Theist - Hindu Human Sacrifice (Purushamedha)

[Theist-Down]

After looking briefly at the theistic hindu horse-sex-ritual I thought
it would be interesting to also briefly examine human sacrifice within
Hinduism.

The full examination is huge so I have condensed it considerably for
the News-Groups and kept it as simple as possible.

1.1 Introduction

....

There are many schools of thought within Hinduism, each can be very
different from the other, thus a human sacrifice cult is just as much
a Hindu as a more tolerant Bhakti cult. People who don't practice
human sacrifice do not follow the Kali Purana, and interpret
sacrifices in a variety of different ways ranging from the
semi-literal to the purely symbolic.

====

1.2 What is the Purushamedha Sacrifice?

The Prushamedha sacrifice translated basically means human sacrifice.
There are similarities between the Prushamedha and the Ashwamedha
rituals within Hinduism. How far these two rituals are similar is hard
to determine. In the Ashwamedha (Asvamedha) ritual a horse was slain
(amongst other elaborate rituals) and the Queen had a sexual union
with the dead horse. There is no direct reference to this occurring
with a dead human in the Purushamedha (human sacrifice) ritual. There
are however texts which do display religious necrophilia behaviour (or
rites) between live humans and dead ones within Hinduism but they can
not be directly linked to the Purushamedha Sacrifice.

The Kalighat temple is located in the center of Kali worship,
Calcutta, Bengal. Even up to the 1750's human sacrifice was practiced
in this temple, it has been recorded that they would chop off the
victims head and offer the head and blood to Kali, non-hindus were not
allowed in the temple (though some did sneak in). Today however only
goats are killed because human sacrifice was abolished during British
rule.

====

2. Human sacrifice in Hindu texts

Within Hinduism there are different forms of sacrifice. Some are
spiritual or symbolic in nature, some are altered forms from earlier
traditions where human sacrifice was once performed but later changed
to be only symbolic in nature. The reason for these changes may have
been a moral outrage at these barbaric practices or simply the main
parts of Hinduism took on a more speculative nature as they evolved.

What non-Hindus must remember is that the Hindu religion is filled
with various legends, myths and teachings which to Western minds often
appear self-contradictory. Hinduism ... does not present a unified
code of law or behaviour, hence one sect (or cult) may have a writing
which advocates human sacrifice while another contradicts this and
either condemns it or places it in the 'symbolic only' category. What
must be remembered is that despite each of these differences they
still are all part and parcel of Hinduism.

====

2.1 Kali Purana

"Let the head and blood of a human victim be presented on the right
side of Devi (Kali), and the sacrificer address her standing in front.
Let the head and blood of birds be presented on the left and the blood
of a person's own body in front. Let the ambrosia proceeding from the
heads of carnivorous animals and birds be presented on the left hand
as also the blood of all aquatic animals."

-- [Kali Purana, Rudhir Adhyaya -Chapter of blood-]

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2.2 Karpuradistotra

"O dark one, wondrous and excelling in every way, becomes the
accomplishment of those worshippers who living in this world freely
make offering to Thee in worship of the greatly satisfying flesh,
together with hair and bones, of cats, camels, sheep, buffaloes, goats
and men."

-- [Karpuradistotra Verse 19]

====

2.3 Death Sacrifice as a (Punishment)

11. (A man of any caste) excepting the first, who has slain a man of
the first caste, shall go on a battle field and place himself (between
the two hostile armies). There they shall kill him (and thereby he
becomes pure).

12. Or such a sinner may tear from his body and make the priest offer
as a burnt-offering his hair, skin, flesh, and the rest, and then
throw himself into the fire.

Comment: In these writings we see another form of human sacrifice as
the result of a punishment. The person is to throw parts of his body
into the fire (as an offering) culminating with his entire body being
cast into the sacrificial fire.

The Mantras given in the commentary, and a parallel passage of
Vasishtha 29:25-25, show that this terrible penance is not altogether
a mere theory of Apastamba.

-- [Apastamba 1:9:25: v11-12]
-- [Compare: Vasishtha 29:25-25 and Yagn 3:248]

One can see a similar punishment (or penance) in Manu; which states:

11:74 Or let him, of his own free will, become (in a battle) the
target of archers who know (his purpose); or he may thrice throw
himself headlong into a blazing fire;

11:75 Or he may offer a horse-sacrifice, a Svargit, a Gosava, an
Abhigit, a Visvagit, a Trivrit, or an Agnishtut;

-- [Manu 11:74-75]

====

2.4 Manu's wife sacrificed

15. ... They went to him and said: 'Manu! we will sacrifice for thee!'
He said: 'Wherewith?' They said: 'With this bull!' He said: 'So be
it!' And on his (the bull's) being killed that voice went from him.

16. ... They went to him and said: 'Manu! we will sacrifice for thee!'
He said: 'Wherewith?' They said: 'With this thy wife!' He said: 'So be
it!' And on her being killed that voice went from her.

Comment: The sacrificing of Manu's wife in this incident shows that
not only the sacrifice of animals (bulls included) was practiced but
also the sacrifice of humans was evidently performed.

-- [Satapatha Brahmana Kanda 1: Adhyaya 4: Brahmana v16]

====

2.5 Vedanta mentions the Kālāmukhas

... the Kālāmukhas teach that the means for obtaining all desired
results in this world as well as the next are constituted by certain
practices - such as using a skull as a drinking vessel, smearing
oneself with the ashes of a dead body, eating the flesh of such a
body, carrying a heavy stick, setting up a liquor-jar and using it as
a platform for making offerings to the gods, and the like.

Comment: The Vedanta-Sutras provide a glimpse into some of the early
practices that existed and highlights some of the diverse views which
they tried to combat and eradicate from the people. Remnants of this
practice can still be found in the symbolic rites that exist within
Hinduism.

-- [Vedanta-Sutras 2:2:v36]

====

2.6 Purushamedha (Symbolic)

This interesting set of verses show a central theme to human sacrifice
at a later stage in the development of Hinduism. They contain the
human sacrifice in a similar manner to the horse-sacrifice but it has
now been regulated to a purely symbolic ritual and no human death is
involved. Like many religions these practices are drawn from even
older traditions, customs or rituals.

The fact that human sacrifice existed within Hinduism is beyond
dispute, ... Whether these changes encompassed all schools of thought
or supplemented all traditions is still open to debate, as there is
evidence that human sacrifice still continued on.

1. ... 'Would that I overpassed all beings! would that I alone were
everything here (this universe)!' He beheld this five-days'
sacrificial performance, the Purushamedha, (human sacrifice) and took
it, [1] and performed offering therewith; and having performed
offering therewith, he overpassed all beings, and became everything
here. And, verily, he who, knowing this, performs the Purushamedha, or
who even knows this, overpasses all beings, and becomes everything
here.

2. ... This, then, is that Virāg, and from out of that Virāg he (the
Sacrificer) generates the Purusha, the Sacrifice.

3. ... and the Purushamedha is everything: thus it is for the sake of
his obtaining and securing everything.

4. On the Upavasatha [2] (day) there are eleven victims sacred to Agni
and Soma: the performance for these is one and the same. There are
eleven stakes, ...

5. On the Sutyā (days) there are the (Savanīya) victims of the set of
eleven [3] (stakes), ...

6. And, again, as to why there are (the victims) of the set of eleven
(stakes): it is for the sake of his obtaining and securing everything,
for the set of eleven (stakes) is everything, since the set of eleven
(stakes) is Pragāpati, and Pragāpati is everything, and the
Purushamedha is everything.

7. Now this Purushamedha (human sacrifice) is a five-days' sacrificial
performance - the sacrifice is fivefold, the victim is fivefold, and
five seasons are a year: whatsoever of five kinds there is, either
concerning the deity or the self (body), all that he thereby obtains.

9. ... for the Purushamedha (human sacrifice) is these worlds, ...
through Agni (the sacrificial fire) on this side, and through Āditya
(the Sun) on the other: ... And the Ukthya is food, and the Atirātra
the body (self); ... therefore this body is surrounded by food. ...

11. ... pass into the Purushamedha (human sacrifice) for the
obtainment and securing of everything, for, indeed, these worlds are
everything, and the year is everything, and the self is everything,
and the Purushamedha (human sacrifice) is everything.

-- [Satapatha-Brahmana 13:6:1]

1. And as to why it is called Purushamedha (human sacrifice): - The
stronghold (pur) doubtless is these worlds, and the Purusha (spirit)
is he that blows here (the wind), he bides (sī) in this stronghold
(pur): hence he is the Purusha. And whatever food there is in these
worlds that is its 'medhć,' its food; and inasmuch as this is its
'medhć,' its food, therefore (it is called) Purushamedha (human
sacrifice). And inasmuch as at this (sacrifice) he seizes [4] men
(purusha) meet for sacrifice (medhya), therefore also it is called
Purushamedha (human sacrifice).

2. He seizes them on the central day, for the central day is the air,
and the air is the abode of all beings; and, indeed, these victims are
also food, and the central day is the belly: he thus puts food in the
belly.

5. Forty-eight he seizes at the central stake; ...

9. When about to bring up the victims, he offers those three oblations
to Savitri, with (Vāg. S. XXX, 1-3), 'God Savitri, (speed the
sacrifice, speed the lord of sacrifice unto his share)!' - 'May we
obtain that glorious light of the God Savitri, (who shall inspire our
prayers)!' ...

10. For the priesthood he seizes a Brāhmana, for the Brāhmana is the
priesthood: he thus joins priesthood to priesthood; [5] - for the
nobility he seizes a Rāganya, for the Rāganya is the nobility: he thus
joins nobility to nobility; - for the Maruts (he seizes) a Vaisya, for
the Maruts are the clans (peasants): he thus joins peasantry to
peasantry; - for (religious) toil (he seizes) a Sūdra, for the Sūdra
is toil: he thus joins toil to toil; - according to their particular
form he thus supplies these divinities with victims, and, thus
supplied, they supply him with all his objects of desire.

11. He makes offering with ghee, for ghee is fiery mettle: by means of
fiery mettle he thus endows him (the Sacrificer) with fiery mettle. He
makes offering with ghee, for that - to wit, ghee - is the dear
resource of the gods: he thus supplies them with their dear resource,
and, thus supplied, they supply him with all his objects of desire.

12. By means of the Purusha Nārāyana (litany), the Brahman priest
(seated) to the right (south) of them, praises the men bound (to the
stakes) with this sixteen-versed (hymn, Rig-v. X, go, Vāg. S. XXXI,
1-16), ... and the Purushamedha (human sacrifice) is everything: ...
Now, the victims had the fire carried round them, but they were not
yet slaughtered,

13. Then a voice [6] said to him, 'Purusha, do not consummate (these
human victims): [7] if thou wert to consummate them, man (purusha)
would eat man.' Accordingly, as soon as fire had been carried round
them, he set them free, and offered oblations to the same divinities,
[8] and thereby gratified those divinities, and, thus gratified, they
gratified him with all objects of desire.

16. The Udayanīya (concluding oblation) having been completed, he
seizes eleven barren cows, sacred to Mitra-Varuna, the Visve Devah,
and Brihaspati, [9] with the view of winning these deities. ...

19. And if a Brāhmana performs the sacrifice, he should bestow all his
property in order to obtain and secure everything, for the Brāhmana is
everything, and all one's property is everything, and the Purushamedha
(human sacrifice) is everything.

20. ... But, indeed, this (sacrifice) is not to be imparted to any and
every one, lest one should impart everything to any and every one, for
the Purushamedha (human sacrifice) is everything; but one may only
impart it to one who is known to him, and who is versed in sacred
writ, and who may be dear to him, but not to any and every one.

