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Written by Sulaiman Razvi

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Meat, especially beef, remains at the centre of controversy in India. In recent years, allegations of beef consumption have often been used as a pretext for lynching and targeted violence. However, such extreme attitudes did not characterise the Vedic period. Evidence suggests that people in that era consumed beef as well as the meat of other animals. There are explicit references to meat consumption in the Vedas, yet some Hindu scholars avoid translating these passages in a literal manner, even though their plain meaning is supported by other Hindu texts.

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Nowhere do the Vedas explicitly state that meat must not be eaten. Hindu scriptures, when read in their textual context, do not impose a universal prohibition on meat consumption. The ban is largely a later interpretive development advanced by certain scholars rather than a direct scriptural command. In the Vedic period, cattle were offered to deities and gifted in rituals, primarily because they represented wealth and economic value. As the historian William Butler notes,
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“The people among whom the Veda were composed, as here introduced to us, had evidently passed the nomadic stage. Their wealth consisted of Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats and Buffaloes. Coined money, and indeed money in any shape, was unknown. We meet but two allusions to gold, except for the purpose of ornaments. The cow was to the Vedic Hindu at once food and money.”

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Meat Consumption in Modern India

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Dietary Demographics

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– As per National Family Health Survey (NHFS-5) 2019-21, 52.5% Hindu men and 40.7% Hindu women are non vegetarians.
(Source: IndianExpress)

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Survey data indicate that roughly 70 to 80 percent of Indians identify as non vegetarian.

Animal Slaughter in Temples

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Many Hindus consume meat throughout the year, yet some of them suddenly adopt a posture of animal rights activism during the Muslim festival of Eid ul Azha. This selective outrage appears inconsistent, particularly when the same individuals raise no objection to the ritual slaughter of animals carried out within their own religious traditions to appease their deities. Such reactions suggest that the debate is often driven less by genuine concern for animal welfare and more by communal bias and political sentiment.

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– 2018: Over 900 sheep, 2 buffaloes massacred to appease goddess Dyamavva in Karnataka village
CoastalDigest

– 2017: Hundreds of animals sacrificed on Day 1 of Yellamma Fair in Belagavi
TheNewsMinute

– 2017: Hindu devotees sacrifice animals in ritual during Deodhani festival
DeccanChronicle

– 2016: Villagers in Erode sacrifice 3000 goats to placate the rain gods
TimesofIndia

– 2016: 50,000 animals sacrificed in a day in Odisha to appease Goddess
DeccanChronicle

– 2016: Brahmins hold yaga, sacrifice goats
DeccanHerald

– 2015: ‘In my religion, meat is Ma Kali’s prasad’: A Shakto Hindu objects to enforced vegetarianism
Scroll

– Nepal’s killing fields: FIVE THOUSAND buffalo lie slaughtered at the beginning of Hindu ceremony which sees up to 300,000 animals killed to bring worshippers good luck
DailyMail

– Animal sacrifice still in vogue
TimesOfIndia

– 2015: 10,000 Animals slaughtered at Chhattar Yatra in Bhawanipatna
OdishaNewsInsight

– 2012: 50000 animals sacrificed for Chhattar
TimesofIndia

– 2010: Mass animal sacrifice in Uttarakhand village
TimesofIndia

– 2016: At Kamakhya, there’s no stopping animal sacrifice
TimesofIndia

– 2011: 100,000 turtles sacrificed in ritual slaughter to celebrate Hindu festival
Dailymail

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The Risk of Vegetarian Diet

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Hindu apologists often argue that a vegetarian diet is inherently healthy while a non vegetarian diet is harmful. However, this claim overlooks important nutritional realities. A strictly vegetarian diet may fail to provide adequate amounts of certain essential nutrients, especially vitamin B12. Deficiency of vitamin B12 is common among vegetarians, as this vitamin is primarily found in animal based foods. Eggs, for instance, are considered a significant natural source of vitamin B12. Ignoring these nutritional concerns while presenting vegetarianism as universally superior reflects a selective and incomplete understanding of dietary science.

Doctors and nutritionists maintain that fish, chicken and eggs can form part of a balanced and healthy diet, as they provide high quality protein, vitamin B12, iron and other essential nutrients. From a purely nutritional perspective, there is no universal medical requirement to abstain from such foods, unless a person has specific health conditions or ethical preferences that guide their choices.

This literature review systematically underscores a critical nutritional vulnerability: vegetarians and vegans face an alarmingly high risk of Vitamin B12 deficiency due to insufficient dietary intake. By analyzing 18 studies utilizing sophisticated biomarkers—specifically methylmalonic acid and holo-transcobalamin II—the research reveals that B12 depletion is a pervasive issue across all demographic boundaries.

The data exposes staggering deficiency rates: 62% in pregnant women, up to 86% in children, and as high as 90% among the elderly. Notably, the severity of the deficiency correlates with the strictness of the diet and its duration; vegans and lifelong vegetarians exhibit the highest risk profiles. Ultimately, the review dismisses the notion that geographic or age-related factors provide immunity to this condition. It concludes with a sharp recommendation: to circumvent severe neurological and physiological repercussions, individuals adhering to plant-based diets must move beyond dietary reliance and incorporate regular B12 supplementation as a mandatory preventative measure.

The research was conducted by a team of researchers led by Roman Pawlak, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition Science at East Carolina University. The other contributing authors of this systematic review are S. J. Parrott, S. Raj, D. Cullum-Dugan, and D. Lucus.

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The article is hosted on PubMed, which is a comprehensive database of biomedical literature maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). The study itself was originally published in the journal Nutrition Reviews.

(Source)

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Additional reading: Harvard | Scroll

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Animals Feel Pain

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If one asks some Hindus why meat should not be consumed, the response is often framed in moral absolutist terms. A common argument is that animals should not be slaughtered because they feel pain. However, this reasoning appears inconsistent and selectively applied. Earlier, the justification was that animals should not be killed because they possess life. Once it became widely accepted that plants also possess life, the argument shifted from the presence of life to the capacity to feel pain.

This shift in logic raises important questions. If the moral objection is based purely on the presence of life, then the consumption of plant based food would also require ethical scrutiny. If it is based on the ability to feel pain, then the debate moves into complex scientific and philosophical territory regarding consciousness and suffering. The following excerpts from Hindu texts illustrate how this reasoning has evolved over time.

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Founder of Arya Samaj Swami Dayanand Saraswati writes in his book,

“It is childish to say that there is no sin in eating meat…for meat cannot be had without killing animals, and it can never be right to hurt or kill animals without an offence.- Satyarth Prakash, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, p.342, Tr. Chiranjiva Bhardwaj

It is not argued that meat should be avoided due to the animals’ capacity to experience pain. Rather, the emphasis is on their status as living beings, with moral reasoning grounded in the sanctity of life rather than in considerations of suffering.

Even so, these statements should not be read as an absolute prohibition on meat consumption. Vedic literature indicates that beef was regularly offered to deities, suggesting clear ritual sanction. In later texts, meat consumption appears less frequent and is more closely tied to sacrificial settings than to ordinary daily diet.

For instance, Manu Smriti 5.48 has often been cited to support vegetarianism, yet its interpretation is clarified in Vasistha Dharma Shastra 4.5-8, which provides a more contextual explanation of ritual meat consumption. Similarly, Mahabharata 13.116 permits the consumption of meat on the condition that it is first offered to the gods and the Pitrs, meaning the ancestors. These references demonstrate that the textual tradition is more complex than a simple ban on meat.

Researchers have found that even plants feel pain,

– Researchers Have Found That Plants Know They Are Being Eaten
BusinessInsider

– Bad news for vegetarians! Plants can ‘hear’ themselves being eaten – and become defensive when attacked
DailyMail

– Indian scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose was one of the first scientist to discover that plants feel pain.
IndiaToday

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The question of abstaining from meat is not based solely on medical advice. For many Hindus, particularly among Brahmins and other traditionally vegetarian communities, dietary restrictions are rooted in religious identity, notions of purity, and inherited custom rather than in a single rational principle such as pain. If the argument against meat is framed strictly around the capacity to feel pain, then one might question whether consuming unfertilised eggs would violate that principle, since they do not involve the killing of a sentient being. Similarly, the idea of administering anaesthesia before slaughter raises a philosophical issue about whether the objection is to suffering itself or to the act of killing.

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Influence of Buddhism and Jainism on Hinduism

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Numerous references in early Hindu texts indicate that large numbers of animals were slaughtered in sacrificial rituals. Such practices were presented as religiously sanctioned and socially acceptable within the Vedic framework.

However, animal slaughter gradually became a taboo in many sections of Hindu society only after Hinduism came under the influence of Buddhism and Jainism, both of which strongly promoted non violence and opposed ritual sacrifice.

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Swami Prabhupada the founder of ISKCON writes in the commentary of Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.24,

“…Lord Buddha superficially denied the authority of the Vedas. This rejection of the Vedas by Lord Buddha was adopted in order to save people from the vice of animal-killing as well as to save the poor animals from the slaughtering process of their big brothers who clamor for universal brotherhood, peace, justice and equity. There is no justice when there is animal-killing. Lord Buddha wanted to stop it completely, and therefore his cult of ahimsa was propagated not only in India but also outside the country…” Swami Prabhupada on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.24 (Source)

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Gautama Buddha rejected the authority of the Vedas, and one reason was their sanction of animal sacrifice. In his time, many Hindus performed such rituals, and he urged them to abandon these Vedic practices in favour of non violence.

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Swami Vivekananda also acknowledged that Buddhism arose partly as a protest against excessive ritualism and animal slaughter prevalent in that period.

“In what way do you see this importance of Buddhism in India today?”
“It is obvious and overwhelming. You see India never loses anything; only she takes time to turn everything into bone and muscle. Buddha dealt a blow at animal sacrifice from which India has never recovered; and Buddha said, ‘Kill no cows’, and cow-killing is an impossibility with us.” The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 5 (Source)

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Some scholars argue that people in the time of Gautama Buddha had misinterpreted the Vedas and began performing animal slaughter in yajnas on that basis. According to this view, Buddha rejected Vedic authority in order to stop these distorted practices and established what later came to be known as Buddhism.

If the Vedas did not truly sanction animal sacrifice and the problem was merely misinterpretation, then why did Buddha, who is regarded in later Hindu tradition as an avatar of Vishnu, not attempt to reform and reinterpret the Vedas instead of rejecting them altogether? Why did he not emerge as a revivalist who restored their original meaning?

Moreover, passages in Skanda Purana suggest that animal slaughter was still prevalent even in the medieval period during the reign of King Kumarapala, indicating that the practice was not simply a misunderstanding confined to one early period but continued for centuries within Hindu society.

Skanda Purana III.ii.36.62 “[Kumarapala said] O Brahmanas, I shall not abide and honour the Royal Charter issued by Rama. I disown the Brahmanas who indulge in violence and kill animals in Yajna. There is no question of my having any respect for and devotion to these killers.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Kumarapala was a medieval king who had embraced Jainism, His association with Jain principles of non violence suggests that animal slaughter was still practised in certain Brahmanical rituals during his time, which in turn required reform or restriction under Jain influence.

Similarly, the story of King Vena in Hindu tradition refers to a ruler who opposed Vedic rituals and is sometimes linked in later narratives with the rejection of animal sacrifice. These accounts are used to argue that debates over yajnas and animal slaughter continued for centuries, and that resistance to such practices did not emerge in a vacuum but as part of an ongoing religious and philosophical contest within Indian society.

Padma Purana II.37.32b-42 “[The sinful one said] I shall tell you another fierce act (mentioned) in the Vedas. When a guest goes (ie. arrives) to the house, a brahmana (kills and) cooks (the flesh of) a goat. (They kill) a horse in a horse- sacrifice, and a bull in a bull sacrifice; a man in human sacrifice and goats in a Vajapeya sacrifice. O great king, a great slaughter of many animals is done at a Rajasuya sacrifice. At a Pundarika sacrifice one would kill (i.e. one kills) an elephant, and at an elephant sacrifice (they kill) an elephant. At the Sautramani sacrifice a beast is seen to be fit for being sacrificed. Thus, O prince, listen how at rites of various forms of killing of beasts of various species is laid down…” Tr. N.A. Deshpande (Source)

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Buddhism and Jainism were gradually wiped out from much of India by powerful Hindu kings and influential scholars, likely due to their growing dominance and direct confrontation with Brahmanical Hinduism. The conflict was not merely political but also ideological, as these traditions openly challenged Vedic authority and ritual practices.

