Animal Sacrifice

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>What happens to the animals which have been sacrificed by mantras in a

>yagna? Srila Prabhupada mentions that they get a new life immediately. But

>how exactly does this occur.? Is the new body supposed to emerge right in

>front of everyone? Does it come from the fire?

 

Here is a discussion that occured on this topic a few months ago on the

IndiaDivine forums:

 

>I know from reliable sources that there is mention of meat-eating in the

>Vedas.

 

There are mention of various sacrifices that involve the consumption of

animal flesh by the brahmana priests and the king. The aswa-medha yajna is

one example, but the same scriptures which describe this yajna also say it

is forbidden to be performed in Kali yuga.

 

In Vedic yajnas the animal was not 'killed', but was elevated to a higher

body. This was done to prove the efficacy of the brahmanas and the mantras

they were chanting. The king was sacrificing huge quantities of gold and

other valuables into the fire, and he needed some guarantee that it was

actually being delivered to the gods, and not just being burnt up. For this

purpose, the brahmana priests would physically demonstrate the efficacy of

their mantras by transforming the animal into a gandharva. A horse would

enter the fire, and a Gandharva (a heavenly human species) would emerge form

the fire. The soul of the horse would be given a higher birth, and it was

seen directly by the king. There still remained the karma of the horse to be

accounted for. That horse was destined to traverse through many lives before

he attained the body of the andharva, so that karma needed to be ballanced.

All of those karmic reactions, existing between the horse body and the

gandharva body, would remain in the flesh of the horses dead body. It was

the duty of the king and the brahmanas to eat that flesh, and there by

accept all of the karmic reactions within it. It is described that after

eating this flesh, the brahmanas would lose their tejas and no longer be

able to perform sacrifice. They would have to perform severe tapasya

(austerities) in order to regain their tejas and shakti. The king would

likewise have to give his entire wealth away in charity as a means to regain

his tejas. Thus the king and brahmanas eating of flesh in the sacrifice was

not an enjoyment, but a sacrifice they had to accept.

[end]

 

To read the entire thread, which is titled "Did Rama eat meat?", go to:

 

http://www.indiadivine.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000492.html

 

Your servant,

 

Jahnava Nitai Das

http://www.indiadivine.com