-- [Satapatha-Brahmana 13:6:2]

1. Brahman Svayambhū (the self-existent, n.) was performing
austerities. [10] He said this much, - 'Verily, there is no perpetuity
in austerities; well, then, I will offer up mine own self in the
creatures, and the creatures in mine own self.' And, accordingly, by
offering up his own self in the creatures, and the creatures in his
own self, he compassed the supremacy, the sovereignty, and the
lordship over all creatures; and in like manner does the Sacrificer,
by thus offering all sacrificial essences [11] in the Sarvamedha,
compass all beings, and supremacy, sovereignty, and lordship.

2. ... At this (sacrifice) he builds the greatest possible fire-altar,
for this - to wit, the Sarvamedha - is supreme amongst all sacrificial
performances: by means of the supreme (sacrifice) he thus causes him
(the Sacrificer) to attain supremacy.

7. The fifth day is a central Āsvamedhika [12] one: at this
(sacrifice) he seizes a horse meet for sacrifice, for the sake of his
gaining the sacrificial essence of the horse.

8. The sixth day is a central Paurushamedhika [13] one: at this
(sacrifice) he seizes men meet for sacrifice, for the sake of his
gaining the sacrificial essence of man.

9. The seventh day is an Aptoryāma, for the sake of his gaining all
kinds of Soma-sacrifices: at this (sacrifice) he seizes all kinds of
(victims) meet for sacrifice, both what is animate and what is
inanimate. Of these with omenta he offers the omenta, and of those
without omenta they throw down pieces cut out of the skin, [14]

-- [Satapatha-Brahmana 13:7:9]

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2.7 Rig Veda (Ritual)

15. Seven were the sticks of the enclosure, thrice seven the fuel
sticks were made, when the Gods, performing the sacrifice, bound the
Man as the victim.

16. With the sacrifice the Gods sacrificed to the sacrifice. Those
were the first established rites. These powers ascended up to heaven
where dwell the ancient Gods and other beings.

-- [Rig Veda 10:90]

Verse Comments:

15. Man as the victim: purusam pashum, the purusa as animal for the
sacrifice. Important passage for the theory underlying human
sacrifice. The shruti suggests that it is a degeneration (occurring
only when man is likened to an animal). Cf. the legend of Shunahshepa
(§ III 23).

16. First established rites: dharmani prathamani, "the first
ordinance" (Macdonell), "statutes, ordinances" (Griffith), "the first
religious rites" (Zaehner), "die ersten Normen (des Opfers)"
(Geldner), etc. Cf. RV I, 164, 50; X, 130, 3 (§ III 14); AV VII, 5, 1
(§ III 15); SB X, 2, 2, 1 (§ III 21).

-- [The Vedic Experience by Professor Raimon Panikkar]

====

2.8 Yajur Veda (Scripture Quote)

To Agni, maker of paths, he should offer a cake on eight potsherds ...
A draught ox is the sacrificial fee, for it is the drawer; (verily it
serves) for prosperity. ... To Agni, slayer of Raksases, he should
offer a cake on eight potsherds, whom Raksases infest; ... verily he
smites away the Raksases from him. He should offer at night, for at
night the Raksases are active; verily he smites them when active; ...
To Agni with the Rudras he should offer a cake on eight potsherds when
he practices witchcraft; ...

When a battle is joined he should offer a cake on eight potsherds to
Agni, the burnt; verily by his own share he pacifies him and indicates
his foes; whomsoever of those near (him) they pierce, he lives;
whomsoever of the foe, he dies; he wins that battle.

He loves to frequent those whose oldest and youngest die continuously,
for the human sacrifice is dearest to him, he should offer to Agni,
the burnt, a cake on eight potsherds; verily with his own share he
pacifies him, and none other of them dies before his day.

He loves to frequent the house of him whose house he burns; he should
offer a cake on eight potsherds to Agni, the burnt; verily he pacifies
him with his own share, and he burns not his house again.

-- [Yajur Veda 2:2:2] See also: [Yajur Veda Books 30 and 31]

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Yajur Veda 30

Inspire, O Vivifier God, the sacrifice, inspire the lord of the
sacrifice to take his share! We call upon the Lord, distributor of
wonderful bounty, the One who looks upon men. I bind to the stake in
form of a token: ... for Strength a servant, ... for Pastime a
prostitute, for Lust a woman with a spotty skin, ...

Now he binds to the stake the following eight types of men: one too
tall one too short; one too stout one too thin; one too pale one too
dark; one too bald one too hairy; all to be offered to Prajapati.

-- [Yajur Veda 30:1-22] See also: The Gayatri mantra (RV III, 62, 10);
Rig-Veda 5:82,5 (§ IV 8).

====

3. Reference Quotes

====

3.1 Purushamedha (Quote)

"The Purushamedha was a ritual in which a human being was sacrificed
instead of a horse as in the Asvamedha. The ceremonies performed were
very similar in the two cases. Just as the horse was let loose for
about a year, the human victim was allowed to enjoy himself for the
same period, during which all his wishes were satisfied. The queen
behaved with the human victim in the Purushamedha, exactly as she did
with the horse in the Asvamedha sacrifice." [15]

The Purushamedha is fully acknowledged (and known) by Professor R.C.
Majumdar of the College of Indology. In his book "Ancient India" he
describes this barbaric practice as "dreadful". [16]

====

3.2 Kalikalpalata

"... the rite of human sacrifice which the Kalikalpalata says that the
Raja alone may perform (Raja naravalim dadayenna yo'pi parameshvari)
but in which, as the Tantrasara states, no Brahmana may participate
(Brahmananam naravalidane nadhikarah). Such an animal sacrifice is not
peculiarly "Tantrik" but an instance of the survival of a rite widely
spread in the ancient world; ... Reference, ... is made to this
sacrifice in the Shastras, but save as some rare exception ... it does
not exist to-day and the vast mass of men do not wish to see it
revived. The Cakra ritual similarly is ... disappearing. ..." [17]

====

3.3 Harper's Dictionary (Comment)

Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism notes that there is a connection in
practice between the rituals of the horse-sacrifice and that it may
have been the model for the human sacrifices within Hinduism. It is
not clear, however which form is the earlier model and it could
equally be the other way around or it may be that both rituals are
merely variations of an even earlier theme. [18]

====

3.4 Purushamedha {Wikipedia)

The Wikipedia encyclopedia project says that: "Purushamedha is the
Vedic human sacrifice, described in the Yajurveda. The ceremony is
similar to the Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice)." [19]

====

3.5 Yajurveda (Quote)

Yajurveda (yajus = spoken ritual formula rather than a chant or verse)
the increasing emphasis here is on the mechanics of the sacrifice.
Although animal sacrifice was known, especially the hugely elaborate
Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice, and the purushamedha or human sacrifice
is referred to, sacrifice is usually of vegetable offerings and soma.
[20]

====

3.6 Hindu History (Quote)

As mentioned in a earlier chapter on Caste the Ashvamedha Yagna was
also originally an act of killing and roasting a horse, so also was
the less known Purushamedha which perhaps involved the killing and
eating of persons captured as prisoners during the tribal days of the
past. The legend of Chilaya (referred to in an earlier chapter),
brings out the fact that cannibalism could have been an accepted
practice in the dim past of barbarism and savagery, the memory of
which was kept alive by its being incorporated into a legend. [21]

====

3.7 Human Sacrifice in Hinduism

Early Brahmanic hindu scriptures reveal a lingering interest in human
sacrifice. The Goddess of death, Kali, bears a striking resemblance to
the bloodthirsty Aztec deities. She is described in the Kalika Purana
as a hideous figure garlanded with a string of human skulls, besmeared
with human blood, and holding a skull in one hand and a sword in the
other. Instructions are given concerning the manner in which human
victims are to be killed.

Having placed the victim before this naked Goddess, the worshipper
should adore her by offering flowers, sandal paste, and bark,
frequently repeating the mantra appropriate for the sacrifice. Then,
facing the north and placing the victim to face east, he should look
backward and repeat this mantra:

"O man, through my good fortune thou hast appeared as a victim;
therefore I salute thee ... I shall slaughter thee to-day, and
slaughter as a sacrifice is no murder." Thus meditating on the
human-formed victim, a flower should be thrown on top of its head with
the mantra: "Om, Aim, Hriuh, Sriuh." Then, thinking of one's own
wishes, and referring to the Goddess, water should be sprinkled on the
victim. Thereafter, the sword should be sprinkled on the victim.
Thereafter, the sword should be consecrated with the mantra: "O sword,
thou art the tongue of Chandika" ... The sword, having thus been
consecrated, should be taken up while repeating the mantra: "Am hum
phat," and the excellent victim slaughtered with it.

The same Hindu Goddess Kali becomes Goddess Parvati in Shiva Lingam
[Penis] Temples where her Vulva or Yoni [Vagina] is worshipped by the
Hindu males in front of their daughter, sister, mother, wife and even
in front of Kali's husband ... Shiva.

... hindu males [and] their women ... wash Shiva's Phallus or Lingam
with holy Cow's milk. This is considered sign of Equality in men and
women in Hinduism in dealing with holy parts of Hindu Gods and
Goddess. ... [22]

====

3.8 Human Sacrifice

... in turning to India, we enter a new dimension in terms of
sacrifice. ... the slaying of men to placate the gods went on unabated
... The same forces seem to have been at work in India where the toll
of victims had probably reached a low point some two thousand years
earlier in the Buddhist era but had risen again ... The forms of
sacrifice which they encountered were so numerous that I prefer to
concentrate on a few of the more exotic rites, such as those of the
Khonds of the north or the Thugs of Bengal. Suttee, the burning of
widows, will be considered in the following chapter on ritual suicide.

At times rites to honour the Mother Goddess assumed the proportions of
a mass sacrifice. In Assam, in north-eastern India, when Rajah Nara
Narayana rebuilt his temple in 1565 A.D., he celebrated the occasion
by sacrificing one hundred and forty men, whose heads he offered to
Kali on copper plates since he did not have enough gold to go around.
The choice of volunteers and conscripts to provide heads for Kali was
rather haphazard. The volunteers were known as Bhogis; they were
loaded with favours, and until the annual festival of the goddess
ended their days, every woman was at their disposal. But when willing
victims were lacking, any man of sound health and body caught abroad
after midnight might be snatched away for the purpose ...

Of all the human offerings that survived into the nineteenth century,
among the most bizarre were those of the Khonds of Orissa, ... Their
ritual has been immortalized by Frazer, whose vivid account was
gleaned from the reports of British officers. These rites were plainly
linked to harvest or fertility, ... The Khonds offered men to the
Earth Goddess Tari Pennu. In particular they were thought necessary to
ensure good crops of tumeric; without the shedding of human blood and
the planting of human flesh in the fields, the dye made from the plant
would lose its deep red colour. The victims used were known as Meriahs
and the goddess demanded that they should either have been bought in
early infancy or have been destined to this fate from birth, as sons
of future victims who were kept alive specially in order to breed more
Meriahs. Those children not born as Meriahs were usually bought from
the Pans, a weaving tribe, who kidnapped infants from the plains for
the purpose. During the long years that the Meriahs were kept before
they were given to the goddess, they were pampered and shown every
kindness, They were even given lands and wives, with whom they had the
children who in their turn were one day to be sacrificed.