Animal slaughter in Vedic sacrifices and rituals was one of the central issues of debate between Buddhist or Jain thinkers and Brahmins. Buddhist and Jain critics raised strong objections to the killing of animals in religious ceremonies and presented arguments that questioned the moral consistency of such practices. Vishnu Purana itself states that those described as demons, after embracing Buddhism and Jainism, began criticising the animal slaughter sanctioned by the Vedas. One of the main points raised by Buddhist and Jain converts was,

Vishnu Purana 3.18.21-30 “The delusions of the false teacher paused not with the conversion of the Daityas to the Jaina and Bauddha heresies, but with various erroneous tenets he prevailed upon others to apostatize, until the whole were led astray, and deserted the doctrines and observances inculcated by the three Vedas. Some then spake evil of the sacred books; some blasphemed the gods; some treated sacrifices and other devotional ceremonies with scorn; and others calumniated the Brahmans. “The precepts,” they cried, “that lead to the injury of animal life (as in sacrifices) are highly reprehensible. To say that casting butter into flame is productive of reward, is mere childishness. If Indra, after having obtained godhead by multiplied rites, is fed upon the wood used as fuel in holy fire, he is lower than a brute, which feeds at least upon leaves. If an animal slaughtered in religious worship is thereby raised to heaven, would it not be expedient for a man who institutes a sacrifice to kill his own father for a victim? If that which is eaten by one at a Śráddha gives satisfaction to another, it must be unnecessary for one who resides at a distance to bring food for presentation in person.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Swami Dayanand Saraswati also writes about it,

“Eleven arguments in favored by the Charvaka Faith

3.”If the animal offered as sacrifice goes to heaven, why does not the Yajmana (master of ceremonies) send his parents, etc., to heaven, by killing them by way of sacrifice.” Satyarth Prakash, Ch 11, page 508, by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Tr. Chiranjiva Bhardwaja

Dayanand replies to this argument in the following way,

“3, 4, 5. The Veda and other Shaastras do not at all sanction animal sacrifice; the practice of offering oblations to the manes of departed ancestors is an invention of priests, because it is opposed to the Vedic and Shaastric teachings and finds sanction only in the Puraana like the Bhagvat. We have, therefore, nothing to say against the refutation of this doctrine.” Satyarth Prakash, Ch 11, page 509, by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Tr. Chiranjiva Bhardwaja

Swami Dayanand Saraswati attempts to dismiss the issue by asserting that the Vedas do not sanction animal slaughter. However, while it may be argued that certain later practices such as Shraddha for the Pitrs are not explicitly detailed in the Vedas, offerings to departed ancestors are clearly mentioned in later Shastras. More importantly, references to animal sacrifice are found in the Vedas themselves and are reinforced by other authoritative texts such as the Brahmanas and the Puranas. Given this textual continuity, it becomes difficult to deny that animal slaughter had scriptural backing within the broader Vedic tradition.

Taken together, these verses indicate that animal sacrifice was practised by Hindus until the rise and spread of Buddhism and Jainism. They also suggest that Hinduism was subsequently influenced by these traditions, gradually incorporating the ideal of non violence and moving towards vegetarianism. Over time, what was once a sanctioned ritual practice came to be viewed as sinful in many sections of Hindu society.

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Meat Consumption by Deities

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Krishna

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Krishna recommended the slaughter of animals for the worship of Govardhan Mountain and also consumed the flesh that was offered by the people.

Vishnu Purana 5.10.36-49 “Let prayer and offerings then be addressed to the mountain Govarddhana, and kill a victim in due form. Let the whole station collect their milk without delay, and feed with it the Brahmans and all who may desire to partake of it. When the oblations have been presented, and the Brahmans have been fed, let the Gopas circumambulate the cows, decorated with garlands of autumnal flowers. If the cowherds will attend to these suggestions, they will secure the favour of the mountain, of the cattle, and also mine.” When Nanda and the other Gopas heard these words of Krishńa, their faces expanded with delight, and they said that he had spoken well. “You have judged rightly, child,” exclaimed they; “we will do exactly as you have proposed, and offer adoration to the mountain.” Accordingly the inhabitants of Vraja worshipped the mountain, presenting to it curds and milk and flesh; and they fed hundreds and thousands of Brahmans, and many other guests, who came to the ceremony, even as Krishńa had enjoined: and when they had made their offerings, they circumambulated the cows and the bulls, that bellowed as loud as roaring clouds. Upon the summit of Govarddhana, Krishńa presented himself, saying, “I am the mountain,” and partook of much food presented by the Gopas; whilst in his own form as Krishńa he ascended the hill along with the cowherds, and worshipped his other self. Having promised them many blessings, the mountain-person of Krishńa vanished; and the ceremony being completed, the cowherds returned to their station.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)
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Harivamsha Purana states,

Harivama Purana 2.17.15-21 “Let this yajna, consisting of all milkmen and abounding in the meat of buffalo and other beasts, be at once undertaken”. Thereupon the entire village of milkmen was filled with glee along with the delighted kine. Then with the sound of trumpets, the roar of the bulls and the cries of the calves the Gopas were greatly rejoiced. Lakes of curd, whirlpools of clarified butter and rivers of milk were made there. A heap of meat and a mountain-like collection of boiled rice were taken to the mountain. Thus the Giri-Yajna was undertaken by all the milkmen there. There were present the delighted Gopas and the beautiful milk-women. Hundreds of eating-places were set up there. It abounded in garlands, various sorts of perfumeries and incense. Various articles of sacrifice were spread there duly. And thus in the auspicious hour the Gopas, along with the Brahmanas, celebrated the Giri-Yajna. After the termination of the yajna, Krishna, assuming, by his illusive energy, the form of a mountain, feasted on that most excellent rice, meat, curd and milk.” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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This is also mentioned in Brahma Purana,

Brahma Purana 79.21 “[Krishna said] Hence, let the mountain Govardhana be honoured and worshipped with all due offerings after killing the sacrificial animal in accordance with injunctions. [25] Vyasa said: O brahmins, on hearing these words of his, Nanda and other residents of the colony became delighted with their faces beaming with pleasure. They said ‘Well said, well said, my boy…Accordingly the residents of colony performed Yajna unto the mountain. They offered oblations unto the mountain by curds, milk puddings, meat etc.” Tr. Board of Scholars, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Hundreds of animals were slaughtered, and wine was consumed by Krishna’s family and the Pandavas.

Mahabharata Virata Parva 4, Section 72, Verses 19-28 “And Krishna gave unto each of the illustrious sons of Pandu numerous female slaves, and gems and robes. And then the nuptial festival set in between the families of the Matsya king and the Pandavas. And then conchs and cymbals and horns and drums and other musical instruments appointed by the Pandavas, began to play in the palace of Virata. And deer of various kinds and clean animals by hundreds were slain. And wines of various kinds and intoxicating juices of trees were profusely collected.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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On the occasion of Rukmini’s marriage to Krishna, Rukmi instructs his father to slaughter 100,000 cows, 200,000 deer, 400,000 rabbits and tortoises, 1,000,000 goats, and 4,000,000 sheep, highlighting the massive scale of animal sacrifice associated with the celebration.

Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Krishna Janma Khanda 105. 47-67 “Get also slaughtered a lakh of cows, two lakhs of deer, 4 lakhs of rabbits and tortoise. Reverentially sacrifice to the village goddess on the night of the full moon ten lakhs of goats and sheep four times the number of the last named and get the flesh properly cooked for food. O lord of the world, get also vegetables cooked for the purpose. The monarch Bhismaka having heard the words of his son took his family priest aside and also sent a suitable Brahmin to Dwarka. He fixed a date which was regarded auspicious unanimously…” Tr. Rajendra Nath Sen (Source)

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Rama

These are the words spoken by the Hindu god Ram before his exile.

Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kanda 2.20.29 “I shall live in a solitary forest like a sage for fourteen years, leaving off meat and living with roots, fruits and honey.” Tr. K.M.K. Murthy (Source)

This suggests that meat formed part of his royal lifestyle in the palace. Rama also relished pork, venison, and the meat of other animals during his exile in the forest.

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Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kanda 2.52.102 “Famished, they (Rama and Lakshmana) killed a boar, a rishya (whitefooted male antelope), a spotted deer and a great deer with black stripes. They partook the meat and reached a tree by evening where they rested for the night.” Tr. IIT Kanpur (Source)

Valmiki Ramayana Ayodhya Kanda 2.96.1-2 “Having shown Mandakini River in that manner to Seetha, the daughter of Mithila, Rama set on the hill-side in order to gratify her appetite with a piece of flesh. Rama, whose mind was devoted to righteousness stayed there with Seetha, saying; “This meat is fresh, this is savoury and roasted in the fire.” Tr. K.M.K. Murthy (Source)

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Sita addressed Ravana, who was disguised as an ascetic, in the following manner.

Valmiki Ramayana 3.47.22b-23 “Be comfortable for a moment, here it is possible for you to make a sojourn, and soon my husband will be coming on taking plentiful forest produce, and on killing stags, mongooses, wild boars he fetches meat, aplenty.” Tr. Desiraju Hanumanth Rao (Source)

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The following passage from the Ramayana presents Rama acknowledging that kings hunt in forests both for flesh and for sport.

Valmiki Ramayana 3.43.31 “Kings pursuing games of hunting in great forests, oh, Lakshmana, will be felling deer either for the sake of flesh, or just for the purpose of sporting archery.” Tr. Desiraju Hanumant Rao (Source)

Valmiki Ramayana 2.53.33 “Thereafter having travelled only a couple of miles the two brothers Rama and Lakshmana killed many consecrated deer and ate in the river-forest of Yamuna.” Tr. K.M.K. Murthy (Source)

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Rama’s father, Dasharatha, was an avid hunter.

Valmiki Ramayana 2.63.21-25 “With a wish to do hunting as an exercise in that most comfortable season, I went along Sarayu River, in a chariot, wearing bow and arrows. Without my senses under control and with an intent to kill there a (wild) buffalo or an elephant or any other wild animal coming in the night at that place for the purpose of drinking water, I was ready with my bow at a solitary place. Hearing the sound, I killed turning towards it, a wild animal, which came to the bank of Sarayu River and another violent beast too which came there. Meanwhile, in that darkness and not within the react of the eye, I heard the sound of a pitcher being filled up, the sound of which appeared like that of an elephant. With an intent to hit that elephant, I drew out a shining arrow resembling a serpent, targeted towards the direction sound and discharged it.” Tr. Shri K.M.K Murthy (Source)

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Kalki

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Some Hindus argue that meat should not be consumed in Kali Yuga. However, they overlook the fact that according to the Kalki Purana, the Kalki avatar, who is destined to appear in Kali Yuga, will offer meat to Brahmins.

Kalki Purana 30.10-13 “Lord Kalki sumptuously fed all the brahmanas the four kinds of food that are chewed, licked, sucked, and rank, and this included vegetable preparations, soup, cakes, meat, fruit, roots, and many other items…” Tr. Bhumipati Das, edited by Purnaprajna Das (Source)

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The Kalki avatar instructs that a horse sacrifice be performed.

Kalki Purana 3.42 “(Lord Kalki said:) Many pious human beings become degraded in this age of Kali. But because of My presence, they will all become pious once again. Now I would like that all of you worship Me by the performance of a Rajasuya sacrifice and a horse sacrifice.” Tr. Bhumipati Das, edited by Purnaprajna Das (Source)

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Shiva

Mahabharata Book 13, Section 161, Verse 7 “And since he burns and oppresses, is keen and fierce, and endued with great energy, and is engaged in eating flesh and blood and marrow, he is said to be Rudra.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

Vayu Purana I.30.202 “Hail to the one greedy of raw and cooked meat…[211] Obeisance to the jackal (fond of) embryo meal…” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Indra

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In the following verses, Indra is described as having eaten bulls and buffaloes. Some passages also mention the offering of these animals to him as oblations.

Rig Veda 10.86.13-14 “Wealthy Vrsakapayi, blest with sons and consorts of thy sons,
Indra will eat thy bulls, thy dear oblation that effecteth much. Supreme is Indra over all. [Indra speaks:] The worshippers dress for me fifteen (and) twenty bulls : I eat them and (become) fat, they fill both sides of my belly; Indra is above all (the world).” Tr. Ralph Griffith (Source)

The following is the Hindi translation by Pandit Ram Govind Trivedi.

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Rig Veda 5.29.8 “When thou three hundred buffaloes’ flesh hadst eaten, and drunk, as Maghavan, three lakes of Soma, All the Gods raised as ’twere a shout of triumph to Indra praise because he slew the Dragon.” Tr. Ralph Griffith (Source)

The following is the Hindi translation by Pandit Ram Govind Trivedi.

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Agni

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In the following verses, various animals such as cows, rams, bulls, oxen, and horses are described as being offered into Agni, that is, the sacred fire. These passages refer to the oblations cast into the fire during sacrifices and offerings made to the deities.

Rig Veda 10.91.14-15 “He in whom horses, bulls, oxen, and barren cows, and rams, when duly set apart, are offered up,- To Agni, Soma-sprinkled, drinker of sweet juice, Disposer, with my heart I bring a fair hymn forth. Into thy mouth is poured the offering, Agni, as Soma into cup, oil into ladle…” Tr. Ralph Griffith (Source)

The following is the Hindi translation by Pandit Ram Govind Trivedi.

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The following verse states that Agni, the sacred fire, is the mouth of the deities, implying that whatever is offered into the fire ultimately reaches the Vedic gods.

Rig Veda 2.1.13-14 “The A’dityas have made thee, Agni, their mouth; the pure (deities) have made thee, Kavi, their tongue: the (gods), the givers of wealth, depend upon thee at sacrifices; they eat the offered oblation through thee. All the benignant immortal gods eat the offered oblation through thee, as their mouth: mortals taste the flavour (of all viands) through thee: thou art born pure, the embryo of plants.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Satapatha Brahmana 6.2.1.14 “Now when he slaughters those animals, he prepares a home for Agni; for nowhere but in his home does one enjoy himself. But the home means food: it is that he lays down in, front, and when Agni sees that, he turns unto him.” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Rishi Agastya

Rishi Agastya is described as offering animals and birds in sacrifice and as consuming the flesh of beasts and birds, and even of an Asura who had assumed the form of a ram.

Manu Smriti 5.22-23 “Beasts and birds recommended (for consumption) may be slain by Brahmanas for sacrifices, and in order to feed those whom they are bound to maintain; for Agastya did this of old. For in ancient (times) the sacrificial cakes were (made of the flesh) of eatable beasts and birds at the sacrifices offered by Brahmanas and Kshatriyas.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Vasistha Dharma Shastra 14.15 “For it is declared in the Veda, ‘At a sacrificial session (sattra), which lasted one thousand years, Agastya went out to hunt. He had sacrificial cakes prepared with the meat of beasts and fowls good (to eat).” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Mahabharata Book 3, Section 199 “Lomasa said, ‘When Ilwala learnt that those kings along with the great Rishi had arrived on the confines of his domain, he went out with his ministers and worshipped them duly. And that prince of Asuras received them hospitably, entertaining them, O son of the Kuru race, with well dressed meat supplied by his brother Vatapi (transformed into a ram). Then all those royal sages, beholding the mighty Asura Vatapi, who had been transformed into a ram thus cooked for them, became sad and cheerless and were nearly deprived of themselves. But that best of Rishis–Agastya–addressing those royal sages, said, ‘Yield ye not to grief, I will eat up the great Asura.’ And the mighty Rishi then sat himself down on an excellent seat, and the prince of Asuras, Ilwala, began to distribute the food smilingly. And Agastya ate up the whole of the meat supplied by Vatapi (transformed into a ram).” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Sage Yajnavalkya

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Satapatha Brahmana 3:1:2:21 “…let him therefore not eat (the flesh) of the cow and the ox. Nevertheless Yâgñavalkya said, ‘I, for one, eat it, provided that it is tender.’ Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Meat Consumption by Brahmins & Munis

Several references in Hindu scriptures state that Brahmins consumed meat, primarily that which was offered during sacrifices and rituals.

