sambhavan ekavimśatim.
57 40: osadhyaḥ paśavo vṛkṣās tiryañcaḥ pakṣiņas tatha | yajñârtham nidhanam prāptäh präpnuvanty ucchritiḥ punah; 42: esv artheṣu pasun himsan vedatattvârthavid dvijaḥ / ātmānam ca paśumś câiva gamayaty uttamam gatim.
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