Ten or twelve days before the annual ceremony, the chosen victim had
his hair shorn. Several nights of reveling followed, after which, on
the night before the great event, he was dressed in a new robe and led
forth from the village with music and dancing in solemn procession to
the Meriah grove, a clump of high trees situated at a short distance
and untouched by any axe. Great crowds gathered to see the sacrifice;
... no one stayed at home; everyone, men, women, and children had to
be present. In the grove the Meriah was tied to a post, anointed with
oil and tumeric, adorned with flowers and revered as a god throughout
the day. The crowd danced round the post, addressed the earth and
said: "Oh god, we offer this sacrifice to you; give us good crops,
seasons and health". During this time people struggled wildly for the
tiniest relic from the Meriah's person including even a drop of his
spittle. In some villages, before reaching the grove, he was taken
round from door to door and people would pluck a single hair from his
head, The mode of the Meriah's death varied from one village to the
next, though everywhere the principle was the same: it had to be slow
and painful; ... he must not make a show of resistance and was often
dosed with a potent drug. [23]

====

3.9 Article (Discussion)

... Human sacrifice is primarily a tantric affair and most tantrika's
are devotees of the Devi (the Goddess) in her various forms (of which
Kali is one, though there are others equally macabre). There is a
description of the procedure for ritual human sacrifice in chapter 67
of the Kalika Purana (a Hindu scripture that bears the name of Kali
but deals with a variety of gods, goddesses, pilgrim sites, and so
forth). ...

Interestingly, the procedure noted therein explicitly describes the
sacrificial victim as a manusha (a man) not a boy; and on the whole
seems somewhat ambiguous with respect to whether the man is willing or
not. The ritual must strictly follow certain rules, which if violated,
put the devotee at grave risk. ... [24]

====

3.10 History of human sacrifice

In Asia, human sacrifices are made to the 'mother' goddess Kali. She
was, according to Hindu mythology, a violent slayer of evil with an
unquenchable thirst for blood. In the nineteenth century, a child was
killed every day at the Kali temple in Calcutta. The reason for these
sacrifices was the idea that Kali would send riches to the poor,
children to the childless, and revenge to the oppressed, if they
provided her with blood. For instance, if a couple had one child, but
wanted many more, they might sacrifice the first child to Kali, and
she would send more to replace him. In order to have Kali send as much
blessing as she possibly could, it was necessary to have a willing
victim who knew what was going to happen and would not hinder it in
any way. This practice and others, such as burning a widow in the
cremation fires of her dead husband, were put to an end by Christian
governors while India was under British rule.

Today, because of laws prohibiting the sacrifice of humans, the number
of human sacrifices in Asia is unknown, but is still reported almost
monthly. Substitutes, including pumpkins, human images made of flour,
and various animals, are sacrificed more frequently. The reasons for
these sacrifices, whether human or otherwise, are similar to those two
hundred years ago – they are made for the sake of riches, marriages,
or power. [25]

====

3.11 Sacrifice in Hinduism

... Early Vedic peoples sacrificed animals as a means to feed their
ancestors in the afterworld or Yama, in exchange for good blessings
for themselves from the gods. While human sacrifices were outlawed in
1780 in Nepal, the world's only Hindu kingdom, animal sacrifices are
allowed to satisfy the god Kali. ... They are sacrificed for many
events such as to sanctify a wedding, to keep a newly bought car from
crashing by sprinkling blood on it, and many more reasons. [26]

Today, by some reports, it is even estimated that over 100 human
sacrifices occur each year in India in honor of Kali. Kali is the
manifestation of Shakti, which is a wife of Shiva. Shiva is one of the
most popular Hindu gods. Tens of thousands of goats, pigs, water
buffalo, ducks and chickens are all sacrificed to Kali each year in
temples that flow with blood. The Hindu caste system dictates what
animals a particular people can sacrifice. The upper caste or Brahmins
sacrifice goats, while the lower castes sacrifice less expensive
chickens. [27]

====

3.12 Britannica Encyclopedia (2005 edition)

The Britannica Encyclopedia (2005 edition) recounts how the
"Binderwurs of central India ate their sick and aged in the belief
that the act was pleasing to their goddess, Kali." Cannibalism may
also have been common among followers of the Shaktism cults in India.
[28]

====

3.13 Kali and the Thuggee

In India, ... people offered lives to village goddesses, and followers
of Kali sacrificed a male child every Friday evening. ...

Members of India's Thuggee sect strangled people as sacrifices to
appease the bloodthirsty goddess Kali, a practice beginning in the
1500s. The number of victims has been estimated to be as high as 2
million. Thugs were claiming about 20,000 lives a year in the 1800s
until British rulers stamped them out. At a trial in 1840, one Thug
was accused of killing 931 people. Today, some Hindu priests still
sacrifice goats to Kali. [29]

====

3.14 Kali Sacrifice (Combined Comment)

Even one [human] sacrifice to the bloodiest goddess in the Hindu
pantheon, Kali, would keep the goddess happy for a thousand years.
[30] This would not prevent her worshippers from attempting to make
her very happy, ... [31] also according to Spencer the Hindu goddess
Kali demanded human sacrifice. [31a]

====

3.15 Karpuradistotra (Article Comment)

In Hindu culture, human sacrifice is most blatantly associated with
the worship of Kali. There is evidence that males were sacrificed to
Kali at the temple of Devi Kamakya in Assam. In verse 19 of The
Karpuradistotra, we see this statement made in reference to Kali:

"O dark one, wondrous and excelling in every way, becomes the
accomplishment of those worshippers who living in this world freely
make offering to Thee in worship of the greatly satisfying flesh,
together with hair and bones, of cats, camels, sheep, buffaloes, goats
and men."

Since Kali both forbade the harming of women, but also was considered
a powerful and terrifying goddess, it stands to reason that men would
be sacrificed to her as the ultimate "greatly satisfying flesh."

Another part of Hindu culture that may be considered by some to be a
form of human sacrifice is the tradition of a widow throwing herself
upon her husband's funeral pyre. This practice is referred to as
"sati," which literally means "virtuous woman." Preferably, the woman
should throw herself upon the funeral pyre, but if not, she would be
"helped" along in this. Although such practices were outlawed by the
British, even today, many "accidental" fires just happen to break out
in the homes of widows. [32]

====

3.16 Child sacrifice

In India, child sacrifice was practiced to the goddess Kali. [33]

====

3.17 Interview

... The receptionist arranged a meeting time when I would be there,
and I was amazed at what I heard. This man, as a baby, had been
offered to Kali, ... He had been a high priest for Kali, the dreaded
six-armed goddess of India, who demands human sacrifice and blood
offerings to stem her anger.

In about 1824, the British used their forces to put a stop to the
followers of Kali, who where called "thuggees." They were masters at
murder and assassination. India was in constant fear of Kali and her
followers.

The British claimed the put them down in 20 years, but worship of Kali
is alive and well in India today, still demanding human sacrifice and
blood offerings. [34]

====

3.18 Traditions

Shiva is a most popular god in India, and the one who attracts most
devotion: As "Nataraja", the lord of dance with 4 arms, wanders naked
about the countryside on his white bull Nandy, overindulging in drugs,
and encouraging starvation and self-mutilation. As "Bhairava", is the
patricidal god of terror using his father's skull for a bowl. As
"Ardhanarisvara", has an androgynous, hermaphrodite sexual image. The
sanctuaries of Shiva always feature a big "lingman", the stylized
erect penis which symbolizes his rampant sexuality.

The wives of Shiva are very popular: "Shakti", encourages orgies,
temple prostitution, and annual sacrifices; she originated "sutee",
with the widow throwing herself into the fire of her husband funeral
... its manifestation as "Kali" is the most sinister and bloodthirsty,
and most popular: She stands on a beheaded body, wearing a necklace of
human skulls ... there are today reports of 100 human sacrifice
murders every year in India in honor to Kali. [35]

====

3.19 Encarta (Article)

Kali (feminine form of Sanskrit kala, "time" or "dark"), consort of
the Hindu god Shiva in her manifestation of the power of time. A
destructive mother goddess, Kali is frequently depicted as a black,
laughing, naked hag with blood-stained teeth, a protruding tongue, and
a garland of human skulls. She usually has four arms: One hand holds a
sword, the second holds a severed human head, the third is believed by
her devotees to be removing fear, and the fourth is often interpreted
as granting bliss.

Kali—omnipotent, absolute, and all-pervasive—is beyond fear and finite
existence and is therefore believed to be able to protect her devotees
against fear and to give them limitless peace.

Finally, as absolute night, devouring all that exists, she is
sometimes depicted as standing on the corpse of Shiva, which, like the
garland of skulls, symbolizes the remains of finite existence. Kali's
worshipers purportedly appeased her in the past with human sacrifices;
today she is propitiated with the blood of mammals.

Under the title Bhavani, she was invoked by the secret brotherhood of
murderers called Thugs. The city of Calcutta (now Kolkata) received
its name from Kali; Calcutta is the Anglicized form of Kalighata, the
name of a large temple dedicated to Kali. [36]

====

3.20 India Kali worship

Kali was the goddess of death and darkness, demanded human flesh. From
ancient times, the sacred scriptures of the Hindus, the Vedas, spoke
of the desire of the gods for human sacrifice: "The sacrificer will
sacrifice a man first for man is the first of all animals. Thus he
slaughters the victim according to its form and according to its
excellence" (Shatapata Veda).

Although the Hindu Vedas speak frequently of human sacrifice, how
often or whether these sacrifices ever occurred has been a matter of
controversy. When the British military arrived in India in the 1820s,
stories abounded of roving bands of ritual murders who would capture
strangers and sacrifice them to the goddess Kali.

Kali is a frightening figure the goddess of war, death, darkness and
violence. She is depicted with the blackest tone of skin; she is
naked; and wears human fetuses as earrings.

Stories of human sacrifice to Kali persist in India until this day.
Many are obvious rumors yet if some are true, then India is no
different from many cultures of the world which have practiced human
sacrifice. [37]

====

3.21 The Thugs and Kali

The Thugs, Hindu worshippers of Mother Kali, believed in human
sacrifice, and in the 1200 years existence of the Thugs, over a
million human sacrifices were done in a most violent manner by
waylaying and strangling innocent passers-by. ... A "thug", as
mentioned before, was a Hindu worshipper of Kali who strangled
innocent passers-by as a sacrifice to the goddess. ... [38]

====

3.22 Old Ritual in a New Garb

Pathar-Ka-Khel-Halog: This fair is held in village Halog of tehsil
Shimla. Halog was the capital of erstwhile Dhami state. The fair is
held on the second day of Diwali in the month of Kartik (November). In
ancient times human sacrifice, it is said, used to be offered to
goddess Kali every year at the spot where the fair is now held. It is
also said that on this day the widow of a ruler of the state performed
'Satti' and that before doing so she had ordered to make human
sacrifice henceforth. Human sacrifice was stopped after sometimes.
Stone throwing fight between two parties is the main attraction of the
fair and whatever blood oozes out from the wounds caused by injuries
on the bodies of the participants is collected and offered to the
Kali. Apart from the stone throwing game the 'hindola' ride is also
enjoyed. [39]

====

3.23 Kali Puja

The festival of Divali, ... takes on particularly dark overtones in
West Bengal, where the celebration of the Dark Mother Kali replaces
the candles and fireworks you find elsewhere on the sub-continent.

Following close on the heels of the Durga Puja, the Bengali equivalent
to Dussehra, this festival celebrates the dark and bloodthirsty
goddess Kali, conqueror of time and consort of Shiva. Icons are
painted, religious pujas or ceremonies are performed and there are
pilgrimages to local holy sites devoted to Kali, of which there are 51
throughout Bengal. ...

Kali is ... the supreme warrior-goddess, the very manifestation of
female rage, bloodthirst and frenzy. She is usually represented
wearing a necklace of severed human heads, with weapons in her six
arms and drinking the fresh blood of her enemies from a cup. Her skirt
is woven from severed human hands and she is depicted as standing on
the prostrate body of her consort Shiva, or on a corpse (possibly one
of her enemies). ...

Kali is also worshipped by her devotees in her aspects of Dark Mother,
the fiercely protective female who unleashes her rage only to clear
away obstacles and protect her offspring. She has also been associated
to human sacrifice, orgies, demonic worship and unpalatable
quasi-legal blood rituals, ... [40]

====

3.24 Kali (Rituals)

KALI (black), or Kali Ma (the Black Mother), in Hindu mythology, the
goddess of destruction and death, the wife of Siva. According to one
theory, Calcutta owes its name to her, being originally Kalighat,
"Kali's landing-place." Siva's consort ... has many names (e.g. Durga
See Also: DURGA, Bhawani, Parvati, &c.). Her idol is black, with four
arms, and red palms to the hands. Her eyes are red, and her face and
breasts are besmeared with blood. Her hair ... is matted, and she has
projecting fang-like teeth, between which protrudes a tongue dripping
with blood.