The sons of Pandu killed many animals and offered them to the Brahmins.

Mahabharata Book 3, Section 80 “And, O chief of the Bharata race, those mighty warriors endowed with great prowess slew with pure arrows various kinds of sacrificial animals for the Brahmanas. And those tigers among men and repressors of foes, daily slaying those wild animals and sanctifying them properly, offered them unto the Brahmanas.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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The Mahabharata states that Brahmins not only consumed meat but also enjoyed it, showing that this practice was not viewed as inherently improper in that context.

Mahabharata Book 2, Section 4 “Vaisampayana said,–“Then that chief of men, king Yudhishthira, entered that palatial sabha having first fed ten thousand Brahmanas with preparations of milk and rice mixed with clarified butter and honey with fruits and roots, and with pork and venison. The king gratified those superior Brahmanas, who had come from various countries with food seasoned with seasamum and prepared with vegetables called jibanti, with rice mixed with clarified butter, with different preparations of meat–with indeed various kinds of other food, as also numberless viands that are fit to be sucked and innumerable kinds of drinks, with new and unused robes and clothes, and with excellent floral wreaths.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Mahabharata Book 3, Section 96 “…The Brahmana, however, did not grant the Asura a son like Indra. And at this, the Asura was inflamed with wrath against the Brahmana. And from that day, O king, the Asura Ilwala became a destroyer of Brahmanas. And endued with power of illusion the angry Asura transformed his brother into a ram. And Vatapi also capable of assuming any form at will, would immediately assume the shape of a ram. And the flesh of that ram, after being properly dressed, was offered to Brahmanas as food. And after they had eaten of it, they were slain. For whomsoever Ilwala summoned with his voice, he would come back to Ilwala even if he had gone to the abode of Yama, in re-embodied form endued with life, and show himself to Ilwala. And so having transformed the Asura Vatapi into a ram and properly cooked his flesh and feeding Brahmanas therewith, he would summon Vatapi…” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)
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Several other passages also refer to Brahmins eating meat.

Devi Bhagavatam 5.20.16-50 “…The Râjasik Brâhmanas were versed in the Vedas and acted as priests to the Ksattriyas and ate flesh as sanctioned by recognised rules. They were busy with their six duties…” Tr. Swami Vijnananda (Source)

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The Munis also used to partake of meat.

Mahabharata Book 3, Section 159 “Having heard from that one of incomparable energy, (Arshtishena), that advice conducive to their welfare, those foremost of the Bharatas, began to behave always accordingly. Those best of men, the Pandavas, dwelt upon the Himavan, partaking of the food eaten by the Munis, and luscious fruit, and the flesh of deer killed with unpoisoned shafts and various kinds of pure honey.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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OTHERS

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The following verse states that King Iksvaku performed animal sacrifice to please the departed manes.

Brahma Purana 5.47-50 “…On the Astaka day Iksvaku commanded Vikuksi ‘O powerful one, kill some rabbits and bring their flesh for performing Sraddha. ‘O Brahmins, after planning to perform the Sraddha rite before executing it he ate part of the meat of the rabbit which was meant for the Sraddha…” Tr. Board of Scholars, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)

This is also mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam 9.6.6-8 and Devi Bhagavatam,

Devi Bhagavatam 7.59.1-11. Vyâsa said :– O King! Once on a time, the time for Astaka S’râddha (the funeral ceremony in honour of the departed) arrived. Seeing this, the King Iksâku ordered his son Vikuksi:– “O Child! Go immediately to the forest and bring carefully pure sanctified meat for the S’râddha purposes; see, that there be no neglect of duty.” Thus ordered, Vikuksi instantly went to the forest equipped with arms. He hunted in the forest lots of boars, pigs, deer, and hare. But he was so very tired with his journey in the forest and got so hungry that he forgot everything about the Astaka S’râddha and ate one hare there in the forest. The remaining excellent meat he brought and handed over to his father. When that meat was brought to be sprinkled for purification, the family priest Vas’istha, on seeing it, at once came to know that some portion had already been eaten and it was the remaining part. The leavings of food are not fit for the sprinkling purposes; this is the S’âstric rule…” Tr. Swami Vijnananda (Source)

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Mahabharata states that Rishi Vyasa divided meat ball into 100 pieces and gave it to Gandhari so she can conceive 100 sons.

Mahabharata 1.116 “The great Rishi Vyasa of immeasurable energy said unto the daughter of the king of Gandhara that she would become the mother of a hundred sons. Illustrious one, how is that you sayest Gandhari had a daughter over and above her hundred sons? If the ball of flesh was distributed by the great Rishi only into a hundred parts, and if Gandhari did not conceive on any other occasion, how was then Duhsala born.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)
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Permissibility of Meat Consumption in Hindu Scriptures

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Hindu text even permits the meat of cow,

Apastamba Dharma Shastra Prasna I, Patala 5, Khanda 17, verses 30-31 “(But the meat) of milch-cows and oxen may be eaten. The Vâgasaneyaka declares ‘bull’s flesh is fit for offerings.’ [37] Five-toed animals (ought not to be eaten) with the exception of the iguana, the tortoise, the porcupine, the hedgehog, the rhinoceros, the hare, and the Pûtikhasha.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Vasistha Dharma Shastra 14.39-46 “Among five-toed animals, the porcupine, the hedgehog, the hare, the tortoise, and the iguana may be eaten…It is declared in the Vâgasaneyaka, that (the flesh of) milch-cows and oxen is fit for offerings.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Hinduism permits the consumption of the meat of the following animals, birds, and fish.

Manu Smriti 5.18 “The porcupine, the hedgehog, the iguana, the rhinoceros, the tortoise, and the hare they declare to be eatable; likewise those (domestic animals) that have teeth in one jaw only, excepting camels.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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The same view is reiterated in several other Hindu scriptures.

Padma Purana III.56.31b-46 “…O best ones, Prajapati Manu has said that these animals with five claws may be always eaten: alligator, tortoise, hare, rhinoceros, porcupine. He may also eat fish with scales, and the flesh of (the deer called) ruru after having presented them to deities and brahmanas, and not otherwise. O best brahmanas, so also (the flesh of) a peacock, a patridge, a pigeon, a cataka, rhinoceros, a crane, a swan. Thus said Prajapati (Manu). These fish, viz. (the glittering fish) saphari, simhatunda, pathina and rohita are directed as fit to be eaten. With a desire (to retain the status) as a twice-born he should eat the flesh of these after it is sprinkled over; even if he is about to loose his life he should duly use it. He should not at all eat flesh. He who eats what remains, is not smeared (with sin). If he is weak, he should eat flesh as medicine, or by an order or for sacrificial purposes. He, who would give up flesh when invited at a sraddha or a rite in honour of a deity, goes to (i.e. lives) in hell for as many years as the number of hair of the beast…” Tr. N.A. Deshpande (Source)

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Agni Purana 168.12-23 “…Animals having five nails such as the Shallaki, the Godha, the rhinoceros, and the tortoise are clean animals; and accordingly their flesh may be taken without any impunity. Flesh of animals other than the five mentioned in the preceding line, should be deemed impure. There is no harm in eating such fishes as Pathin, Rohita, and Sinhatunda…” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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Yajnavalkya Smriti verse 177-8 “Of the five toed animals, the porcupine the iguana-lizard, the tortoise, the hedge-hog; and the hare; among fishes the Simhatundaka and the Rohita. So also the pathina, the Rajiva, the sasalka may be eaten by the twice born classes.” Tr. Srisa Chandra Vasu (Source)

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Brahma Purana 113.111-2 “The following can be eaten: hare, tortoise, alligator, porcupine and the fish with darts (?) The village boar and the cock should be avoided. In the following circumstances, even if one eats meat, one is not defiled: if it is the remnant of offerings unto the Pitrs, Devas etc. or if it is cooked in Sraddha at the request of the brahmins and is sprinkled with the holy water or if it is taken as a medicine.” Tr. Board of Scholars, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Sankha Samhita 17.22 “Golden coloured godhas, tortoises, porcupines, hares, although they belong to the group of five nailed creatures, are animals whose flesh may be eaten; but having killed of any of these animals, one should practise the above-said penance.” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

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Bali addresses Rama in the following words.

Valmiki Ramayana 4.17.39 “Raghava, five kinds of five-nailed animals, viz., a kind of wild rodent, a kind of wild-boar, a kind of lizard, a hare and fifthly the turtle are edible for Brahmans and Kshatriya-s.” Tr. Desiraju Hanumanta Rao (Source)

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Vamana Purana 15.2-3 “Rice cooked well with oil or ghee, even if it be stored for a long time is fit to be eaten. Rice without any oil or ghee, and delicate preparations of milk, meat of the rabbit, porcupine, alligator, hedgehog, fish and tortoise, pulses and similar other things are fit to be eaten, said Manu.” Tr. Ananda Swarup Gupta (Source)

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Sankha Samhita 17.27 “Pheasants, peacocks, Lavaakas, Kapinjaras, Vartakas, and Bardhrinasas are birds, whose flesh, according to holy Yama, may be always eaten.” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

Manu Smriti 5.29 “What is destitute of motion is the food of those endowed with locomotion; (animals) without fangs (are the food) of those with fangs, those without hands of those who possess hands, and the timid of the bold.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Manu Smriti 5.30 “The eater who daily even devours those destined to be his food, commits no sin; for the creator himself created both the eaters and those who are to be eaten (for those special purposes).” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Manu Smriti 5.41 On offering the honey-mixture (to a guest), at a sacrifice and at the rites in honour of the manes, but on these occasions only, may an animal be slain; that (rule) Manu proclaimed.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Hindu apologists quote these two verses and claim, “See, these verses contradict each other. One says animals may be slaughtered only on specific occasions, while the other permits daily slaughter. This proves that Manusmriti is interpolated.” However, Manu Smriti 5.32 clearly states that honoring the gods and the manes is a prerequisite for eating meat. Therefore, meat may be consumed daily, provided that the gods and the manes are duly honored beforehand.

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Hindu Scholars on Meat Consumption

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Swami Vivekananda wrote that the ancient Aryans used to relish beef.

“There was a time in this very India when, without eating beef, no Brahmin could remain a Brahmin” The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 3 (Source)

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Adi Shankaracharya writes,

“Odan’ (rice) mixed with meat is called ‘Mansodan’. On being asked whose meat it should be, he answers ‘Uksha’. ‘Uksha’ is used for an ox, which is capable to produce semen. Or the meat should be of a ‘Rishabh’. ‘Rishabh’ is a bull more advanced in years than an ‘Uksha’.” Adi Shankaracharya in his commentary on Brihadaranyak Upanishad 6/4/18

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Ramanujacharya writes,

“In the Agnisomiya sacrifice no real harm is caused to the animal victim; for according to the Vedic Texts, the victim —a goat, after abandoning an inferior body, will attain a higher rebirth, with a beautiful body. The Text pertaining to immolation declares: — ‘O animal, by this (immolation) you never die, you are not destroyed. You will pass through happy paths to the realm of the gods, where the virtuous, not the sinful reach. May the god Savitar give you a suitable place.’ (Yajñ, 4.6.9.46; Taitt. Br. iii 7.2).
Likewise the attainment of more beautiful bodies by those who die here in this war [which is like a sacrifice] has been declared in the Gita (2.22). Hence, just as a surgeon makes an incision and performs other surgical procedures for the purpose of curing a patient, the immolation of the sacrificial animal in the Agnisomiya and other sacrifices contributes to its welfare.” Ramanujaacharya in his commentary on Bhagavad Gita 2.32

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Killing Cows and Offering its Meat to Guests

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Cattle were once slaughtered even for the reception of honoured guests. However, according to Swami Vivekananda, this practice was discontinued over time.

When asked why the cow is considered a mother, many Hindus reply that it provides milk and therefore nourishes human beings like a mother. Yet in the Vedas, even the earth is described as a mother, likely because it produces food from the soil. This suggests that the idea of motherhood is linked to sustenance and economic value rather than to inherent divinity.

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Ancient Indian society depended heavily on agriculture, and cattle played a crucial role in ploughing fields and sustaining rural livelihoods. Even today, many farmers in India rely on bulls and cows for agricultural work. In such a context, killing cattle would have resulted in significant economic loss. It is therefore plausible that the prohibition against cow slaughter developed gradually out of practical and economic considerations in addition to influence of Buddhism and Jainism, which were later reinforced with religious justification. Swami Vivekananda writes,

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“you read in the Vedas how, when a Sannyasin, a king, or a great man came into a house, the best bullock was killed. How in time it was found that as we were an agricultural race, killing the best bulls meant annihilation of the race. Therefore the practice was stopped, and a voice was raised against the killing of cows. Sometimes we find existing then what we now consider the most horrible customs.” The Complete Works of Swami Vivekandan, Volume 3
(Source)

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Hindu scriptures contain references indicating that cattle or goats were to be slaughtered for the reception of honoured guests.

Vishnu Smriti 51.64 “When honouring a guest, at a sacrifice, or when worshipping the manes, or the gods, a man may slay cattle, but not otherwise on any account.” Tr. Julius Jolly (Source)

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Sankhayana Grihya Sutra 2.15.1-3 “Should any one of the six persons (mentioned in the Srauta-sutra and in the Sutras 4-9) to whom the Arghya reception is due, visit (him), let him make (ready) a cow, a goat, or what (sort of food) he thinks most like (thereto). Let the Argha not be without flesh. On the occasion of a sacrifice and of a wedding let (the guest) say, ‘Make it (ready).” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

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Kausitaki Brahmana 1.15 “…Just as in the world when a human king has come, or another deserving person, they slay an ox or a cow that miscarries; so for him they slay in that they kindle the fire, for Agni is the victim of the gods.” Tr. Arthur Berriedale Keith (Source)

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Satapatha Brahmana 3:4:1:2 “Now as to why it is called ‘guest-offering.’ He, the purchased Soma, truly comes as his (the sacrificer’s) guest,–to him (is offered) that (hospitable reception): even as for a king or a Brâhman one would cook a large ox or a large he-goat–for that is human (fare offered to a guest), and the oblation is that of the gods–so he prepares for him that guest-offering.” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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The cow is also called Aghnya. Yaska, in the Nirukta, offers two interpretations of this term, one that the cow is not to be killed, and another that it is so called because it destroys sin. According to the latter view, the cow removes sin precisely because its sacrifice is believed to expiate the sacrificer’s faults.

Hiranyakesin Grihya Sutra Prasna I, Patala 4, Section 14, verses 11-16 “That (cow is either killed or let loose. If he chooses to let it loose, (he murmurs), ‘This cow will become a milch cow’…If it shall be killed, (he says), ‘A cow art thou; sin is driven away from thee. Drive away my sin and the sin of N.N.! Kill ye him whoever hates me. He is killed whosoever hates me. Make (the cow) ready!’ If (the cow) is let loose, a meal is prepared with other meat, and he announces it (to the guest) in the words, ‘It is ready!’ He replies, ‘It is well prepared; it is Virag; it is food. May it not fail! May I obtain it…Give food to the Brahmanas!’ After those (Brahmanas) have eaten, (the hose) orders blameless (?) food to be brought to him (i.e. to the guest).” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

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Paraskara Grihya Sutra 1.3.26-30 “When (the guest) has sipped water, (the host), holding a butcher’s knife, says to him three times, ‘A cow!’ He replies, ‘The mother of the Rudras, the daughter of the Vasus, the sister of the Âdityas, the navel of immortality. To the people who understand me, I say, “Do not kill the guiltless cow, which is Aditi.” I kill my sin and N.N.’s sin,’—thus, if he chooses to have it killed. But if he chooses to let it loose, he should say, ‘My sin and N.N.’s sin has been killed. Om! Let it loose! Let it eat grass!’ But let the Argha not be without flesh. On the occasion of a sacrifice and of a wedding let (the guest) say, ‘Make it (ready).” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)
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Asvalayana Grihya Sutra 1.24.27-33 “Or (he may eat) the whole (Madhuparka). He then makes a rinsing of his mouth follow (on the eating of the Madhuparka) with the water destined thereto, with (the formula), ‘Thou art the covering of Ambrosia.’ With (the formula), ‘Truth! Glory! Fortune! May fortune rest on me!’—a second time. When he has sipped water, they announce to him the cow. Having murmured, ‘Destroyed is my sin; my sin is destroyed,’ (he says,) ‘Om, do it,’ if he chooses to have her killed. Having murmured, ‘The mother of the Rudras, the daughter of the Vasus’ (Rig-veda VIII, 101, 15), (he says,) ‘Om, let her loose,’ if he chooses to let her loose. Let the Madhuparka not be without flesh, without flesh.” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

Madhuparka refers to a ceremonial offering presented to a guest.

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Some scholars argue that milch cows were generally spared, while barren cows were slaughtered to avoid economic loss. Hiranyakesin Grihya Sutra 1.4.14.11-16 notes that if the host and guest choose not to kill the cow, a prayer is made that it become a milch cow, suggesting that a barren cow was typically selected for the rite. Rig Veda 10.91.14-15 likewise refers to the offering of a barren cow in sacrifice. However, Apastamba Dharma Shastra 1.5.17.30-31 and Vasistha Dharma Shastra 14.39-46 indicate that the meat of milch cows could also be consumed and offered, complicating the claim that productive cows were consistently exempt.

A close reading of Sayana’s commentaries suggests that the cow was called Aghnya, meaning inviolable, mainly when she was a productive milch cow. Sayana consistently juxtaposes the prohibition of slaughter with the cow’s immediate utility, specifically her capacity to provide the milk, curds, and ghee that were essential for Vedic yajnas. This indicates that the idea of the cow being unslayable may not have applied to all cattle in every circumstance, but was closely tied to her economic and ritual usefulness.

In this context, the cow’s sanctity appears strongly linked to her role in sustaining ritual practice. As a result, the position of non productive or barren cows seems less clearly protected and may have been viewed in more practical and utilitarian terms.

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Honoring Gods and Manes as a Condition for Eating Meat

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Some scriptures stipulate that meat may be consumed only after duly honoring the gods and the manes, or after consecrating the flesh with specific mantras to ensure its ritual purification.

Manu Smriti 5.32 “He who eats meat, when he honours the gods and manes, commits no sin, whether he has bought it, or himself has killed (the animal), or has received it as a present from others.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Mahabharata Book 3, Section 207 “…this rule has been laid down by Munis:–Whoever partakes of animal food after having first offered it duly and respectfully to the gods and the manes, is not polluted by the act. And such a man is not at all considered to have partaken of animal food…” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

Mahabharata Book 12, Section 37 “…Rice boiled in sugared milk, food mixed with the tila seed, meat, and cakes, that have not been dedicated to the gods, should not be taken by Brahmanas leading a domestic mode of life, Having first gratified the gods, Rishis, guests, Pitris, and the household deities, a Brahmana leading a domestic mode of life should then take his food…” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Mahabharata Book 13, Section 162 “…One does not incur any fault or stain by eating the meat of animals slain in sacrifices with the aid of Tantras from the Yajur Veda…” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Kurma Purana II.24.3 “A Brahmana maintaining sacred fires and desirous of living for a long time should not eat cooked food or meat without performing the Yajna of fresh harvest and the animal sacrifice.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Garuda Purana I.96.72 “By eating garlic and onion one becomes sinful and as atonement one should perform Candrayana. If one takes meat after worshipping deities and manes in Sraddha one does not acquire sin.” Tr. J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Yajnavalkya Smriti Chapter 1.171 “[One should avoid] havi (clarified butter) made for the worship of a deity, [before the adoration is finished,] the juice of a pot-herb, that of a red-coloured tree, that of trees born of cuttings, meat of animals not offered in sacrifices…” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

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Usana Samhita 9.22 “[There is] no [penance for taking] the meat [of animals] sacrificed unto a deity; [for taking any other meat, one] should perform the Chandrayana. Or, fasting for twelve days, he should offer oblations of clarified butter to the Fire with the Kushmanda [Mantram].” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

Vishnu Smriti 51.20-21 “Or (food that is given) in a disrespectful manner, or the meat (of animals killed) for no sacred purpose. After having (unawares) eaten the flesh of any sort of fish, excepting the Pathina, Rohita, Ragiva, Simhatunda, and Sakula fishes, he must fast for three days.” Tr. Julius Jolly (Source)

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The following verses permit meat consumption, provided that it has been consecrated by sprinkling it with water while reciting mantras.

Yajnavalkya Smriti 7.179 “One may eat meat without incurring any guilt when one’s life is in danger, (when engaged) in Sraddha, when it has been sprinkled with water while Mantras were recited, when Brahmanas desire one’s doing it, or when it has been properly offered to Gods and the pitris.” Tr. Srisa Chandra Vasu (Source)

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Yajnavalkya Smriti 7.181 “He obtains all his desires, earns the fruit of horse-sacrifice though living in the house that Brahmana becomes Muni (a sage) who avoids the eating of meat.” Tr. Srisa Chandra Vasu (Source)

Vijnanesvara comments on the above verse as follows:

“He who is true in his resolution ” I will never eat flesh except when it has been sanctified by sprinkling of water with the recitation of mantras &c.,” obtains all desires and finds no obstacles while engaged in accomplishing them. Because his heart is pure- As said Manu (V. 47)… So also even dwelling in the house, all the four classes, Brahmanas &c., become honorable like Munis (sages) by refraining from meat. This rule does not relate to the meat that has been already forbidden, nor also to the meat which has been sanctified by the sprinkling of water over it with the recitation of mantras. But it is applicable to those kinds of meat that were made permissible on account of their being the remnants of the offerings to guests &c., because they are the remainders (after deducting the first two sorts of meat).” Vijnanesvara in Mitakshara on Yajnavalkya Smriti 7.181, Tr. Srisa Chandra Vasu (Source)

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Kurma Purana 2.17.34b-39 “Manu the Prajapati has said that these five clawed animals may be eaten viz. Godha (alligator), Kurma (tortoise), Sasa (hare), Svavit and Sallaki (the small and the big porcupione). O excellent men, one may eat those fish with thorny scales (?) and the flesh of the deer Ruru. They can be eaten after offering them to the deities and the Brahmanas and not otherwise. The Prajapati has said that the peacock, the francoline patridge, the Kapinjala (a variety of the ruddy goose), the rhenocero and the panther can be eaten. O leading sages, among fishes, these are mentioned as worthy of being eaten, viz: the Rajivas (lotus-like ones) the Simhatundas (lion-snouted), the Pathinas and the Rohitas. The flesh of these must be sprinkled with holy water and consecrated before eating if the Brahmanas so desires. One shall eat meat in accordance with the injunctions or as enjoined at a time when life is in danger. One who eats the remainder (i.e. what is left after worship) or as a medicine or when one is powerless or is deputed, he is not affected by sin.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Vishnu Smriti 51.59 “Under no circumstance shall eat the flesh of an animal, not consecrated with Mantras, but he will eat, in conformity with the injunctions of the eternal scriptures, the flesh of an animal consecrated with Mantras and duly offered on the occasion of a sacrifice.” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

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Garuda Purana I.96.60-64 “…Meat should not be taken without consecration…” Tr. J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Animal Sacrifice

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Animal Sacrifice for Vedic Sacrifice and Rituals

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This category compiles verses that detail various sacrifices and rituals, specifying which animals are to be slaughtered and outlining the procedures for conducting those rites. It also includes passages describing animal sacrifices performed by sages and priests.

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The following passage from the Rig Veda contains a reference to cow slaughter in the Vedas. It recounts that the Ribhus restored a dead cow to life from its hide, only for it to be slaughtered as part of a sacrificial act.

Rig Veda 1.161.10 “One pours the red water (the blood) upon the ground; one cuts the flesh, divided into fragments by the chopper; and a third seperates the excrement from the other parts; in what manner may the parents (of the sacrifice) render assistance to their sons?” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

The following is the Hindi translation by Pandit Ram Govind Trivedi.

Sayana comments on the above verse as follows:

“Here it is said that the Ribhus themselves, remaining in the form of priests, conduct the sacrifice everywhere. One drives the sronam, meaning the lame or red colored cow, towards the water or towards the sacrificial ground, placing it as the portion for the Rakshasas. Another carves the flesh with a sunya, which is a tool for cutting or a sacrificial knife. He carves the meat brought for the sacrifice, the heart, tongue, and chest, dividing it into parts with the knife. Then, another removes the sakrt, the undigested grass in the belly called uvadhyam, from the dissected meat for the purpose of disposal. To the Ribhus, who stood in the role of priests and were like sons to the parents, the protectors of the sacrifice, what did the parents say? Did they not approve? The verb avatuh is a Vedic perfect. Since all was performed by them, there was nothing left for the parents to do. Alternatively, the meaning is that one of them drives the lame cow to the water, another carves the meat brought from the butcher, and another removes the excrement before sunset. When such things were done by the Ribhus, what else could the parents do but approach their sons for service?” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.161.10

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The Rakshasas are traditionally seen as disruptors of the sacrifice. By deliberately setting aside a portion, especially the blood or the outer and lower parts of the offering, the priests symbolically appease these hostile forces. In doing so, they give the Rakshasas their own share, ensuring that they do not disturb the portion meant for the Devas.

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Rig Veda 10.27.17 “The sages cooked a fat ram, they followed in succession like dice thrown in gambling….” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

The following is the Hindi translation by Ram Sharma Acharya.

Sayana comments on above verse as follows:

“The Viras (heroes) are the Angirases, the sons of Prajapati. They cooked a fat ram, fat meaning thick with marrow and flesh. They became those who cooked it for the sake of Indra, who is a form of Prajapati; this implies they performed an animal sacrifice…” Sayana on Rig Veda 10.27.17

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Atharva Veda 9.4.9 “…that Brahman gives a thousand who offers up the Bull as his oblation.” Tr. Ralph Griffith (Source)

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Atharva Veda 9.4.18 All Gods promote the Brahman who offers the Bull in sacrifice.” Tr. Ralph Griffith (Source)

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Apologists cite certain verses as prohibitions against meat consumption, yet these passages are often detached from their historical and textual context. For example, Rig Veda 10.87.16 invokes Agni to destroy enemies who kill cattle, horses, and people, while Atharva Veda 1.16.4 uses similar language against such hostile forces. In context, these references concern enemies threatening Aryan communities, where cows and horses represented wealth and military strength. The verse Rig Veda 10.87.16 also prays for the destruction of enemies who steal milk, yet no one interprets this as a prohibition on consuming milk itself. The act condemned is theft and killing, not consumption. One may lawfully drink milk after obtaining it properly, by the same logic, one may consume meat if it is lawfully acquired. Ignoring this distinction weakens the claim that the verse imposes a universal ban on meat.