She wears a necklace of skulls, her earrings are dead bodies, and she
is girded with serpents. She stands on the body ... of Siva, to
account for which attitude there is an elaborate legend. She is more
worshipped in Gondwana and the forest tracts to the east ... and south
... of it than in any other part of India.

Formerly human sacrifice was the essential of her ritual. The victim,
always a male, was taken to her temple after sunset and imprisoned
there. When morning came he was dead: the priests told the people that
Kali had sucked his blood in the night. At Dantewara in Bastar there
is a famous shrine of Kali under the name of Danteswari. Here many a
human head has been presented on her altar. About 1830 it is said that
upwards of twenty-five full-grown men were immolated at once by the
raja. Cutting their flesh and burning portions of their body ... were
among the acts of devotion of her worshippers.

Kali is goddess of small-pox and cholera. The Thugs murdered their
victims in her honour, and to her the sacred pickaxe, wherewith their
graves were dug, was consecrated. The Hook-swinging Festival (Churruk
or Churuck Puja), one of the most notable celebrations in honour of
the goddess Kali, has now been prohibited in British territory. Those
who had vowed themselves to self-torture submitted to be swung in the
air supported only by hooks passed through the muscles over the
blade-bones. These hooks were hung from a long ... crossbeam, which
see-sawed upon a huge upright pole. Hoisted into the air by men
pulling down the other end of the see-saw beam, the victim was then
whirled round in a circle. The torture usually lasted fifteen or
twenty minutes. [41]

====

3.25 Kali the Dark Mother of Time (Condensed) [42]

An illustration of the full force of the sacrificial cycle ... is seen
in Kali the black mother, and the meriahs of modern tribal sacrificial
cults of the great mother. ...

Kali, along with Kan, Durge "difficult of approach" the terrible one
of many names, is a manifestation of the dark mother of the Deccan,
whose stomach is a void which can never be filled and gorges blood and
death and from whose womb life ever springs anew demonstrates the full
force of destruction possessed by the ancient mother. "A river of
blood has been pouring continuously for millennia, from beheaded
offerings, through channels carved to return it, still living, to its
divine source."

Not content with destroying the demons which threaten the cosmic
order, she becomes so drunk with blood on the battlefield that she
begins to destroy the world. She holds the severed head of Shiva, from
whose neck run the waters of new life. She is pictured copulating with
him as the corpse, or standing on his prostrate body. [43]

"... Shmashana-Kali is the embodiment of the power of destruction. She
resides in the cremation ground, surrounded by corpses, jackals, and
terrible female spirits. From her mouth flows a stream of blood, from
her neck hangs a garland of human heads, and around her waist is a
girdle made of human hands. After the destruction of the universe, at
the end of the great cycle, the Divine Mother garners the seeds for
the next creation."

"... she plays in different ways. ... Bondage and liberation are both
of her making. ... She is called the Saviour, and the Remover of the
bondage that binds one to the world. ... She is self-willed and must
always have her own way. ..." ... [the] three-day maha-samadhi while
contemplating destroying himself with her [Kali's] sword, because the
cosmic mother is a perfectly powerful agent for death realization.
[44]

"To this day seven or eight hundred goats are slaughtered in three
days in the Kalighat, the principal temple of the goddess in Calcutta,
during her autumn festival, the Durga Puja. The heads are piled before
the image, and the bodies go to the devotees, to be consumed in
contemplative communion. Before the prohibition of human sacrifice in
1835, she received from every part of the land even richer fare. In
the towering Shiva temple of Tanjore a male child was beheaded before
the altar of the goddess every Friday at the holy hour of twilight. In
the year 1830, a petty monarch of Bastar, desiring her grace, offered
on one occasion twenty-five men at her altar in Dantesh-vari and in
the-sixteenth century a king of Cooch Behar immolated a hundred and
fifty in that place". [45]

"In Assam it was the custom of a certain royal house to offer one
human victim at the Durga Puja every year. After having bathed and
purified himself, the sacrifice was dressed in new attire, daubed with
red sandalwood and vermilion, arrayed with garlands, and, thus
bedecked, installed upon a raised dais before the image, where he
spent some time in meditation, repeating sacred sounds, and, when
ready, made a sign with his finger. The executioner, likewise
pronouncing sacred syllables, ... struck off the man's head, which was
immediately presented to the Goddess on a golden plate. The lungs,
being cooked, were consumed by yogis, and the royal family partook of
a small quantity of rice steeped in the sacrificial blood." [46]

"A vivid typical lesson is supplied, for example, by the Khonds ...
who had victims known as meriah, set apart and often kept for years,
who were offered to the Earth Goddess, Tara, to ensure good crops and
immunity from disease. To be acceptable, such a figure had to have
been either purchased or else born as the child of a meriah. The
Khonds, according to report, occasionally sold their own children for
this sacrifice, supposing that in death their souls would be
singularly blessed. ... They were regarded as consecrated beings and
treated with extreme affection and respect, and were available for
sacrifice either on extraordinary occasions or at the periodic feasts,
before the sowing; so that each family in the village might procure at
least once a year a shred of flesh to plant in its field for the
boosting of its crop". [47]

"Ten or twelve days before the offering, the victim was dedicated,
shorn of his hair, and anointed with oil, butter, and turmeric. A
season of wild revelry and debauchery followed, at the end of which
the meriah was conducted with music and dancing to the meriah grove, a
little way from the village, a stand of mighty trees untouched by the
axe. Tied there to a post and once more anointed with oil, butter, and
turmeric, the victim was garlanded with flowers, while the crowd
danced around him, chanting, to the earth: 'O Goddess, we offer to
thee this sacrifice; give to us good seasons, crops, and health'; and
to the victim: 'We bought thee, with a price, we did not seize thee,
and now, according to custom, we sacrifice thee: no sin rests upon
us.' A great struggle to secure magical relics from the decorations of
his person flowers or turmeric-or a drop of his spittle, ensued, and
the orgy continued until about noon the following day, when the time
came, at last, for the consummation of the rite". [48]

"The victim was again anointed with oil ... and each person touched
the anointed part, and wiped the oil on his own head. In some places
they took the victim in procession round the village, from door to
door, where some plucked hair from his head, and others begged for a
drop of his spittle, with which they anointed their heads. As the
victim might not be bound nor make any show of resistance, the bones
of his arms and, if necessary, his legs were broken; but often this
precaution was rendered unnecessary by stupefying him with opium. The
mode of putting him to death varied in different places. One of the
commonest modes seems to have been strangulation, or squeezing to
death. The branch of a green tree was cleft several feet down the
middle; the victim's neck (in other places, his chest) was inserted in
the cleft, which the priest, aided by his assistants, strove with all
his force to close. Then he wounded the victim slightly with his ax,
whereupon the crowd rushed at the wretch and hewed the flesh from the
bones, leaving the head and bowels untouched. Sometimes he was cut up
alive. In Chinna Kimedy he was dragged along the fields, surrounded by
the crowd, who, avoiding his head and intestines, hacked the flesh
from his body with their knives till he died". [49]

Another very common mode of sacrifice in the same district was to
fasten the victim to the proboscis of a wooden elephant, which
revolved on a stout post, and, as it whirled round, the crowd cut the
flesh from the victim while life remained. ... In one district the
victim was put to death slowly by fire. A low stage was formed sloping
on either side like a roof; upon it they laid the victim, his limbs
wound round with cords to confine his struggles. Fires were then
lighted and hot brands applied, to make him roll up and down the
slopes of the stage as long as possible; for the more tears he shed
the more abundant would be the supply of ram. Next day the body was
cut to pieces. ... Each head of a house rolled his shred of flesh in
leaves, and buried it in his favorite field, placing it in the earth
behind his back without looking. [50]

====

3.26 Animal and Human Sacrifice

... Do we really want to go back to our primitive past? ... Blood
sacrifice was common to all ancient cultures and religions. ... There
are scenes of human and animal sacrifice on Harappan seals. ... The
chief message of the Buddha and Mahavira was to stop the killing of
innocent animals. In time, the sacrifice of people and animals came to
be regarded as primitive and cruel. ...

Till the 20th century, human beings (especially the unwanted girl
child) were regularly sacrificed in India. Education resulted in a
public outcry against the practice and the government responded by
banning human sacrifice, although we still hear of occasional lapses.
But mere banning is never sufficient, ... the late Krishna Iyer in
Tamil Nadu and Peela Ramakrishna in Andhra Pradesh ... went around
persuading people to "break" a pumpkin instead of killing an animal or
bird. ...

Animal sacrifice is particularly brutal. Buffaloes, goat and roosters
are queued up as in a slaughterhouse, crying as they watch the others
die and await their turn. Blood flows everywhere. Sometimes the
worshippers anoint themselves with it; most times, they drink it even
as it flows out. After the sacrifice, the priest may garland himself
with the entrails. After beheading the buffalo, the chopped-off legs
may be placed in its mouth, the fat spread over its eyes. The worst
form of sacrifice is live impalement. ...

Blood sacrifice was regarded as magic, a tool to propitiate or please
a god, to fulfill a vow and as a sacrament. The animal (and, formerly,
person) could be a scapegoat for human sins or inexplicable natural
phenomena, or a vehicle to carry away the collected demons or ills of
an entire community. ... Ancient peoples performed sacrifices to
control negative forces, particularly disease, in the belief that any
blood would satisfy the bloodthirsty spirit. ... Today, medicine
performs tile task more efficiently. ...

There is a distinct gender bias in sacrifice. The male god - generally
an aspect of Shiva or Vishnu - is regarded as benign and peaceful, an
austere yogi or a benevolent provider. The female -a form of Shakti -
is blood-thirsty; violent and cruel. She may be Kali, with sharp,
protruding canine teeth, or Mari, the smallpox goddess, or any one
else. Every village in South and Eastern India, has bloodthirsty
village goddesses who reinforce the myth of the wicked witch, always a
woman. The former is controlled by blood, the latter by society. Women
are potentially evil, according to this belief, and must be kept under
control. They are drinkers of blood and consumers of human and animal
flesh, and any insufficiency in their propitiation will, it is
believed, invite their wrath and inflame their cruel natures. The
Sapta Matrikas (seven mothers/sisters/virgins); the various forms of
Kali and Mari and all village goddesses have longing for blood and a
reputation for cruelty. Their images are ugly and frightening, both in
appearance and behaviour.

What an awful image of women, which is ingrained in the Indian psyche!
Surely the mother who procreates and nurtures deserves a better
reputation? While the temples to the male Gods are beautiful, majestic
buildings that inspire awe and serenity, Devi temples are small, dark
and dingy, situated outside the city in a sacred grove that is the
haunt of dead spirits. Thus supporting animal sacrifice is supporting
both gender inequity and perpetuating myths about the evil that is
woman. Male spirits who demand sacrifice are generally the Goddess'
lieutenants, who have developed a taste for blood. This image was
created to justify the suppression of women. ...

... In the choice of the buffalo to be killed, there is an obvious
racial message: that the dark-coloured, slothful and ugly animal
deserves to die.