Some argue that all Vedic verses are eternal and must be applied uniformly across ages. If so, consistency would require literal acceptance of passages such as Rig Veda 4.18.13, which refers to the consumption of a dog’s intestines in a particular situation. Such verses reflect specific circumstances rather than timeless dietary laws. Selectively absolutizing certain passages while contextualizing others exposes an inconsistency in interpretation.

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The following verses demonstrate that cow slaughter was not absent in later tradition. The Brahma Purana presents cows as designated sacrificial animals in the Puranic period, while the Mahabharata explicitly permits the slaughter of a cow in the context of a properly conducted sacrifice.

Brahma Purana: Gautami Mahatmya 61.27-28 “In the southern bank of Ganga the cows were set apart as the sacrificial animals. These cows had fled and the Devas herded them together on Ganga. In its middle they caused an island to be made as the place of rest for the cows. Through those cows the Yajna of Devas was celebrated on Ganga.” Tr. Board of Scholars, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Mahabharata Book 12, Section 263 “One who is of such a cleansed soul may slaughter a cow (as an offering in Sacrifice). They, therefore, that are not of that kind should perform Sacrifices with herbs and plants (and not animals).” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Hinduism permits slaughtering the following animals for Vedic sacrifices and rituals,

Sankha Samhita 13.25 “A Sraddha ceremony performed by offering oblations of Vala Sakas, bird’s flesh, the flesh of a rhinoceros, or a large-scaled fish, bears infinite fruit. This is the opinion of Yama, the law-giver.” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

Usana Samhita 3.107 “This Sraddha is called Pindanvaharyakam. In the afternoon of the day, when the waning of the Moon takes place, the twice-born should perform it with sanctified fish and meat.” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

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Asvalayana Grihya Sutra, IV Adhyaya, 8 Kandika, 25 “The husks and chaff (of the rice), the tail, the skin, the head, the feet (of the sacrificial animal) he should throw into the fire.” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

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The Satapatha Brahmana states that meat is regarded as the best kind of food.

Satapatha Brahmana 11.7.1.3 “Now, when he performs the animal offering. He thereby redeems himself–male by male, for the victim is a male, and the Sacrificer is a male. And this, indeed, to wit, flesh, is the best kind of food: he thus becomes an eater of the best kind of food. Let not a year pass by for him without his offering; for the year means life: it is thus immortal life he thereby confers upon himself.” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Satapatha Brahmana 11:7:1:1-2 “He performs the animal sacrifice. Now the animal sacrifice means cattle: thus, when he performs the animal sacrifice (pasubandha, the binding of the animal), it is in order that he may be possessed of cattle…And when he performs the animal sacrifice, he renews his fires, and so, along with the renewal of his fires, does the Sacrificer (renew himself), and along with the Sacrificer his house and cattle. And beneficial to life, indeed, is that redemption of his own self; for whilst he is offering the Sacrificer’s fires long for flesh; they set their minds on the Sacrificer and harbour designs on him. In other fires people do indeed cook any kind of meat, but these (sacrificial fires) have no desire for any other flesh but this (sacrificial animal), and for him to whom they belong.” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.18 “And if a man wishes that a learned son should be born to him, famous, a public man, a popular speaker, that he should know all the Vedas, and that he should live to his full age, then, after having prepared boiled rice with meat and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring. The meat should be of a young or of an old bull.” (Source)

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Maitrayana Brahmaya 6.36 “…Therefore (to the former) sacrifice must be offered on the house-altar with hymns, herbs, ghee, meat, cakes, sthalipaka, and other things; to the latter, with meat and drinks (belonging to the great sacrifices) thrown into the mouth, for the
mouth is the Ahavaniya-fire; and this is done to increase our bodily vigour, to gain the world of purity, and for the sake of immortality.”

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Apastamba Dharma Shastra, Prasna II, Patala 7, Khanda 16.28 “By this (permission of the use of buffalo’s meat) it has been declared that the meat of (other) tame and wild animals is fit to be offered.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Narada Purana III.87.22-24 “…If one performs hundred homas everyday with the flesh of a goat smeared with ghee, and continues it for a month, all kings will be subservient to him…25 By performing homa with the fruits of udumbara and palasa trees he attains good fortune. With the flesh of a jackal also he attains the same…27 He can captivate people by performing homa with the menstrual flow of women; the desire is fulfilled by means of the flesh of a deer. The stunning is achieved through the flesh of a buffalo…” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Vishnu Purana 3.10.3-7 “When a son is born, let his father perform for him the ceremonies proper on the birth of a child, and all other initiatory rites, as well as a Śráddha, which is a source of prosperity. Let him feed a couple of Brahmans, seated with their faces to the east; and according to his means offer sacrifices to the gods and progenitors. Let him present to the manes balls of meat mixed with curds, barley, and jujubes, with the part of his hand sacred to the gods, or with that sacred to Prajápati. Let a Brahman perform such a Śráddha, with all its offerings and circumambulations, on every occasion of good fortune.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Narada Purana III.90.147 “By performing homa with the meat of ram smeared with trimadha one shall attain gold. If the meat of ram is smeared with milk and homa is performed, one shall attain a very fertile land abounding in plants within forty days.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Division of parts of sacrificial animal

Aitareya Brahmana Book 7, Chapter 1, Para 1 “Now follows the division of the different parts of the sacrificial animal (among the priests). We shall describe it. The two jawbones with the tongue are to be given to the Prastotar; the breast in the form of an eagle to the Udgatar; the throat with the palate to the Pratihartar; the lower part of the right loins to the Hotar; the left to the Braham; the right thigh to the Maitravaruna; the left to the Brahmanacchamsi; the right side with the shoulder to the Adhvaryu; the left side to those who accompany the chants; the left shoulder to the Pratipasthatar; the lower part of the right arm to the Neshtar; the lower part of the left arm to the Potar…the other half of the fleshy part on the neck and the left lobe (kloma) to the slaughterer…Those who divide the sacrificial animal in the way mentioned, it becomes the guide to heaven. But those who make the division otherwise are like scoundrels and miscreants who kill an animal merely (for gratifying their lust after flesh. This division of the sacrificial animal was invented by the Rishi Devabhaga, a son of Sruta. When he was departing from this life, he did not entrust (the secret to any one). But a supernatural being communicated it to Girija, the son of Babhru. Since his time men study it.” Tr. Martin Haug (Source)

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Offering Slaughtered Animals and Meat to the Deities

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Krishna Yajur Veda 2.5.5.3-4 “On the full moon (the Soma) is pressed for the gods; during this half-month it is pressed forth for them, and a cow for Mitra and Varuna is to be slaughtered for them at the new moon. In that he sacrifices on the day before…In that he sacrifices at the new moon with clotted curds for Mitra and Varuna, the cow which is slaughtered for the gods becomes his also.” Tr. Arthur Berriedale Keith (Source)

Krishna Yajur Veda 2.2.9.6 “At the time of the (offering of the) cow, he should offer on one potsherd to Mitra and Varuna, this (offering) corresponds to his foe’s cow which is to be slaughtered.” Tr. Arthur Berriedale Keith (Source)

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Matsya Purana 239.27-33 “…and for the satisfaction of the gods animal sacrifice should also be made…” Tr. Taluqdar of Oudh, edited by B.D. Basu (Source)

Matsya Purana 232.12-14 “Then Lord Shiva should be worshipped and an animal should be sacrificed near the tree.”  (Source)

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Agni Purana 40.6 “Worship and propitiate the god Dharmesh in the two chambers with meat and rice form boiled paddy, and the Gandharva occupying two such rectangular divisions, with perfume and bird’s tongue.” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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Agni Purana 93.22-23 “…A plateful of meat-offering should be given to the god of mountains Dharadhara, who would be considered as occupying six chambers of the diagram…” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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Brahma Purana 79.27 “Accordingly the residents of colony performed Yajña unto the mountain. They offered oblations unto the mountain by curds, milk puddings, meat etc.” Tr. Board of Scholars, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Brahma Purana 72.52 “Lord Hari said to her: Worshipped by means of wine, meat and other presents and various items of foodstuffs you will become delighted and fulfil all desires of men.” Tr. Board of Scholars, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)
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Srimad Bhagavatam 10.36.26 “Commence the bow sacrifice on the Caturdaśī day in accordance with the relevant Vedic injunctions. In ritual slaughter offer the appropriate kinds of animals to the magnanimous Lord Śiva.” Tr. Swami Prabhupada (Source)

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Devi Bhagavatam 5.34.13-31. “In the bright fortnight of the month of Âsvin or Chaitra, is to be observed the fasting of the Navarâtra by those who desire for their own welfare. Homas are to be offered, many in number, and Mantrams are to be recited, the same as in one’s own Mantram, good Pâyasam with sugar, ghee, and honey mixed is to be offered in this ceremony. Goat meat, or holy leaves of the Bel tree, or red Karavîr flowers or til (sesamum seed) mixed with honey can be used instead in the Homa ceremony. The special days for the worship of the Devî are the eighth, ninth, or fourteenth day (tithi) of the half month…” Tr. Swami Vijnananda (Source)

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Satapatha Brahman 6:2:2:11 “The Karakas slaughter (a he-goat) for Pragâpati, saying, ‘Pragâpati, having built up the fire-altar (agni), became Agni. When he slaughters that [goat] one, then indeed he reaches the end of Agni (the fire-altar).” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Brahmanda Purana 17.2- “The three Astaka Sraddhas are performed for the welfare of sons and wives…The first one is the most excellent one with Akhandala (Indra) for its deity. The second one is Prajapatya (with Prajapati for its deity) The third one is Vaisvadevika (with Visve Devas as deities) The first one is always to be performed with sweet rice peas. The second one should always be performed with meat…” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

The same theme is also mentioned in Vayu Purana Section II.19.3-4, Vayu Purana Section II.18.51, and in the Brahmanda Purana,

Brahmanda Purana 2.3.14.5 “In Vaisvadeva and Soma sacrifices, the flesh of a rhinoceros (or a buffalo) is the greatest offering. It is not through rivalry that we feed with the flesh of a rhinoceros (buffalo) excluding the horns.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Narada Purana III.90.28 “The devotee with the previously mentioned form should worship the deities of the above mentioned forms. He should worship them in the proper sequence with the offering of wine, fish and meat duly consecrated.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Vayu Purana 16.5 “During the sacrifice to Visvadevas and Saumyas, the Havis can contain plenty of meat. But one should avoid the horn of the rhinoceros to mitigate the malice (of Pitrs) (?).” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Offerings to Kali,
Narada Purana III.84.27-28 “At midnight, on Bhutastami (the eighth day in the dark fortnight of Karttika month) the devotee shall offer unto the goddess the flesh of cats and rams along with bones, hairs and hide or the oblation of a camel or a buffalo. All the creatures will become subservient to him. He shall enjoy happiness for a long time with sons, fame, fortune and learning.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Varaha Purana 119.12-18 “[Varaha said:] All this I accept if devoutly offered; also the flesh of deer, goat and hare. All these are dear to me in the worship to attain me. When the goat is offered in sacrifice by the Vaidic Brahmin, a part of it comes to me as my share…The birds that are to be used also in my worship, I shall tell you now. The flesh of the birds Iavaka, vartika and kapinjala are used in my temples.” Tr. Venkitasubramonia Iyer, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Agni Purana 185.1-15 “…The man, who carries the image of the goddess in a car (performs the car-festival unto the goddess), offers animal sacrifice, or plants a banner on the top of her temple, enjoys all bliss.” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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Krishna Yajur Veda 5.5.1.3-4 “the form of man, its lack of horns that of horses, the possession of one set of incisors only that of cows, the sheep-like hooves that of sheep, that it is a goat, that is the form of goats. The wind is the abode dear to cattle; in that it is offered to Vayu, in accord cattle wait upon him. ‘Should an animal be offered to Vayu, or to Prajapati?’ they say; if he were to offer it to Vayu, he would depart from Prajapati; if he were to offer it to Prajapati, he would depart from Vayu; in that the animal is offered to Vayu, therefore he does not depart…” Tr. Arthur Berriedale Keith (Source)

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Ashvamedha Yajna

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The Vedas clearly refer to the killing of animals and their offering into Agni during yajnas. One of the most frequently cited hymns concerning animal sacrifice appears in the Rig Veda in connection with the Ashvamedha Yajna. The Ashvamedha described in the Rig Veda includes detailed references to the slaughter and preparation of the sacrificial horse as part of the ritual process.

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Rig Veda 1.162.2-3 “When they, (the priests), bring the prepared offering to the presence (of the horse), who has been bathed and decorated with rich (trappings), the various-coloured goat going before him, bleating, becomes an acceptable offering to Indra and Pūṣan. This goat, the portion of Puṣan fit for all the gods, is brought first with the fleet courser, to that Tvaṣṭā may prepare him along with the horse, as an acceptable preliminary offering for the (sacrificial) food.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

The following is the Hindi translation by Pandit Ram Govind Trivedi.