Animal sacrifice is cruel, disgusting and primitive. Bloody sacrifices
brutalize the viewer, confusing the distinction between right and
wrong. If one man supports animal sacrifice, another will support
human sacrifice, the killing of children and sati. How can any of
these be permitted in a civilized society? All cultures and religions
evolve, discarding ugly Practices. Over the years, we have learned to
identify and repudiate negative aspects of Hinduism, such as sati and
the caste system. Animal sacrifice is another cruelty that must be
rejected and discarded. ... [51]

====

3.27 Human Sacrifice and Religious Change (Book Summary)

"This penetrating work of the author can safely be designated as both
source and reference material for anthropologists and historians
alike." (Jacket Blurb)

"The book examines in depth the antiquity, rituals and religious
practices of India's little known Kondh tribals inhabiting the eastern
ghats of Orissa. Steeped in legends, the origin of the Kondhs,
including geographical, social and economic aspects, is scientifically
traced. This is followed by an account of the pioneering efforts ...
firstly, to put down the practice of Meriah human sacrifice, believed
by the Kondhs to propitiate the dreaded Earth Goddess; and secondly,
to suppress the practice of female infanticide. These practices are
garnered from early sources and described in clinical detail. The
ritual of human sacrifice and its later replacement by buffalo
sacrifice is, in particular, delineated in all its grisly details. The
psyche of the Kondh people is highlighted in justifying these
practices and the invocations addressed to their Gods reflect their
abidingly inherent faith in their actions. ... A section of the book
also dwells on the art of "Lost Wax" bronze emblems and other
artifacts. The significance of the use of these emblems in human
sacrifice, their place in the bridal dowry, ...

Kali Sacrifice

The goddess Kali (lit 'black'), described in the Mahabharata as "born
of anger ... the cruel daughter of the ocean of blood, the drinker of
blood", is the terrifying form of Durga, the consort of Shiva, ...
Kali is perhaps the best known of all the Tantric shakti divinities
and is seen as representing, or controlling, destruction and death in
the unending cycle of life. ... her propitiation in the past
occasionally involved human sacrifice; in the modern era it continues
to include, inter alia, animal sacrifice. This practice, which emerged
as a prominent feature of Hindu worship during the late Vedic period
(900-500 BC), is seen as continuing the process of creation by
repeating the first great sacrifice in which the world was created.
There are specific rites and rituals associated with it and the value
of the sacrifice depends upon their correct performance by a priest.
Kali is usually portrayed with multiple arms, a protruding tongue,
wearing a garland of skulls and treading on the prostrate figure of
Shiva. [52]

====

3.28 The Flute in Ancient Times

"Earlier and later vedic texts refer to the flute as venu. It was used
as accompaniment to vedic recitations along with veena (harp). These
sources also refer to a kind of flute called tunava employed during
sacrifices. Nadi was another variety, probably made of reed, played to
propitiate Yama, the Lord of Death. Not only was it an important
instrument in religious ceremonies, but the flutist was one of the
victims of human sacrifice in Purushamedha yajna ritual." [53]

====

3.29 History of Jainas (Quote)

The Yajur Vedha does not look at Vratyas Kindly. They are included in
the list of victims at the Purushamedha (human sacrifice). [54]

====

3.30 India's Parthian Colony

... the Pallavas did not practice the custom of Vedic human sacrifice
(purushamedha or naramedha) and horse sacrifice (asvamedha). Nor did
they permit sati (widow-burning) or bride-burning. The Vedic and
Brahmanic caste system was also not supported. Also, the Pallavas in
their earliest times promoted Prakrit and not Sanskrit. Thus Venkayya
notes, "The earliest known records of the Pallavas are three Prak-t
copper-plate charters, viz. (1) the Mayidavolu plates of
Sivaskandavarman, (2) the Hireha-agalli plates of the same king and
(3) the British Museum plates of Carudevi." (Venkayya 1907, p.222)
These facts disprove the Vedic origin of the Pallavas. [55]

====

3.31 Slaughter quote

The Hindu Vedas clearly describe the Ashwamedha. In the 2 ashvamedha
hymns of the Rigveda, the horse is regarded as the Sun and Agni. [56]
Indeed, such was the scale in which the Hindus slaughtered one another
that a large-scale revolt arose against the Vedic religion. The custom
of human and horse sacrifice was finally abolished by the Buddhists.
[57]

====

3.32 Yajur Veda (Article/Observation)

YAJUR VEDA: It is a collection of hymns for ritual formulas for the
priests to use in the sacrifices. By the time Yajur Veda was in place,
the priest class (Brahmin caste) had become the most powerful class in
the society. By instituting more elaborate sacrifices for their
wealthy patrons, the Brahmin class not only grew in numbers but also
accumulated wealth. They also instituted the shameless horse sacrifice
– the parts of the horse symbolized different aspects of the universe
– which culminated with exhibiting three symbols of the lotus leaf,
the frog (for rain) and the golden man (for sun) representing the
Aryan dominance over India and its waters.

The SOMA sacrifice was the most important sacrifice of the Aryans, and
could take up to twelve years. The highly intoxicating Soma plant was
brought from the Himalayas and animals were slain and cut up in the
rites before their meat was eaten. Yajur Veda also refers to the
Purusha (person) sacrifice symbolizing human sacrifice. [58]

====

3.33 The Kapalika (skull-bearers)

The Kapalika, "skull-bearers," sect developed out of the Pashupatas
and were likewise -- but perhaps justifiably -- vilified by their
opponents. At worst, they are portrayed as drunken and licentious,
engaged in human sacrifice and practicing the blackest of magic. Other
portrayals are more benign. For example, in the early Sanskrit drama
Malati-Madhava, a Kapalika says with great insight, "Being exclusively
devoted to alms alone, penance alone and rites alone -- all this is
easy to obtain. Being intent upon the Self alone, however, is a state
difficult to obtain." Even today, followers of this sect are found
begging food which they accept in a skull, preferably that of a
brahmin. Some scholars see a connection between the Kapalikas and the
later Gorakshanatha yogis. [59]

====

3.34 Kali (Article)

... even less known is the fact that this human sacrifice is commanded
in the Tantrik book dedicated [to] Kali worship called the "Kali
Purana". This article centers on the gruesome practice of human
sacrifice. You appease Kali which was the inspiration for the Thugees
of India who killed and then sacrificed people will be Kali. The Kali
Purana is included in the orthodox canon of "divinely revealed" Hindu
scriptural books called the Puranas. A Tantrik Hindu or the normal
Hindu can follow this book.

Hindu fatalism plays an important role in the mentality behind human
sacrifice since these people think they will see the sacrificed person
again, i.e. the reincarnation cycle: ... death is certain for the one
who is born, and birth is certain for the one who dies. Therefore, you
should not lament over the inevitable. All beings are unmanifest, or
invisible to our physical eyes before birth and after death. They
manifest between the birth and the death only. What is there to grieve
about? (Bhagavad Gita 2:26-28)

This article will begin by citing some modern-day examples of humans
sacrifice to Kali and then will show how it was commanded in the Hindu
Kali Purana (which is not followed by all Hindus, only by choice by
people who want to worship Devi, Durga better known as Kali) but first
an explanation of why human sacrifice is performed in various
societies ...

"Male creatures may only be sacrificed to Kali, else she becomes
furious. Worshippers of Kali who sacrifice the flesh of cats, camels,
sheep, buffaloes, goats and men to her become accomplished." [60]

"The Karpuradistotra comments on animal sacrifice. Male creatures may
only be sacrificed to Kali, else she becomes furious. Verse 19 says
that worshippers of Kali who sacrifice the flesh of cats, camels,
sheep, buffaloes, goats and men to her become accomplished. A
commentary by a Kaula, Vimalananda Svami, which Woodroffe only
partially translates, claims these animals represent the six enemies
with the goat representing lust, the buffalo anger, the cat greed, the
sheep delusion, the camel envy. Man represents pride. However,
according to other sources, only a king may perform the sacrifice of a
man." [61]

====

3.35 SBE Quotes

As will be seen further on, there are sufficient indications to show
that even human sacrifices were at one time practiced ... The
fundamental idea which underlay this practice doubtless was the notion
that man, as the highest attainable living being, could not but be the
most acceptable gift that could be offered to the gods, and, at the
same time, the most appropriate substitute for the human Sacrificer
himself. [62]

====

3.36 More SBE Quotes

... As a rule, however, legends of this kind ... may be gathered from
the particulars regarding the 'Nārāsamsāni,' or recitals in praise of
(pious) men, which, according to Sānkhāyana (XVI, II), take the place
of the 'revolving legend' in the ten days' cycle of the Purushamedha.
The Hotri's recitals on that occasion consist simply of certain
verses, or hymns, of the Rig-Veda, ... The recitations required for
the Asvamedha, on the other hand, consist of matter drawn not even
from the three older Vedas alone, but also from the Atharvans and
Ańgiras whose names combined usually make up the old designation of
the hymns and spells of the Atharva-veda, ...

... The ritual arrangements of the Purushamedha, or human sacrifice,
of which the Brāhmana treats next, seem to have been developed out of
those of the Asvamedha. Its first three Soma-days are essentially the
same as the three days of the horse-sacrifice, except as regards the
difference of victims on the second day. To these the authorities of
the White Yagur-veda - and apparently also those of the Black Yagus
[1] add two more days, whilst the Sānkhāyana-sūtra, [2] on the other
hand, recognises but one additional day. ... A peculiar interest thus
attaches to ... the question as to how far down the practice of human
sacrifices can be traced in India. [3] That such sacrifices were
practiced in early times is clearly shown by unmistakable traces of
them in the ritualistic works; ...

First as regards the story of Sunahsepa which is recited at the
Rāgasūya sacrifice, [4] ... King Hariskandra, being childless, prays
to Varuna to grant him a son, vowing to sacrifice him to the god. A
son is born to him, and is called Rohita; ... He, (the son) ...
refuses to be sacrificed, and escapes to the forest.

The king thereupon is seized with dropsy; and the son, hearing of
this, hastens homeward to save his father. On the way he is met by
Indra who urges him to wander, ... In the sixth year, the prince,
while wandering in the forest, comes across a starving Brahman,
Agīgarta, who ... who consents to sell him one of his sons for a
hundred cows to serve him as a ransom to Varuna.

The Brahman ... [gave] the second boy, called Sunahsepa. Rohita now
returns to his father who, having been told of the transaction, then
proposes to Varuna to offer the Brahman youth in lieu of his son; and
the god, deeming a Brahman better than a Kshatriya, consents to the
exchange, and orders the king to perform the Rāgasūya sacrifice, and
to make the youth the chief victim on the Abhishekanīya, or day of
consecration.

Four renowned Rishis officiate as offering-priests; ... The boy's own
father, Agīgarta, then volunteers to do so for another hundred cows;
and subsequently he even undertakes to slay his son for a similar
reward. But when the poor lad sees his own father coming towards him,
... he bethinks himself of calling upon the gods for help; and by them
he is successively referred from one to another, till ... he is
released from his fetters, whilst the king is freed from his malady.
...

Now, it is exactly in connection with the building of the fire-altar
that the clearest, and most unmistakable trace of an old practice of
human sacrifices - or rather of the slaying of men for sacrificial
purposes - occurs. In laying down the bottom layer of the altar, the
pan which had been used by the Sacrificer for carrying about the
sacred fire for a year is built into this layer, with heads of the
five recognised sacrificial animals [5] - man, horse, ox, sheep, and
goat - put therein, in order to impart stability to the altar (Sat.
Br. VII, 5, 2, 1 seqq.). ...

... keeping up at least some semblance of the old custom, - viz.
either by procuring real heads from some source or other, or by using
heads made of gold or clay; but they are summarily dismissed as
profane and fraudulent counterfeits; and the author then remarks
somewhat vaguely and diplomatically that 'one may slay those five
victims as far as one may be able (or inclined) to do so,' for
Pragāpati was the first to slaughter them, and Syāparna Sāyakāyana the
last, and in the interval also people used to slaughter them; ...

... though they too allow, as an alternative practice, the use of a
complete set of five heads, they make no mention of a man being killed
for this purpose, but enjoin that a dead man's head is to be bought
for twenty-one beans, [6] which is then to be laid against an ant-hill
with seven holes in order to again supply it with the seven 'vital
airs of the head;' whereupon three stanzas relating to Yama are to be
sung round about it to redeem it from the god of death.

... As regards the Rig-veda ritual, the Kaushītaki-brāhmana, as Prof.
Weber has pointed out, leaves a choice between a he-goat for Pragāpati
and one for Vāyu; whilst the Sānkhāyana-sūtra, curiously enough, again
adds the alternative course of using the set of five heads. ...

If now we turn our attention to the Purushamedha, or 'human sacrifice'
proper, we find that the Yagus texts, as far as they deal with this
ceremony at all, [7] treat it as a purely symbolical performance. A
large number of men and women, ... are bound to eleven sacrificial
posts, and after the necessary rites, concluding with the
'paryagnikarana' - or the carrying of fire round the oblations - have
been performed on them, they are one and all set free; ... That the
ceremony in this form, ... cannot possibly lay claim to any very great
antiquity is self-evident; ... it would be idle to deny that the
existence, at one time, of a simple form of human sacrifice is not
only quite possible, but is indeed highly probable; and it would be no
more than might be expected, if such a practice should eventually have
revolted the moral sense of the more refined classes of the community,
[8] ...

... The importance of the subject makes it, however, desirable that we
should take a somewhat closer view of the procedure of the 'human
sacrifice,' as laid down in those two Sūtras.

Sāńkh. 16.10.

[1] Pragāpati, having offered the Asvamedha, beheld the Purushamedha:
what he had not gained by the Asvamedha, all that he gained by the
Purushamedha; [9] and so does the sacrificer now, in performing the
Purushamedha, gain thereby all that he had not gained by the
Asvamedha. [2,3] The whole of the Asvamedha ceremonial (is here
performed); and an addition thereto. [4-8] First oblations to Agni
Kāma (desire), A. Dātri (the giver), and A. Pathikrit (the path-maker)
...

[9] Having bought a Brāhmana or a Kshatriya for a thousand (cows) and
a hundred horses, he sets him free for a year to do as he pleases in
everything except breaches of chastity. [10] And they guard him
accordingly. [11] For a year there are (daily) oblations to Anumati
(approval), Pathyā Svasti (success on the way), and Aditi. [12] Those
(three daily oblations) to Savitri [10] in the reverse order. [13] By
way of revolving legends (the Hotri recites) Nārāsamsāni ...

16.11.

[1-33] enumerate the Nārāsamsāni, [11] together with the respective
Vedic passages.

16.12.

[1-7] There are twenty-five stakes, each twenty-five cubits long; ...
and twenty-five Agnīshomīya victims. 8. Of the (three) Asvamedha days
the first and last (are here performed). [9-11] The second (day) is a
Pańkavimsa-Stoma one ... [12] The Man, a Gomriga, and a hornless
(polled) he-goat - these are the Prāgāpatya [12] (victims).

[13] A Bos Gaurus, a Gayal, an elk (sarabha), a camel, and a Māyu
Kimpurusha (? shrieking monkey) are the anustaranāh. [14-16] And the
(other) victims in groups of twenty-five for the twenty-five seasonal
deities ... [17] Having made the adorned Man smell (kiss) the
chanting-ground, (he addresses him) with the eleven verses (Rig-Veda.
X, 15, 1-11) without 'om,' - 'Up shall rise (the Fathers worthy of
Soma), the lower, the higher, and the middle ones.'

[18] The Āprī verses are 'Agnir mrityuh' ... [20] They then spread a
red cloth, woven of kusa grass, for the Man to lie upon.

[21] The Udgātri approaches the suffocated Man with (the chant of) a
Sāman to Yama (the god of death).

16.13.

[1] The Hotri with (the recitation of) the Purusha Nārāyana (litany).
[2] Then the officiating priests - Hotri, Brahman, Udgātri, Adhvaryu -
approach him each with two verses of the hymn (on Yama and the
Fathers) Rig-v. X, 14, 'Revere thou with offering King Yama
Vaivasvata, the gatherer of men, who hath walked over the wide
distances tracing out the path for many.'

[3-6] They then heal the Sacrificer (by reciting hymns X, 137; 161;
163; 186; 59; VII, 35). [7-18] Ceremonies analogous to those of the
Asvamedha (cf. XIII, 5, 2, 1 seqq.), concluding with the Brahmavadya
(brahmodya).

16.14.

[1-20] Details about chants, &c.; the fourth (and last) day of the
Purushamedha to be performed like the fifth of the Prishthya-shadaha.

Vait. S. 37.10. The Purushamedha (is performed) like the Asvamedha ...
[12] There are offerings to Agni Kāma, Dātri, and Pathikrit. [13] He
causes to be publicly proclaimed, 'Let all that is subject to the
Sacrificer assemble together!'

[14] The Sacrificer says, 'To whom shall I give a thousand (cows) and
a hundred horses to be the property of his relatives? Through whom
shall I gain my object?' [15] If a Brāhmana or a Kshatriya comes
forward, they say, 'The transaction is completed.' [16] If no one
comes forward, let him conquer his nearest enemy, and perform the
sacrifice with him. [17] To that (chosen man) he shall give that
(price) for his relatives.

[18] Let him make it be publicly known that, if any one's wife were to
speak, [13] he will seize that man's whole property, and kill herself,
if she be not a Brāhmana woman. [19] When, after being bathed and
adorned, he (the man) is set free, he (the priest) recites the hymns
A.V. 19:6; 10:2. [20] For a year (daily) offerings to Pathyā Svasti,
Aditi, and Anumati. [21] At the end of the year an animal offering to
Indra-Pūshan.

[22] The third day is a Mahāvrata. [23] When (the man) [14] is bound
to the post, he repeats the three verses, 'Up shall rise;' ... and
when he is unloosened, the utthāpanī-verses.

24-26. When he is taken to the slaughtering-place (the priest repeats)
the harinī-verses; when he is made to lie down, the two verses, 'Be
thou soft for him, O Earth;' and when he has been suffocated, (he
repeats) the Sahasrabāhu (or Purusha Nārāyana) litany, and hymns to
Yama and Sarasvatī

38 [1-9] treat of the subsequent ceremonies, including the recitation,
by the Brahman, of hymns with the view of healing the Sacrificer.

Now, even a slight consideration of the ritual of the Purushamedha, as
sketched out in these two works, must, I think, convince us that this
form of human sacrifice ... is nothing more than what Sānkhāyana
appears to claim for it, viz. an adaptation, and that a comparatively
modern adaptation, of the existing Asvamedha ritual. Indeed, it seems
to me by no means unlikely that the two different schemes of the
Purushamedha originated at about the same time, and that they were
intended to fill up a gap in the sacrificial system which seemed to
require for Man, as the chief sacrificial animal, ...

... the Atharva-sūtra is the only other work which recognises the
ceremony; and that nearly all the hymns and verses used in connection
with the immolation of the human victim are taken from the Atharvan
and the tenth mandala of the Rik. Nay, the very fact that, in both
Sūtra works, this sacrifice is represented as being undertaken, not
for the great object of winning immortal life, but for the healing of
the Sacrificer's bodily infirmities, might seem sufficient to stamp
the ceremony as one partaking more of the nature of the superstitious
rites of the Atharvan priests than of that of the great sacrifices of
the traditional Srauta ritual. [63]

====

4. Human Sacrifice in the modern world

The information we looked at previously in the reference section dealt
mainly with books that discussed (and acknowledged) the various
traditions, customs and practices of human sacrifice within Hinduism.
This section looks into human sacrifice in the modern world where some
claim it is still practiced within India.

The question about a continued practice is a difficult one as it
hinges on news reports, word of mouth etc. It should be made clear
however that the legal system of India (and 99% +) of Hindu's out
rightly reject human sacrifice in the modern world. There was at least
one legal case (that I remember) where it went to court and the
'religious' defense was attempted but the law prevailed over the
superstition.

Another problem should be noted in regards to modern reports, just
because one claims they are sacrificing humans does not make it
necessarily true, for in all countries murderers exist as do serial
killers and they can (and do) make many claims as to their motive or
reason for doing so. Those claims naturally are the result of an
unbalanced mind and not the 'voice of God', 'a special mission' or in
India 'a sacrifice to Kali'.

The reason one hears of Kali sacrifices in India (and rarely if ever
in other countries) is because of the religious context and
surrounding belief systems. Hindus with an unbalanced mind would
gravitate to that sort of 'logic' while Westerners with an unbalanced
mind would gravitate to the 'voice of God' logic.

====

4.1 Modern Sacrificial Case

... In a famous legend, she fought the demon Raktabeeja, who was
revived from a mortal blow whenever his blood touched the earth.
Covering the ground with her tongue, Kali eventually defeated him. But
in lapping up his blood, she became frenzied and violent, and began
killing everyone in her path. ...

Kali still has a large following, most prominently in Eastern India,
where her image commonly adorns homes and shops, in family shrines and
on calendars and posters like this one in the collection of the
Oriental Antique wing of the British Museum. ...

In 1996, an Indian man named Sushil Murmu ... Believing that
dedicating a human sacrifice to the goddess Kali would bring him
prosperity and divine favor, he beheaded a 9-year-old boy and threw
the severed head into a nearby pond. When Murmu was brought to court,
his lawyer argued that although superstition was not embraced by
modern society, Murmu and other illiterate Indians raised in rural
backwaters continued to hold on to it when they performed the
unfortunate religious rite of human sacrifice. ...

In its recent term, however, the justices of the Indian Supreme Court
ruled that the death penalty would be applied in all cases of human
sacrifice, ... "Superstition cannot and does not provide justification
for any killing," the court said, "much less a planned and deliberate
one." [64]

====

4.2 Hindus to end human sacrifice practice (Article)

GUWAHATI: Hundreds of Hindu monks pledged Tuesday to fight ancient
barbaric rituals of human sacrifices at temples in India where the
grisly practice continues.

"A very minuscule cult still believes that to achieve supernatural
magical powers one needs to sacrifice a child at the altar," Biswajit
Giri, a 45-year-old Hindu mystic, told AFP.

"The practice of human sacrifice ... has not died down completely and
is being carried out in many select temples secretly."

Giri is among some 50,000 monks who have assembled at the temple of
the Hindu goddess Kamakhya in Guwahati, the capital of the
northeastern state of Assam, for the annual Ambubachi Mela, a four-day
ritual that began on Sunday.

The Kamakhya temple has long been considered the highest seat of
Tantricism, a sort of black magic that has been an integral part of
India's folklore for centuries.

Mystics who gather at the temple claim they can perform wonders — make
a childless couple conceive, find a distressed loner a spouse or cast
an evil spell on others.. "We have been working hard to create
awareness to stop such grisly human sacrifices and other such heinous
occult practices that do not fit into the modern way of life," said
Birati Baba, a 60-year-old seer who belongs to the secret Aghor cult,
whose adherents meditate in graveyards at night.

"We should put an end to all barbaric practices as such incidents
defame tantricism." Last week, a self-proclaimed mystic with saffron
robes and vermilion beads marked on his forehead almost sacrificed his
18-month-old daughter at the Kamakhya temple.

Amritlal Mazumdar was slicing his daughter's neck with a razor when
her screams of pain alerted devotees who rescued the baby from being
sacrificed.

"It seems the man was a lunatic and we managed to save the child from
being sacrificed. The man was arrested by police later," temple
official Tara Nath Sharma said. "We have deployed special volunteers
at the temple to prevent any such bad things from happening," he said.

Earlier this year, two children were sacrificed in the northeastern
state of Tripura after a devotee had a dream that offering human lives
to the deity would lead him to hidden treasures.

Legend has it that human sacrifices — an integral part of tantricism —
were widespread in Assam and other parts of India although the
practice was officially abandoned some 250 years.