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Sayana comments on above verses as follows:

“…Such is the goat (ajah). supran: its arrival is highly commendable. memyat: being slaughtered; the root min signifies injury; from this frequentative (yang-luk) base, the participle satr is used with a morphological irregularity in the passive sense. Alternatively, it is the imitation of its sound, making the ‘me-me’ noise. visvarupah: endowed with many colors, meaning a black neck, a black forehead-mark, or diverse hues. This goat of such a nature reaches the indrapusnoh: Indra is well-known, and Pushan is the nourishing deity; to them, it is priyam (the beloved portion). Due to the statement “The black-necked is for Agni” (Taittiriya Samhita 5.5.22), its status as Agni’s beloved is established. Since all things belong to Indra, it is also dear to Indra. In this manner, let it reach the pathah—meaning the sacrificial food. This (esha) goat, which is hornless, is led ahead of the swift-reaching horse as the portion to be enjoyed (bhagah) by Pushan, the nourisher. It is visvadevyah: to be offered to all the gods. Since Agni constitutes the soul of all gods, it is dear to all by virtue of being fit for him…” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.162.2-3

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Rig Veda 1.162.9 “Whatever the flies may eat of the raw flesh of the horse; whatever (grease) is smeared upon the brush or upon the axe ; (what is smeared) upon the hands or the nails of the immolator, may all this be with thee, (horse), among the gods.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Rig Veda 1.162.10 “Whatever undigested grass fall from his belly ; whatever particle” of raw flesh may remain let the immolators make the whole free from defect, and so cook the pure (offering) that it may be perfectly dressed.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Sayana comments on the above verse as follows:

“…During the culinary process, whatever vestige of undigested matter or raw odor remains, the immolators (shamitarah), acting as the dissecting priests, must render all of it perfectly prepared (sukrta), meaning strictly devoid of any flaw. Moreover (uta), they must cook (pacantu) the sacrificial portion (medham)—the segment of the animal deemed worthy of offering—so thoroughly (shrtapakam) that it achieves a culinary state strictly appropriate for the deities. The critical directive implies: they must not render it overcooked, which would suit only ancestors or mortals, nor should they leave it undercooked.” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.162.10

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Rig Veda 1.162.11 “Whatever (portion) of your slaughtered (body) fall from your carcass when it is being roasted by the fire, (escaping) from the spit; let it not be left on the ground,nor on the (sacred) grass, but let it (all) be given to the longing gods.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Sayana comments on the above verse as follows:

“O horse, whatever exudate in the form of vapor, or whatever else runs down (avadhavati) from your (te) limb (gatrat) as it is being roasted by the fire (agnina). And similarly, whatever juice-like substance of yours, as a completely slain entity (nihatasya), drips down, directed critically toward the roasting spit (sulam). Let that specific portion not adhere (ma a slisat) to the earth (bhumyam), nor be embraced by it. The root sliṣ implies embracing. Likewise, during the roasting process, let it not depart to the grass (trenesu), specifically the Darbha grass utilized during dissection. If one questions where such fallen remnants ought to be directed, it is answered thus: Let that entire offering of this nature be bestowed (ratam astu) upon the deities (devesu) who actively desire (usadbhyah) the complete oblation.” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.162.11

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Rig Veda 1.162.12 “Let their exertions be for our good who watch the cooking of the horse; who say, it is fragrant; therefore give us some; who solicit the flesh of the horse as alms.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

 

Sayana comments on the above verse as follows:

“…Furthermore, those who await the alms of the flesh of the steed, those men who await [or] desire the solicitation of the oblation-residual flesh of this steed, the horse. Moreover, let the exertion, the comprehensive endeavor, of those previously described categories reach us. The meaning is: just as they express such eagerness when the horse is procured by us, similarly let them accomplish the sacrifice. Alternatively, the mantra is to be interpreted as pertaining to the deities: Those deities who observe the cooked courser, noting the delay [pondering], “When will he offer the oblation?”, and those who state, “It is fragrant, extract it thoroughly and give it to us”, and those who await the alms of the flesh of the steed, the horse, let their exertion reach us; the meaning is, let their endeavor be fruitful.” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.162.12

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Rig Veda 1.162.13 “The stick that is dipped into the cauldron in which the flesh is boiled; the vessels that distribute the broth; the covers of the dishes, the skewers, the knives, all do honour (to the horse).” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

Sayana comments on above verse as follows:

“Regarding the meat-cooking vessel (mamspacanyah), the receptacle for cooking meat. The suffix lyut is appended to the root pac to denote the locative sense (the instrument or site of cooking). In accordance with the grammatical rule ‘mamsasya paci yudghanoh’ (Kasika 6.1.144), the final syllable undergoes elision. Concerning the pot (ukhayah), the main vessel; the testing implement (nikshanam), the wooden stick functioning as the instrument to verify the culinary progress; and those (ya) receptacles (patrani) designated for pouring (asecanani), the implements utilized for dispensing the broth (yusnah) or boiled extract; and the vessels capable of retaining heat (usmanyah); and the covers (apidhana), the sealing instruments for the bowls (carunam) filled with meat; and the hooks (ankah), the implements—specifically branches of the vetasa plant—employed for marking anatomical components such as the heart; and the butcher’s blocks or cleavers (sunah), the severing instruments such as the axe. All these aforementioned entities embellish (pari bhusanti) or adorn on all sides this (etam) horse (ashvam), specifically its constituent parts; the exegetical implication being that they meticulously accomplish the sacrifice through their respective designated functions. The root bhus denotes adornment and is classified under the bhvadi class.” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.162.13

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Rig Veda 1.162.18 “The axe penetrates the thirty-four ribs of the swift horse; the beloved of the gods, (the immolators), cut up (the horse) with skill, so that the limbs may be unperforated, and recapitulating joint by joint.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Sayana comments on the above verse as follows:

The thirty four ribs of the swift horse, who is a friend to the gods, are matched by the svadhiti (the sacrificial knife), which is the instrument for dissection. For other animals like goats, there are only twenty six ribs, as seen in the Aitareya Brahmana (2.6) command: “Twenty six are its ribs.” O performers of the slaughter, make the limbs and bodily parts of this horse such that they are acchidra (without defect). Moreover, make them known by their names (vayuna). Vayunam is a name for knowledge, as it is stated as such a name in ‘vayunam abhiya’ (Nirukta 3.9-10). Perform the act (krnotu). The ending is a Vedic substitution. This means, having recognized the heart, tongue, chest, and so on, do not make gaps in the middle. For that purpose, having identified each joint and each part of the heart, and having declared “this is the limb,” perform the thorough dissection (vi shasta). The root shas denotes injury. The Vedic shapo luk (elision of the affix) is used. The Aitareya Brahmana (2.6) directs: “Let them make the limbs of this horse complete.” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.162.18

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Rig Veda 1.162.19 “There is one immolator of the radiant horse, which is Time; there are two that hold him fast; such of your limbs as I cut up in due season, I offer them, made into balls (of meat) upon the fire.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

Sayana comments on the above verse as follows:

“There is but one (ekah) dissector of this radiant horse. Who is he? He is Rtu (Time), characterized here as the soul of time, because all things ultimately terminate in him. Alternatively, Rtu is the Samitra priest who approaches to perform the slaughter without hesitation. Similarly, there are two (dva) “restrainers” (yantara), who are the deities Day and Night, or Heaven and Earth, or two specific priests. In the phrase tatha rtuh, the word rtyakah retains its original form (prakritibhava) and undergoes shortening. O horse, among your limbs, whatever parts such as the heart I prepare (krnomi), meaning I cut, at the proper time (rtutha), those (tata) parts I offer into the fire (agnau) in accordance with knowledge. I perform the oblation thoroughly (pra juhomi).” Sayana on Rig Veda 1.162.19

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Although the verses are sufficiently clear on their own, Sayana’s commentaries are cited here to preempt potential misinterpretations by Hindu apologists. Let us now examine what other scriptures state regarding the horse sacrifice.

Krishna Yajur Veda 5.4.12.1 “It is the twenty onefold day, on which the horse is slain, there are twelve months, five seasons; these worlds are three.” Tr. Arthur Berriedale Keith (Source)

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Krishna Yajur Veda 5.3.12. “The eye of Prajapati swelled, that fell away, that became a horse; because it swelled (áçvayat), that is the reason why the horse (áçva) has its name. By the horse sacrifice the gods replaced it. He who sacrifices with the horse sacrifice makes Prajapati whole; verily he becomes whole; this is the atonement for everything, and the cure for everything. All evil by it the gods overcame; by it also the gods overcame (the sins of) Brahman- slaying; all evil [1] he overcomes, he overcomes Brahman-slaying who sacrifices with the horse sacrifice, and he who knows it thus. It was the left eye of Prajapati that swelled; therefore they cut off from the horse on the left side, on the right from other animals. The mat is of reeds; the horse has its birthplace in the waters, the reed is born in the waters; verily he establishes it in its own birthplace. The Stoma is the fourfold one; the bee tore the thigh of the horse, the gods made it whole with the fourfold Stoma; in that there is the fourfold Stoma, (it is) to make whole the horse.” Tr. Arthur Berriedale Keith (Source)

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Srimad Bhagawatam 4.19.11 “When Pṛthu Mahārāja was performing the last horse sacrifice [aśvamedha-yajña], King Indra, invisible to everyone, stole the horse intended for sacrifice. He did this because of his great envy of King Pṛthu.” Tr. Swami Prabhupada (Source)

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Commentary: “King Indra is known as śata-kratu, which indicates that he has performed one hundred horse sacrifices (aśvamedha-yajña). We should know, however, that the animals sacrificed in the yajña were not killed. If the Vedic mantras were properly pronounced during the sacrifice, the animal sacrificed would come out again with a new life.” Swami Prabhupada on Srimad Bhagavatam 4.19.11 (Source)

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Satapatha Brahmana 11.2.5.1 “And, verily, even on this occasion, they slaughter the sacrificial horse (Asvamedha) as a sacrifice to the gods…” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Satapatha Brahmana 13:2:1:1-2 “Pragâpati assigned the sacrifices to the gods; the Asvamedha he kept for himself. The gods said to him, ‘Surely, this–to wit, the Asvamedha–is a sacrifice: let us have a share in that also.’ He contrived these Anna-homas (food-oblations) for them: thus when he performs the Annahomas, it is the gods he thereby gratifies. With ghee he makes offering, for ghee is fiery mettle: by means of fiery mettle he thus lays fiery mettle into him (the horse and Sacrificer). With ghee he offers; for that–to wit, ghee–is the gods’ favourite resource: it is thus with their favourite resource he supplies them.” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Satapatha Brahmana 11:2:5:5 “Verily, then, for him who, knowing this, offers both the Agnihotra and the Full and New-moon sacrifices, they slaughter the sacrificial horse month by month; and month by month the Asvamedha is offered for him, and his Agnihotra and Full and New-moon sacrifices come to pass into the Asvamedha.” Tr. Julius Eggeling (Source)

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Valmiki Ramayan Bala Kanda 1, Sarga 14, Verses 33-38 “With great delight coming on her Queen Kausalya reverently made circumambulations to the horse, and symbolically killed the horse with three knives. Queen Kausalya desiring the results of ritual disconcertedly resided one night with that horse that flew away like a bird…Then the priest, one with controlled senses and rich in scriptural wealth, took up the omentum [fat] of the horse and cooked it as per scriptures while dropping into the altar of fire to bake as a food to the celestials…Those remaining body parts that horse are there, the sixteen officiating priests have procedurally oblated all of them into fire.” Tr. Desiraju Hanumanta Rao (Source)

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Brahma Purana 104.137 “After performing these tasks Rama the most excellent among the virtuous performed ten horse-sacrifices where flesh was offered to the deities.” Tr. Board of Scholars, edited by J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Mahabharata Book 14, Section 89 “Vaisampayana said, ‘Having cooked, according to due rites, the other excellent animals that were sacrificed, the priests then sacrificed, agreeably to the injunctions of the scriptures, that steed (which had wandered over the whole world). After cutting that horse into pieces, conformably to scriptural directions, they caused Draupadi of great intelligence, who was possessed of the three requisites of mantras, things, and devotion, to sit near the divided animal. The Brahmanas then with cool minds, taking up the marrow of that steed, cooked it duly, O chief of Bharata’s race. King Yudhishthira the just, with all his younger brothers, then smelled, agreeably to the scriptures, the smoke, capable of cleansing one from every sin, of the marrow that was thus cooked. The remaining limbs, O king, of that horse, were poured into the fire by the sixteen sacrificial priests possessed of great wisdom.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Swami Vivekananda and Swami Dayanand Saraswati both argued that any statement in the Puranas or other later texts that contradicts the Vedas should be rejected without hesitation. This principle places the Vedas at the highest level of authority and dismisses later interpolations if they conflict with them.

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However, passages in Shatapatha Brahmana and several Puranas explicitly describe the slaughter of the horse in the Ashvamedha Yajna. These references reinforce the understanding that the ritual involved the actual killing of the animal. In light of such textual evidence, it becomes difficult for apologists to reinterpret Vedic verses on the horse sacrifice in a purely symbolic manner.

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Animal Slaughter at Shraddha for Pitrs (Ancestors)

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The following verses specify how the offering of particular animals at Sraddha satisfies the deceased ancestors for fixed periods, with cow and beef mentioned prominently, followed by boar, buffalo, goat, sheep, deer, hare, tortoise, fish, birds, and even rhinoceros. They present a graded scale of ancestral gratification based on the type of meat offered. Moreover, these animals were not merely symbolically dedicated in ritual, but were intended to be consumed by the officiating priests and other Brahmins.