"There was a temple called Kasai Kathi (slaughter house) in eastern
Assam's Sadia area where it was said human sacrifices were performed,"
said Pradeep Sharma, a researcher on tantricism. "But we have no
evidence to prove this as the temple is now razed to the ground after
heavy flooding triggered by a killer earthquake that rocked the state
in 1950."

Many of the monks who have assembled here from various parts of India
and the neighboring Hindu kingdom of Nepal say human sacrifices
continue in many places, although such rituals are steeped in secrecy
to avoid public gaze and controversy. "Human sacrifices are an
essential ingredient to appease the goddess and then get her divine
blessings," said another sage. "But then nowadays you don't get
volunteers for the sacrifice and hence, as something symbolic,
devotees perform the ritual using six-foot effigies made of flour."
[65]

====

4.3 Boy sacrificed to 'goddess' (Article)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An Indian man gouged out the eyes of a
five-year-old boy, chopped off his finger and then killed him as a
sacrifice to the goddess Durga, the many-armed destroyer of demons, a
newspaper reported on Thursday.

The man lured the boy, Santosh, with offers of chocolates as he played
in his village in Orissa on Sunday night, The Asian Age reported,
quoting police.

The man told the police that Durga appeared to him in a dream and told
him he had to sacrifice a child to solve his problems. The Age did not
say what the problems were.

He was caught by villagers and made to confess after Santosh's body
was found on Monday, the newspaper said. [66]

====

4.4 Kali-Goddess of Violence (Article)

A recent report by United Press trust of India (UPI) stated that
during the past three years more than 2,500 young boys and girls were
sacrificed to goddess Kali in India. Another of AFP's recent reports
say: hundreds of young boys and virgin girls are sacrificed every
month for the deity Kali.

In one case Rama Sewak hacked his eight year old son to death in broad
daylight in Delhi because goddess Kali had told him he would come back
to life and bring him good fortune.

Bloodthirsty Kali is worshipped openly the length and breadth of
India. Kali's statue stands naked astride the inanimate body of the
Hindu deity Shiva, tongue stuck out with blood dripping from fang-like
teeth. She holds a noose, a skull-topped staff, a blood-encrusted
sword and a severed head. She is also known as Durga, Devi, Shaktima,
Uma and Parvathi in other manifestations. The priest of Delhi, Kali
Bari, says that a child sacrificed to Kali ensures a man the birth of
a son. Human sacrifices are also made to these gods or goddesses,
either to appease them or to ask favours of them.

Bihar's police chief J. Sahay said: "We have tried our best to curb
human sacrifices, but what can an agency do when an entire village
chooses a victim and cuts off his head with his parent's consent."
Bihar's famous lawyer, Urnkant Chaturvedi, said that "Human sacrifice
under our law is treated as murder, but the killer- never found - is
always the local high priest." He continues, "at times the local
policemen are reluctant to take action because of the inbred fear of
the gods and goddesses."

A famous human sacrifice occurred in 1972 when a powerful leader in
Maharashtra state (in order to find a treasure) offered blood from
virgin girls to Manja. He did not find the treasure, but four persons
were hanged for the crime and the main culprit escaped because of his
political influence.

Some time ago, two brothers named Siddharth and Ravi asked their 21
year old sister Shobha to take a bath and come for prayers to a nearby
temple in Kerala State. To her horror, the brothers pierced her with a
sword and iron rods chanting mantras. Withering in pain, she begged
for pity, but she was cut to pieces and her body burned bit by bit.
The brothers had done it to unearth a hidden treasure. At first they
tried to find another victim but when they failed to find another
virgin girl, they sacrificed their own sister. Only Brahmin children
are exempted by the Vedas from human sacrifice. [67]

====

4.5 Saved from Kali (Article)

Lalit from Orissa state was, as he describes himself, "a worldly
singer" before contracting a fatal illness. He lay on his death bed
for 3 months before seeing a vision of Jesus at around noon one day.
"Jesus was carrying something like a rod in his hand, and touched me
on my bed. I was healed. I have been serving him since then!" he says.

To start with, he became a preacher and tract-distributor with Every
Home Crusade. One day, his leader sent him to distribute tracts near
Kulpani, which Lalit describes as having many fanatical Hindus. One of
the villages to which he was sent was infamous for its Kali-Mandal, a
temple to the goddess Kali, to whom human sacrifices are still made
today.

He hadn't been there long before people started warning him
"Babapriest, the head priest, is already searching for you. They want
to sacrifice you to Kali. Run away quickly!" Too late - 500 armed men
captured the small team, beat them and dragged them to the Kali
temple, where the priest was waiting with a large sword.

"Deny Jesus and turn to Kali, or Kali will drink your blood today!"
They gave Lalit cow dung mixed with water to drink, but he said to his
Lord "If I die, I am with you. If I live, I will continue to serve
you. My life is in your hand."

The priest lifted his sword, but was interrupted by a woman shouting
"Let him go. We don't want to see that any more." Other women took up
the cry, and Lalit could escape.

Today, he is a modern David: when he plays his flute (the 'rod' he saw
in Jesus' hand in his vision), people are healed and demons driven
out. He and his team of 25 have planted 110 churches since 1992, and
have baptised almost 3000 people. Smiling broadly, he says "There are
now 3 churches with a total of some 150 members in the Kali-Mandal
village now." [68]

====

4.6 Girl sacrificed (31-1-1997)

Indian police say a couple sacrificed a neighbors's six-year-old
daughter to the goddess Kali in the hope it would give them a child of
their own. A village witch who told them it was the only way for them
to have children was also arrested. [69]

====

4.7 Killing for 'Mother' Kali

It was at most a fringe practice, but a spate of ritual killings in
India shows that human sacrifice lives on.

For the magic to work, the killing had to be done just right. If the
goddess were to grant Khudu Karmakar the awesome powers he expected
from a virgin's death, the victim had to be willing, had to know what
was happening, watch the knife, and not stop it. But even
tranquilizers couldn't lull 15-year-old Manju Kumari to her fate.

In his police confession, Karmakar says his wife, daughter and three
accomplices had to gag Manju and pin her down on the earthen floor
before the shrine. In ritual order, Karmakar wafted incense over her,
tore off her blue skirt and pink T shirt, shaved her, sprinkled her
with holy water from the Ganges and rubbed her with cooking fat. Then
chanting mantras to the "mother" goddess Kali, he sawed off Manju's
hands, breasts and left foot, placing the body parts in front of a
photograph of a blood-soaked Kali idol. Police say the arcs of blood
on the walls suggest Manju bled to death in minutes.

Human sacrifice has always been an anomaly in India. Even 200 years
ago, when a boy was killed every day at a Kali temple in Calcutta,
blood cults were at odds with a benign Hindu spiritualism that
celebrates abstinence and vegetarianism. But Kali is different. A
ferocious slayer of evil in Hindu mythology, the goddess is said to
have an insatiable appetite for blood.

With the law on killing people more strictly enforced today, ersatz
substitutes now stand in for humans when sacrifice is required. Most
Kali temples have settled on large pumpkins to represent a human body;
other followers slit the throats of two-meter-tall human effigies made
of flour, or of animals such as goats.

In secret ceremonies, however, the grizzly practice lives on. Quite
simply, say the faithful—known as tantrics—Kali looks after those who
look after her, bringing riches to the poor, revenge to the oppressed
and newborn joy to the childless. So far this year, police have
recorded at least one case of ritual killing a month.

In January, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a 24-year-old
woman hacked her three-year-old son to death after a tantric sorcerer
supposedly promised unlimited earthly riches.

In February, two men in the eastern state of Tripura beheaded a woman
on the instructions of a deity they said appeared in their dreams
promising hidden treasures. Karmakar killed Manju in Atapur village in
Jharkhand state in April. The following month, police dug up the
remains of two sisters, aged 18 and 13, in Bihar, dismembered with a
ceremonial sword and offered to Kali by their father.

Last week on the outskirts of Bombay, maize seller Anil Lakshmikant
Singh, 33, beheaded his neighbor's nine-year-old son to save his
marriage on the advice of a tantric. Said Singh: "He promised that a
human sacrifice would end all my miseries."

Far from ancient barbarisms that refuse to die, sacrifice and sorcery
are making a comeback. Sociologists explain the millions who now
throng the two main Kali centers in eastern India, at Kamakhya and
Tarapith, as what happens when the rat race that is India's future
meets the superstitions of its past.

Sociologist Ashis Nandy says: "You see your neighbor doing well, above
his caste and position, and someone tells you to get a child and do a
secret ritual and you can catch up." Adds mysticism expert Ipsita Roy
Chakaraverti: "It's got nothing to do with real mysticism or with
spiritualism. It comes down to pure and simple greed."

Tarapith in particular is a giant building site of new hotels,
restaurants and stalls selling plastic swords and postcards of Kali's
severed feet. Judging by the visitors here, Kali appeals to both rich
and poor: the rows of SUVs parked outside four-star hotels belong to
the ranks of businessmen and politicians lining up with their goats
behind penniless pilgrims. ("The blood never dries at Tarapith,"
whispers one villager.)

There are no human sacrifices at the temple these days. But the
mystique of ritual killing is so powerful that even those who actually
don't perform it claim to do so. In their camp in the cremation
grounds beside the temple, a throng of tantrics tout for business by
competing to be as spooky as possible, lining their mud-walled temples
with human skulls and telling tall tales of human sacrifice.

"I cut off her head," says 64-year-old Baba Swami Vivekanand of a girl
he says he raised from birth. "We buried the body and brought the head
back, cooked it and ate it." He pauses to demand a $2 donation. "Good
story, no?"

While most of this is innocent, some followers, like Karmakar, are
inevitably emboldened to take their quest for power to the extreme.
Karmakar, like many others, was caught. But in the dust-bowl villages
of India, where superstition reigns and blood has a dark authority,
the question is how many other "holy men" have found that ultimate
power still rests in the murderous magic of a virgin sacrifice. [70]

====

4.8 Human Sacrifice Today

Human sacrifice is referred to in the Hindu 'Veda' scriptures as
'purushamedha'. The victims were often members of defeated tribes in
the early days. Human sacrifice is especially powerful in ritual magic
...

In India today, most human sacrifice is carried out in secret to
appease Kali, another form of the goddess Parvathi. Kali means
'darkness', so she is depicted as a black woman with four arms,
holding a noose, a skull-topped staff, a blood-soaked sword, and a
severed head. Her mouth drips blood, she has a necklace of skulls, and
she is treading on the prostrate form of her husband, Shiva. She has
an insatiable appetite for human blood. ... A Hindu writer claims:
"Kali is the goddess who takes away darkness. She cuts down all
impurities, consumes all iniquities, purifies Her devotees with the
sincerity of Her Love."

According to Time Magazine, (Time Asia, 29/07/2002) just 200 years
ago, a boy was killed every day at a Kali temple in Calcutta. The Time
story centred on the very recent proven ritual sacrifice of a
15-year-old virgin, Manju Kumari. Chanting mantras to Kali, a man
named Khudu Karmakar "hacked off her hands, breasts and left foot,
placing the body parts in front of a photograph of a blood-soaked Kali
idol." Police said the victim, who was killed with the assistance of
Karmakar's wife, daughter and three others, bled to death within
minutes. ...

Brahmin Children Exempted

Atapur police are currently recording one ritual murder each month, as
sacrifice and sorcery gain in popularity. Agence France Press
(14/11/1997) reported that a father cut off his own son's head in an
offering to Kali, and claimed that hundreds of young boys and virgin
girls are sacrificed every month to loving Kali. ...

The use of girls in sacrifice outnumbers boys today and is another
example of female infanticide. It is said by some priests that a
sacrifice to Kali guarantees the birth of a son. By offering a girl to
Kali, a devotee can swop a daughter for a son. It should be noted that
Brahmin children are exempted by the Vedas from sacrifice, and
sacrificial children are taken from lower castes.

Bihar's police chief J. Sahay said: "We have tried our best to curb
human sacrifices, but what can an agency do when an entire village
chooses a victim and cuts off his head with his parent's consent?"
Bihar's famous lawyer, Urnkant Chaturvedi, said that "Human sacrifice
under our law is treated as murder, but the killer never found is
always the local high priest." He continues, "at times the local
policemen are reluctant to take action because of the inbred fear of
the gods and goddesses." ... [71]

====

4.9 Four-year-old girl beheaded for sacrifice

A 40-YEAR-old man allegedly 'sacrificed' a four-year-old girl on
Monday in Miragpur village, 30 km from Roorke. Only the head of the
victim has been recovered so far.

According to sources, Sapna, daughter of Janeshwar, a member of Dalit
community, had accompanied her parents to the fields to collect
fodder. But after some time, Sapna's parents found her missing. After
frantic search, her parents found her head chopped and mutilated in
the field.

While returning form the fields, the villagers saw Som, a
fellow-villager, roaming around suspiciously.

On seeing the girl's parents, he tried to flee, but villagers
overpowered him. Som is said to have confessed that he sacrificed the
girl to propitiate a deity. Villagers later handed him over to the
police. [72]

====

4.10 Couple Held for Child Sacrifice in India

Indian police arrested a couple after they sacrificed a neighbour's
daughter in the hope that it would give them a child of their own.

Police also arrested a witch of the village who told them it was the
only way for them to have children. The couple had been charged with
abducting the six year-old innocent girl, sacrificing her to the Hindu
goddness Kali and then throwing her body into a pond in a village near
India's southern most tip of Kanyakumari.

In India ritual murder of children is very common, even most such
incidents go unreported.

In the eastern Indian hills of Chotanagpur, tribes people try to
abduct children each year, believing their blood, if sprinkled on
fields, guarantees a good harvest. [73]

~~~~~~~

Footnotes

[1] That is, according to Harisvāmin, he brought its powers into play,
and accomplished all his desires: - tatsādhanāny upāpādayat, tenāyam
yaganena samīhitam sakalam sādhitavān ity arthah.

[2] That is, the day before the Soma-sacrifice.

[3] See III, 7, 2, 1 seqq.

[4] That is, he (symbolically) immolates them.

[5] Or, he perfects, completes, the priesthood by (adding to it a
member of) the priesthood.

[6] 'A bodiless voice,' comm.; cf. XI, 4, 2, 16 where likewise 'an
invisible voice ' is introduced censuring the priest who burns the
oblations. Perhaps, however, Vāk may be intended from whom Pragāpati,
in the beginning, produced the waters; cf. VI, 1, I, 9.

[7] Thus (i. e. do not go through with this human sacrifice) the
commentator, probably correctly, interprets 'samsthāpaya' (instead of
'do not kill,' St. Petersb. Diet., though, practically, it would, of
course, come to the same thing), - Purusha, etān purushapasūn mā
samtishtipah, udańnayādikāny ańgāny eshām mā krithā ityarthah; yadi
samsthāpayishyasi tatah seshabhakshānukārena loke pi purushah purusham
bhakshayishyati tak kāyuktam ity abhiprāyah. In the same way the verse
ought accordingly to have been translated in III, 7, 2, 8.

[8] That is, he offers with the formulas 'To the Brahman, hail! to the
Kshatra, hail! &c, running through the whole series of so-called
divinities of the released victims.

[9] Viz. three for each of the first two deities, and five for
Brihaspati.

[10] Cf. J. Muir, Orig. Sanskrit Texts, vol. v, p. 372.

[11] Or, all kinds of victims (medhć).

[12] That is, an Ukthya sacrifice, cf. p. 259, note 2; XIII, 5,1,5
seqq.

[13] That is, an Atirātra, cf. XIII, 6, i, 9.

[14] Lit., 'after cutting (pieces) out of the skin they throw down.'

[15] The Vedas, Sanskrit and Caste by Sereno A. Barr Kumarakulasinghe.
-- See also: Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad 1.3.22; 3.9.8-9 and Chandogya
Upanishad 1.2.10-12 and 6.8.1.

[16] Ancient India by Professor R.C. Majumdar.

[17] Tantra Shastra and Veda

[18] Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism by M.&J. Stutley p.239

[19] Wikipedia (under Purushamedha)

[22] Human Sacrifice in Hinduism by Marvin Harris

[23] Human Sacrifice by Nigel Davies (chapter. 5)

[24] NG Discussion on the Kalika Purana Chapter. 67

[25] A history of human sacrifice & cannibalism by Rit Nosotro

[26] Ehrlich, Richard S., "Animal Sacrifice in Nepal"

[27] Delacy, R., "Puja and Sacrifice in Hinduism,"
-- DomĆ­nguez M.D., Ph.D., J., "Hinduism: Denomination or Sects?

[26-27] Sacrifice in Religion (Under Sacrifice in Hinduism)

[28] Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice By Sam Vaknin

[29] Holy Horrors by James A. Haught

[30] Kalika Purana, as cited by J. Campbell in The Masks of God
Oriental Mythology (pg. 6)

[31] Human Sacrifice and the Aztec State by Eric Pettifor

[31a] Human Sacrifice In Pagan Practice by Martha W. Kleder and Robert
H. Knight
-- The Goddess Revival by Aida Besancon Spencer et.al (page.62)

[32] Historical Examples of Human Sacrifice by Yehecatl Quipoloa

[33] The Binding of Isaac by Jeffrey J. Harrison

[34] Interview with J. Chick 1990(Reprinted from March/April 1990)

[35] Hinduism Traditions by Dr.Jerome

[36] "Kali" Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2005

[37] The Occult Roots of Abortion By Eric Holmberg and Jay Rogers

[38] Religion and Violence By David G. Sukhdeo

[39] Shimal Fairs and Festivals (Travel Guide Information)

[40] Kali Puja - Explore (Travel Guide Article)

[41] Vedic Mythology by A.A. Macdonell.
-- [Volume 15, Page 641 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica]

[42] Sexual Paradox: Complementarity, Reproductive Conflict & Human
Emergence by C. Fielder & C. King
-- Second Face India: Kali the Dark Mother of Time

[43] The Masks of God by Joseph Campbell volumes 1-3.
-- See also Historical Atlas of World Mythology by Joseph Campbell
Vol. 2 Part 1 (The Sacrifice)
-- Kali The Feminine Force by Ajit Mookerjee.

[44] The Masks of God by Joseph Campbell volumes 1-3. (p.165).
[45] Ibid (p.5)
[46] Ibid (p.5)
[47] Ibid (p.160)
[48] Ibid (p.160)
[49] Ibid (p.160)
[50] Ibid (p.160)

[51] Animal Sacrifice By Nanditha Krishna (Sunday Express Article
Sept. 14 2003)

[52] Human Sacrifice and Religious Change: The Kondhs/Barbara by M.
Boal.

[53] An Introduction to India Music by B.C. Deva
-- History of Bansuri (Article Excerpt)

[54] The History of Jainas Courtsey by Mr. A.K. Roy

[55] India's Parthian Colony On the origin of the Pallava Empire of
Dravidia By Dr. Samar Abbas

[56] Rig Veda. Sukta clxii, clxiii
[57] Mah.wh.381.

[58] Hinduism Native or Alien to India? by Shan Ranjit

[59] Dancing with Siva Six Schools Of Saivism

[60] (Karpuradistotra verse 19)

[61] The Inner Wisdom of the Hindu Tantrik Tradition by Mike Magee
(Shri Kalika Devi/Shiva Shakti Mandalam 1995)
-- [Translated from Portuguese]

[62] SBE vol. 44 Satapatha Brahmana Introduction p.17-18

[63] SBE vol. 44 Introduction p.32-45 (Main Article)

Footnotes for the above Article:

-> [1] Whilst the three Samhitās contain no section relating to the
Purushamedha, the Taittirīya-Brāhmana (III, 4) enumerates the
(symbolic) human victims in much the same way as does the
Vāgasaneyi-Samhitā (see the present vol. p. 413 seqq.); and the
Āpastamba-Sūtra makes the performance similar to what it is in the
White Yagus texts. The Vaitāna-sūtra of the Atharva-veda also makes it
a five days' performance.

[2] Like the chapter on the Asvamedha, that on the Purushamedha is
stated to be taken from the Mahā-kaushītaki-brāhmana.

[3] On this question see especially A. Weber, Zeitsch. d. D.M.G. 18,
p. 262 ff., repr. in Indische Streifen, II, p. 54 ff.

[4] See part iii, p. 95.

[5] All that is said in the Brāhmana regarding the headless bodies of
the five victims is (VI, 2, 1, 7 seqq.) that Pragāpati, having cut off
the heads, and put them on (the altar, i. e. on himself), plunged four
of the trunks into the water, and brought the sacrifice to a
completion by (offering) the he-goat (not a he-goat, as translated),
and that he subsequently gathered up the water and mud (clay) in which
those corpses had lain, and used them for making bricks for the altar.
The view that the other four bodies should likewise be offered is
rejected by the author, who rather seems to suggest that they should
be allowed to float away on the water.

[6] Or, according to Āpastamba, for seven beans; the head to be that
of a Kshatriya or a Vaisya killed either by an arrow-shot or by
lightning, and apparently to be severed from the body at the time of
purchase (which, as Professor Weber rightly remarks, is a merely
symbolic one). As, however, the particulars given by Āpastamba are not
mentioned in the older works, they may not unlikely have been
introduced by him to meet some of the objections raised by the
Vāgasaneyins to whose views he generally pays some attention.
Otherwise the transaction might seem rather suspicious.

[7] Besides the description of the ceremony in the present work (XIII,
6, 1-2, 20), only the Taittirīya-brāhmana (III, 4) seems to refer to
it, enumerating merely the would-be victims who, according to
Āpastamba, as quoted by Sāyana, are eventually set free. Professor
Weber's suggestion that they may possibly at one time have been
intended to be all of them slaughtered can hardly have been meant
seriously. One might as well suppose that, at the Asvamedha, all the
'evil-doers' who, according to Kātyāyana, are to bathe in the river,
were meant to be drowned.

[8] When the practice became generally recognised that the Sacrificer
(and priests) should eat a portion of the offered victim, this alone
would, as Professor Weber suggests, have tended to make human
sacrifices impracticable.

[9] The Asvamedha section of the same work begins: - Pragāpati
desired, 'May I gain all my desires, may I attain all attainments.' He
beheld this three days' sacrificial performance, the Asvamedha, and
took it, and offered with it; and by offering with it he gained all
his desires, and attained all attainments.

[10] See XIII, 4, 2, 6-17.

[11] See p. xxxii.

[12] See XIII, 2, 2, 2 seqq.

[13] That is, as it would seem, with a view to dissuading her husband
from offering himself as a victim.

[14] Dr. Garbe, in his translation, makes this and the subsequent
rules refer (erroneously I think) to the animal victims of rule 31. <-

[64] Legal Affairs Legal Magazine Archives (Warrior Goddess Article)

[65] Hindus to end human sacrifice practice (Daily Times Article) By
Zarir Hussain

[66] Boy sacrificed to 'goddess' (Article)

[67] Gods, Demons, and Spirits by Abraham Kovoor

[68] "Saved from Kali" by Lalit Kumar Nayak (Article)

[69] Second Face India: Kali the Dark Mother of Time

[70] Killing for 'Mother' Kali by Alex Perry Atapur (Time Asia
Magazine Article Jul. 29, 2002)

[71] -- Human Sacrifice Today (Article)

[72] Four-year-old girl beheaded for sacrifice by Sid Harth (June 30,
2000)

[73] Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International (human rights section)
New Delhi, Jan 30 (H.R.N.I)

----

TD

[gwy...@gmail.com]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purushamedha