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Mahabharata book 13 section 88 “Manu has said that if a Sraddha is performed with a copious measure of sesame, such Sraddha becomes inexhaustible. Of all kinds of food, sesame seeds are regarded as the best. With fishes offered at Sraddhas, the Pitris remain gratified for a period of two months. With mutton they remain gratified for three months and with the flesh of the hare for four. With the flesh of the goat, O king, they remain gratified for five months, with bacon for six months, and with the flesh of birds for seven. With venison obtained from those deer that are called Prishata, they remain gratified for eight months, and with that obtained from the Ruru for nine months, and with the meat of the Gavaya for ten months. With the meat of the buffalo their gratification lasts for eleven months. With beef presented at the Sraddha, their gratification, it is said, lasts for a full year. Payasa mixed with ghee is as much acceptable to the Pitris as beef. With the meat of the Vadhrinasa the gratification of the Pitris lasts for twelve years. The flesh of the rhinoceros, offered to the Pitris on the anniversaries of the lunar days on which they died, becomes inexhaustible. The potherb called Kalasaka, the petals of the Kanchana flower, and meat of the goat also, thus offered, prove inexhaustible.” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Apastamba Dharma Shastra, Prasna II, Patala 7, Khanda 16.3-4 “At that (rite) the Manes (of one’s father, grandfather, and great-grand father) are the deities (to whom the sacrifice is offered). But the Brâhmanas, (who are fed,) represent the Âhavanîya-fire. That rite must be performed in each month [26] Beef satisfies (the Manes) for a year.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Apastamba Dharma Shastra, Prasna II, Patala 7, Khanda 17.1-3 “(If) rhinoceros’ meat (is given to Brahmanas seated) on (seats covered with) the skin of a rhinoceros, (the Manes are satisfied) for a very long time. (The same effect is obtained) by (offering the) flesh (of the fish called) Satabali, And by (offering the) meat of the (crane called)” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Gautama Dharma Shastra 15.15 “The Manes are satisfied for a month by gifts of sesamum, Masha-beans, rice, barley, and water, For (three) years by fish and the flesh of common deer, spotted deer, hares, turtles, boars, and sheep,For twelve years by cow’s milk and messes made of milk, For a very long time by the flesh of (the crane called) Vardhrinasa, by Ocyrnurn sanctum (sacred Basil), and by the flesh of goats, (especially) of a red (he-goat), and of a rhinoceros, (if these dishes are) mixed with honey.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Manu Smriti 3.266-272 “I will now fully declare what kind of sacrificial food, given to the manes according to the rule, will serve for a long time or for eternity. The ancestors of men are satisfied for one month with sesamum grains, rice, barley, masha beans, water, roots, and fruits, which have been given according to the prescribed rule, Two months with fish, three months with the meat of gazelles, four with mutton, and five indeed with the flesh of birds, Six months with the flesh of kids, seven with that of spotted deer, eight with that of the black antelope, but nine with that of the (deer called) Ruru, Ten months they are satisfied with the meat of boars and buffaloes, but eleven months indeed with that of hares and tortoises, One year with cow-milk and milk-rice; from the flesh of a long-eared white he-goat their satisfaction endures twelve years. The (vegetable called) Kalasaka, (the fish called) Mahasalka, the flesh of a rhinoceros and that of a red goat, and all kinds of food eaten by hermits in the forest serve for an endless time.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Vishnu Purana 2.16.1-3 “AURVA continued.–”Ancestors are satisfied for a month with offerings of rice or other grain, with clarified butter, with fish, or the flesh of the hare, of birds, of the hog, the goat, the antelope, the deer, the gayal, or the sheep, or with the milk of the cow, and its products. They are for ever satisfied with flesh (in general), and with that of the long-eared white goat in particular. The flesh of the rhinoceros, the Kálaśáka potherb, and honey, are also especial sources of satisfaction to those worshipped at ancestral ceremonies.” Tr. H.H. Wilson (Source)

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Yajnavalkya Smriti verse 258-59 “(The Pitris are satisfied) verily for a moth with the havisya (sacrificial food), but for a year with the milk rice, with the fish, with the meat of gazelles, with mutton, with the flesh of birds, with the flesh of kids, with flesh of spotted deer. With the flesh of black antelope, with that of Ruru deer, with the meat of boars, and with the meat of hares respectively for a period progessively increasing by a month are satisfied when offered to the Grandfathers here.” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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Markandeya Purana 32.2-5; Matsya Purana 17-31-36 “The Pitris are satisfied with clarified butter and rice for a month. The paternal grandfathers receive satisfaction with fish meat for two months. Venison should be known to satisfy the pitris for three months; and the flesh of hares nourishes the pitris for four months; bird’s flesh satisfies them for five months; hog’s flesh for six months; goat’s flesh for seven months; and flesh of the black antelope for eight months; flesh of the ruru deer gives them satisfication for nine months, without doubt; flesh of gayal gives satisfaction for ten months.” Tr. Eden Pargiter (Source)

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The same injunction is repeated in Kurma Purana II.20.37-54, which also refers to offering meat to Brahmins as food. Similar statements appear in Narada Purana Uttarabhaga 44.51, Vayu Purana 21.2-9, Agni Purana 117.44-48 and 163.28-39, Padma Purana 1.9.153-157 and 1.9.62-63, Brahma Purana 111.15-33, Brahmanda Purana 2.3.19.2-10, Garuda Purana I.99.37-38, Matsya Purana 15.34-35 and 204.6-9, and Narada Purana II.51.142b-145a, including the following verses.

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Markandeya Purana 35.2-4 “…The hare, the tortoise, the gosamp, the porcupine, and the rhinoceros, my son, these indeed may be eaten; and domestic pig and fowl should be eschewed. The remains of food at a sraddha after the pitris and gods and other recipients have been satisfied may be eaten at the desire of the brahmanas. A man who eats flesh that has been killed for the purpose of medicine is not defiled.” Tr. Eden Pargiter (Source)

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Vishnu Smriti 30.34 “Now he who studies the hymns of the Rig-veda (regularly), feeds the manes with clarified butter. [37] He who studies the Atharva-veda, (feeds them) with meat.” Julius Jolly (Source)

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Markandeya Purana 32.31-34 “At this ceremony also songs in honour of the pitris are sung by those who recite the Veda, songs which were formerly sung by the pitris to king Puruavas. “When will any one of use have a son, the chief among his race, who, eating the remains food left by yogis, will offer the pinda on earth? Or will offer pinda, buffalo-beef, the clarified butter, or the vegetable kala mixed with sesamum-seed, or khichree at Gaya for our monthly satisfaction? May we obtain the offering to the Visvadevas and the soma juice, buffalo-beef, and the finest clarified butter, and the divine food by getting a young rhinoceros!” Tr. Eden Pargiter (Source)

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Vishnu Smriti 80.1-14 “Sesamum, rice, barley, beans, water, roots, fruits, vegetables, Syâmâka grain, millet, wild rice, kidney-beans, and wheat satisfy (the manes) for a month; The flesh of fishes (excepting those species that are forbidden), for two months; The flesh of the common deer, for three months; The flesh of sheep, for four months; The flesh of birds (of those kinds that may be eaten), for five months; The flesh of goats, for six months; The flesh of the spotted deer, for seven months; The flesh of the spotted antelope, for eight months; Beef, for nine months; Buffalo’s meat, for ten months; The meat of a hornless goat, for eleven months; The milk of a cow, or preparations from it, for a year. On this subject there exists a stanza, which the manes utter: ‘(The pot-herb) Kâlasâka (sacred basil), (the prawn) Mahâsalka, and the flesh of the (crane called) Vârdhrînasa[1], (and of) a rhinoceros having no horn, is food which we always accept.” Tr. Julius Jolly (Source)

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Agni Purana 117.44-48 “Now I shall discuss the nature of satisfaction which the different sorts of cakes or oblations respectively impart to the souls of one’s ancestors. Oblations composed of cereals grown in villages as well as forest fruits, bulbs and roots last one’s forefathers for a month, while those consisting of fishes and venison would serve them well for double or triple that division of time. The peculiar kind of venison known as the Rouravas would gratify them for five months, whereas games and wild fowls would last them for four months. The departed soul are supposed to live satisfactorily upon goat’s meat for six months, meat of tortoise, pork, mutton, and buffalo flesh lasting them for seven, eight, nine and ten months respectively. Sweetened porridge and butter of cow milk offered in a clarified state would gratify them for a whole year, while the meat of a full grown sacrificial goat (Vardrinasa) as well as the sword of a rhinoceros, flesh of an antelope or that of a red goat and honey should be considered as their full and proper ration for a period of three consecutive’ months. Offerings made during the rainy season consist of fishes having large scales, while a Shraddha ceremony performed on the day on which the moon enters the asterisk Magha should be supposed as hearing immortal fruits.” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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Usana Samhita 3.137-141 “one should, with care, give at a Sraddha, deer, lamb and tortoise. With fish and meat, [the Manes attain to gratification for] two months; and [for] three months, with the meat of deer. With mutton, [they are gratified for] four months; with the meat of birds, [for] five months; with the meat of goat, [for] six months; and with the meat of Ruru deer, [for] nine months. With the meat of buffalo and pork, [they] are gratified for ten months; and with the meat of hare and tortoise, for eleven months. With cow’s milk and Payasa (milk and boiled-rice), [they attain to gratification for] one year. With the meat of rhinoceros, [they attain to] gratification for twelve years. Black pot herbs, sea-scrabs, meat of rhinoceros and black goat, honey and all other roots leads to their everlasting gratification.” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

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Hiranyakesin Grihya Sutra II Prasna, 5 Patala, 15 section, 1-9 “On the following day he sacrifices a cow to the Fathers…When it has been sprinkled and fire has been carried round it, they kill it to the west of the fire, its head being turned to the west, its feet to the south. After it has been killed, he silently ‘strengthens’ its sense-organs (by touching them) with water, and silently takes out the omentum, the heart, and the kidneys.…He sacrifices the omentum entirely. The other parts (Sutra 5) he should offer to the Brahmanas and should feed them (with those parts of the cow). When the food (for the Brahmanas) is ready, he cuts off (the Avadanas) together from the mess of boiled rice, and form the pieces of meat, and mixing them with clarified butter he makes oblations thereof with the verses, ‘Behold the Ekashtaka, the giver of food with meat and ghee, (which is offered) with (the word) svadha. By the Brahmanas that food is purified. May it be an imperishable (blessings to me! Svadha! Adoration!” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

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Apastamba Grihya Sutra Patala 8, Section 22, 3-5 “On the following day he touches a cow with a Darbha blade, with the words, ‘I touch thee agreeable to the Fathers.’ having silently offered five Agya oblations, and having cooked the omentum of the (cow), and performed the ‘spreading under’ and the sprinkling over (of Agya), he sacrifices (the omentun) with the next (verse, II, 20, 28) with a Palasa leaf from the middle or the end (of the stalk). (He sacrifices) boiled rice together with the meat (of the cow) with the next (verses, II, 20, 29-35)” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

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Asvalayana Grihya Sutra, 1 Adhyaya, 11 Kandika, 1-10 “Now (follows) the ritual of the animal sacrifice…To the west of the Samitra (fire) he (the Samitri) kills (the animal), the head of which is turned to the east or to the west, the feet to the north; and having placed a grass-blade on his side of the (animal’s) navel, (the ‘performer’) draws out the omentum, cuts off the omentum, seizes it with the two Agnisrapanis, sprinkles it with water, warms it at the Samitra (fire), takes it before that fire, roasts it, being seated to the south, goes round (the two fires), and sacrifices it.” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

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Instructions on animal sacrifice are also found in Asvalayana Grihya Sutra, II Adhyaya, 4 Kandika, 13 (link), and Asvalayana Grihya Sutra, IV Adhyaya, 8 Kandika, 16-18 (link).

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Mahabharata 14.2 “And then Kesava (Krishna) accosted him,-“If a person indulges excessively in sorrow for his departed forefathers, he grieves them. (Therefore, banishing grief), do thou (now) celebrate many a sacrifice with suitable presents to the priests; and do thou gratify the gods with Soma liquor, and the manes of thy forefathers with their due food and drink. Do thou also gratify thy guests with meat and drink and the destitute with gifts commensurate with their desires..” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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Matsya Purana 20.4-9 “After the death of their father the land was visited with a terrible famine when a large number of people were ruined owing to the cessation of rain and many died of starvation. In those days the seven sons of Kaudika used to look after the cow of Garga and were residing in a forest. One day not getting anything to eat they felt fearfully oppressed with the pangs of hunger. In those circumstances they resolved saying we shall eat the cow to appease our hunger. At that stage the youngest of them all, said to his brothers If this cow must be killed, let us sacrifice her to our pitris in Sraddha for the cow sacrificed, with that view would decidedly save us from all sin.” Do so said the other brothers to Pitrivarti. The cow was sacrificed and Pitrivarti performed the Sraddha with great devotion. Two brothers officiated for the Brahmanas invited to Vasudeva with the rest three similarly officiated for the Brahmanas, invited to take part in the Pitri-karma and the seventh one represented the Atithi. In this way, they all after performing the Sraddha with due Mantras and Meditating Pitris feasted on the sacrificed cow.” Tr. Taluqdar of Oudh, edited by B.D. Basu (Source)

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Consumption by priests and other Brahmins

All these animals sacrificed to the gods and the manes are intended to be consumed by the Brahmins and priest as well.

Kurma Purana II.22.74-75 “An excellent Brahmana engaged in the Sraddha should not avoid anything served. He should not refuse even the meat offered. One should not look at the food served to another person. If the Brahmanas who engaged in the Pitr rite, does not partake of the meat served, he is reborn as an animal for twenty-one births.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Gutama Dharma Shastra 17.37-38 “And (animals) that must be slain for (the fulfilment of) the sacred law. Let him eat (the flesh of animals) killed by beasts of prey, after having washed it, if no blemish is visible, and if it is declared to be fit for use by the word (of a Brahmana). I.e animals offered at Sraddhas and Srauta-sacrifices, though under other circumstances forbidden, may be eaten both by the priests and other Brahmanas.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Padma Purana 1.33.80 “O you of a good vow, satisfy the brahmanas with musk, and flesh and various kinds of grains, and by offering a Sraddha.” Tr. N.A. Deshpande (Source)

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The following verse refers to the Sraddha and Antyesti rites, in which meat is offered to Brahmins as part of the ritual observance, specifically during a ceremony performed immediately after the formal period of mourning concludes.

Paraskara Grihya Sutra III Kanda, 10 Kandika, verse 48 “On the eleventh day he should give to an uneven number of Brahmanas a meal at which meat is served.” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

In the following passage, Krishna instructs Yudhishthira to honor the departed through proper rites, including offering Soma to the gods and providing meat and drink to guests.
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Mahabharata Book 14, Section 2 “…And then Kesava (Krishna) accosted him,–‘If a person indulges excessively in sorrow for his departed forefathers, he grieves them. (Therefore, banishing grief), do thou (now) celebrate many a sacrifice with suitable presents to the priests; and do thou gratify the gods with Soma liquor, and the manes of thy forefathers with their due food and drink. Do thou also gratify thy guests with meat and drink and the destitute with gifts commensurate with their desires…” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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It Is Sinful to Reject Meat Offered at Vedic Sacrifices and Rituals

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Hindu texts even state that one who refuses to eat meat offered to the gods and the manes at Shraddha incurs punishment after death.

Kurma Purana II.22.74-75 “An excellent Brahmana engaged in the Sraddha should not avoid anything served. He should not refuse even the meat offered. One should not look at the food served to another person. If the Brahmanas who engaged in the Pitr rite, does not partake of the meat served, he is reborn as an animal for twenty-one births.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Manu Smriti 5.35 “But a man who, being duly engaged (to officiate or to dine at a sacred rite), refuses to eat meat, becomes after death an animal during twenty-one existences.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Vasistha Dharma Shastra 11.34 ‘But an ascetic who, invited to dine at a sacrifice of the manes or of the gods, rejects meat, shall go to hell for as many years as the slaughtered beast has hairs.’ Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Padma Purana III.56.31b-46 “…If he is weak, he should eat flesh as medicine, or by an order or for sacrificial purposes. He, who would give up flesh when invited at a sraddha or a rite in honour of a deity, goes to (i.e. lives) in hell for as many years as the number of hair of the beast…” Tr. N.A. Deshpande (Source)

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Kurma Purana 2.17.40 “If a person invited for the Sraddha or the worship of a deity eschews meat he may have to be in the hell as many years as there are hairs on the body of the animal.” Tr. G.V. Tagare (Source)

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Vyasa Samhita 3.56-57 “A Brahmana, engaged in the celebration of a religious sacrifice, becomes degraded by not taking meat. A Kshatriya should eat the cooked flesh of a quarry after having propitiated therewith the gods and his departed manes. A Vaishya can take meat, lawfully obtained for money, after having worshipped therewith his departed manes.” Tr. Manmatha Nath Dutt (Source)

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Animals are Created for the Purpose of Sacrifice

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Manu Smriti 5.31-42 “The consumption of meat (is befitting) for sacrifices,’ that is declared to be a rule made by the gods; but to persist (in using it) on other (occasions) is said to be a proceeding worthy of Rakshasas. He who eats meat, when he honours the gods and manes, commits no sin, whether he has bought it, or himself has killed (the animal), or has received it as a present from others…After death the guilt of one who slays deer for gain is not as (great) as that of him who eats meat for no (sacred) purpose. But a man who, being duly engaged (to officiate or to dine at a sacred rite), refuses to eat meat, becomes after death an animal during twenty-one existences…If he has a strong desire (for meat) he may make an animal of clarified butter or one of flour, (and eat that); but let him never seek to destroy an animal without a (lawful) reason. As many hairs as the slain beast has, so often indeed will he who killed it without a (lawful) reason suffer a violent death in future births. Svayambhu (the Self-existent) himself created animals for the sake of sacrifices; sacrifices (have been instituted) for the good of this whole (world); hence the slaughtering (of beasts) for sacrifices is not slaughtering (in the ordinary sense of the word)…On offering the honey-mixture (to a guest), at a sacrifice and at the rites in honour of the manes, but on these occasions only, may an animal be slain; that (rule) Manu proclaimed. A twice-born man who, knowing the true meaning of the Veda, slays an animal for these purposes, causes both himself and the animal to enter a most blessed state.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Kalika Purana 67.39 “The animals are created by the self born Creator for offering in the sacrifice, hence killing an animal in a sacrifice is deemed to be a non-killing, ie. such killing does not attract sin.” Tr. B.N Shastri (Source)

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Vishnu Smriti 51.61 “It is for sacrifices that beasts have been created by the self-existent (Brahman) himself. Sacrificing causes the whole universe to prosper; therefore is the slaughter (of beasts) for a sacrifice no slaughter.” Tr. Julius Jolly (Source)

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Vishnu Smriti 51.65 “That twice-born man who, knowing the exact truth (promulgated) in the Veda, slays cattle for the sacrifices (ordained in the Veda) will convey himself and the cattle (slain by him) to a blissful abode.” Tr. Julius Jolly (Source)

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Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagvad Purana) 11.5.11 “In this material world the conditioned soul is always inclined to sex, meat-eating and intoxication. Therefore religious scriptures never actually encourage such activities. Although the scriptural injunctions provide for sex through sacred marriage, for meat-eating through sacrificial offerings and for intoxication through the acceptance of ritual cups of wine, such ceremonies are meant for the ultimate purpose of renunciation.” Tr. Swami Prabhupada (Source)

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Sacrificed Animals Goes to Heaven

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Rig Veda 1.163.12-13 “The strong Steed hath come forward to the slaughter, pondering with a mind directed God-ward. The goat who is his kin is led before him the sages and the singers follow after. The Steed is come unto the noblest mansion, is come unto his Father and his Mother. This day shall he approach the Gods, most welcome: then he declares good gifts to him who offers.” Tr. Ralph T.H. Griffith (Source)

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Mahabharata Book 3, Section 207 “And in days of yore, O Brahmana, two thousand animals used to be killed every day in the kitchen of king Rantideva…’The sacred fire is fond of animal food,’ this saying has come down to us. And at sacrifices animals are invariably killed by regenerate Brahmanas, and these animals being purged of sin, by incantation of hymns, go to heaven. If, O Brahmana, the sacred fire had not been so fond of animal food in ancient times, it could never have become the food of any one. And in this matter of animal food, this rule has been laid down by Munis:–Whoever partakes of animal food after having first offered it duly and respectfully to the gods and the manes, is not polluted by the act. And such a man is not at all considered to have partaken of animal food…” Tr. K.M. Ganguli (Source)

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The above verses from the Mahabharata and the Vedas state that animals killed in Vedic sacrifices attain heaven. In response to this claim, Jains and Buddhists advanced a sharp critique, if an animal slaughtered in religious worship is thereby elevated to heaven, would it not then be logical for a sacrificer to kill his own father as an offering in order to secure the same benefit?

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Killing Animals Is Non-Violent

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Hindu texts state that killing animals forms part of Yajna, or sacrifice, and therefore argue that slaughtering animals for ritual purposes is not considered an act of violence.

Manu Smriti 5.44 “Know that the injury to moving creatures and to those destitute of motion, which the Veda has prescribed for certain occasions, is no injury at all; for the sacred law shone forth from the Veda.” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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The question of whether animals should be killed in Yajna, or sacrificial rites, is examined in detail in the Devi Bhagavatam Purana.

Devi Bhagwatam 1.18.48-61 “…O King! One can see before one’s eyes that the drinking of Soma rasa, the killing of animals, the eating of fish and flesh and so are advised in the Vedas; so much so that in the sacrificial ceremony named Sautrâmana the rule of drinking wine and many other vratas are clearly mentioned; even gambling is advised in the Vedas. So how can Mukti be obtained by following the Veda Dharma? It is heard that, in ancient times, there was a great king, named S’as’avindu, very religious, truthful, and performing sacrifices, very liberal; he protected the virtuous, and chastised those that were wicked and going astray. He performed many Yajñas, where many cows and sheep were sacrificed according to the rules of the Vedas and abundant Dakshinâs (sacrificial fees) were presented to every one that performed their parts in the sacrifices. In these sacrifices, the hides of the cows that were sacrificed as victims, were heaped to such an enormous extent that they looked liked a second Bindhyâchal mountain. Then the rains fell and the dirty water coming out of that enormous heap of skins flowed down and gave rise to a river which was thence called the Charmanvatî river… Janaka said :– “The killing of animals in a sacrificial ceremony is not killing; it is known as Ahimsa [Non Violence]; for that himsa [Violence] is not from any selfish attachment; therefore when there is no such sacrifice and the animals are killed out of selfish attachment, then that is real himsâ; … O Dvija! Really speaking, the killing of animals done by the house-holder attached to senses and their objects, and done under their impulses can be taken into account as a real act of killing; but, O Mahâbhâga of those whose hearts are not attached to anything of those self controlled persons, desirous of moksa, if they do an act of Himsa out of a sense of duty, with no desires of fruits and with their hearts free from egoism that can never be reckoned as a real act of killing.” Tr. Swami Vijnananda (Source)

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Devi Bhagavatam 3.26.32-34 “Those who eat meat, they can sacrifice animals in this worship of the Devî; and, for this purpose, goat and wild boars are the best. O sinless one! The goats, etc., offered as a sacrifice before the Devî attain to unending heavens. Therefore persons offering the sacrifices of goats do not incur any sin. O king! The goats, etc., and other beast offered as a sacrifice before the Devas undoubtedly go to the heavenly regions; therefore, in all the S’âstras, it has been decided that this killing of animals in a sacrifice is considered as non-killing.” Tr. Swami Vijnananda (Source)

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Vishnu Smriti 51.67 “That slaughter which is in accordance with the precepts of the Veda, and has been fixed for this world of movable and immovable creatures, should be considered as no slaughter at all; because it is from the Veda that law shines forth.” Tr. Julius Jolly (Source)

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Kalki Purana 26.12 “…The Vedas therefore say that killing in a righteous battle or in a sacrificial performance does not constitute killing.” Tr. Bhumipati Das, edited by Purnaprajna Das (Source)

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Kalika Purana 67.39 “The animals are created by the self born Creator for offering in the sacrifice, hence killing an animal in a sacrifice is deemed to be a non-killing, ie. such killing does not attract sin.” Tr. B.N Shastri (Source)

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The following verse from Vasistha clarifies Manu Smriti 5.48, which is often cited by Hindu apologists as a prohibition against meat consumption in Manu Smriti.

Vasistha Dharma Shastra 4.5-8 “The Manava (Sutra states), ‘Only when he worships the manes and the gods, or honours guests, he may certainly do injury to animals.’ On offering a Madhuparka (to a guest), at a sacrifice, and at the rites in honour of the manes, but on these occasions only may an animal be slain; that (rule) Manu proclaimed. “Meat can never be obtained without injuring living beings, and to injure living beings does not procure heavenly bliss; therefore the (sages declare) the slaughter (of beasts) at a sacrifice not to be slaughter (in the ordinary sense of the word).’ ‘Now he may also cook a full-grown ox or a full-grown he-goat for a Brâhmana or Kshatriya guest; in this manner they offer hospitality to such (a man).” Tr. Georg Buhler (Source)

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Meat as Medicine

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Agni Purana 279.17-21 “The asthmatic should take Kulattha, and Mudha pulse prepared with Rasna and bird’s flesh, or bird’s flesh (Viskiras) cooked with curd, pomegranate, honey, juice of Matalanga, lime, and grapes, and wheat, barley, or boiled Shali rice, with all husks and extraneous matter carefully exempted.” Tr. M.N. Dutt (Source)

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Garuda Purana I.193.14-15 “Fumigating with the excreta, blood, hair or flesh of tortoise, fish, horse, buffalo, cow, jackal, monkey, cat, peacock, crow, boar, owl, fouls and swan is useful for the alleviation of the pain and disorder of the patients of fever and insanity.” Tr. J.L. Shastri (Source)

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Asvalayana Grihya Sutra, IV Adhyaya, 1 Kandika, 4 “Being restored health, he should offer a Soma sacrifice, or an animal sacrifice, or an ordinary sacrifice, and take his dwelling (again in the village).” Tr. Hermann Oldenberg (Source)

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Charaka Samhita, Sutra Sthana 27.76-84 “The flesh of the hare is astringent in taste, limpid, dry, cooling, pungent on digestion, light and sweet. It is recommended in tri-discordance where Vata is. relatively mild. The flesh of the black-buck is said to be sweet in taste and on digestion, alleviative of tridiscordance, generally wholesome, light, obstipative of feces and urine, and cooling. The flesh of the hog is promotive of unctuousness is roborant, aphrodisiac, acopic, surative [curative?] of Vata, strengthening, appetizing, sudorific and heavy. The flesh of the cow is beneficial in disorders due exclusively to Vata, rhinitis, excessive gastric fire and atrophy of flesh. The flesh of the buffalo is unctuous, hot, sweet, aphrodisiac, heavy and nourishing. It also promotes firmness and corpulence, and gives energy and sleep. The flesh of the fish in general is heavy, hot, sweet, strengthening, roborant, curative of Vata, unctuous, aphrodisiac and is said to be highly unconducive to health. The flesh of the Rohita fish, owing to its living on moss and its habit of not sleeping, is digestive stimulant, light and promotive of great strength, The flesh of the tortoise is said to be promotive of complexion, curative of Vata, aphrodisiac, beneficial to sight, promotive of strength intelligence and of memory, wholesome and curative of consumption The flesh of the rhinoceros is said to be deliquescent, promotive of strength, sweet, unctuous, roborant, promotive, of complexion acopic and curative of Vata.” Tr. Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society (Source)

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Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthanam 8.163 “Consumption does not persist long in one that is disciplined and strong-minded and subsists exclusively on a meat-diet and drinks honey wine.” Tr. Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society (Source)

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Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sathanam 8.165 “The consumptive patient may take as post-prandial drink, Prasanna, Varuni or Sidhu wine or simple or medicated wine as is suitable after taking a meat-diet.” Tr. Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society (Source)

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Garuda Purana I.171.9-10 “On locating the fracture of a bone it shall be first washed with cold water. Then it must be plastered with clay and bound with Darbha grass. The diet of the patient must be black gram, meat, ghee, milk and a soup of gingelly seeds. Restorative and constructive diet and drink should be given to him.” Tr. J.L. Shastri (Source)

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The chapter containing the following Garuda Purana verse is titled “Diseases” and also provides instructions on how those ailments are to be treated.

Garuda Purana I.169.62 “Foodstuffs with cooked meat are rejuvenating…” Tr. J.L. Shastri (Source)

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