Purushamedha (orNaramedha) is a Śrauta ritual of mock human sacrifice. The Vajasaneyi Samhita-Sataphatha Brahmana-Katyayana Srauta Sutra sequence of Shukla Yajur Veda texts contains the most details.[1]
Whether actual human sacrifices beyond symbolism and mock rituals ever took place is unlikely but still debated ever since Colebrooke brought attention to it in 1805. He regarded it as a symbolic ritual that didn't involve any actual harm to anyone.[2] Since there is no inscriptural or other record of Purushamedha ever being performed, scholars suggest it was a symbolic simulation invented simply to round out sacrificial possibilities.[1] Asko Parpola suggests that actual human sacrifices are described in Vedic texts but are considered highest of the sins as stated by Lord Krishna to the evil King Jarsandha in Mahabharata, while the vedic Brahmanas show the practice is a mock ritual.[note 1]InShatapatha Brahmana 13.6.2, an ethereal voice intervenes to halt the proceedings.[1] Human sacrifice and cannibalism are explicitly condemned in the major Hindu puranic scriptures like Bhagavata (5.26.31). The dhatupatha of AṣṭādhyāyībyPāṇini defines the root medha as synergizing the energy to perform something fruitful.
Scholars doubt the Purushamedha as actual human sacrifice was ever performed.[1][note 2][3] However, according to Jan Houben, the actual occurrence of human sacrifice would be difficult to prove since the relevant pieces of evidence would be small in number,although the provision made for human sacrifice in the vedas are purely mock and symbolic as stated in the Brahmanas and didn't involve harm to anyone.[4]
According to Jan Houben, the Later Vedic period was followed by a period of embarrassment about violent ritualistic animal sacrifices . This period corresponds to the rise of Sramanic religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, both of which place emphasis on nonviolence (ahimsa) and criticize the animal cruelty performed in the guise of rituals.
According to Jan Houben, the Sramanic period was followed by another period where Vedic ritualists tried to defend their actions against Buddhist and Jain criticism. This period corresponds to the rise of the Mīmāṃsā school of philosophy, which claimed that the Vedas were the sole authority regarding matters of dharma.
By the 10th century, the Purushamedha was included in lists of Kali-varjyas, or actions which were prohibited for the Kali Yuga. This suggests that human sacrifice had become obsolete by the time the texts were composed. However, it also suggests that the Purushamedha may have in some cases been misinterpreted as actual sacrificing of a human. That is the existence of inclusion of the prohibition in the list of Kali-varjyas demonstrates that at least one author seriously feared the possibility that a ritual practitioner might take the description of the mock ritual as a moral license to perform the rite to the extent of murder and cannibalism. This is a plausible reason to include it in the list of Kali-varjyas, even if it was a purely symbolic and mock ceremony as stated in the Brāhmaṇas.[4]
The Aitareya Brahmana tells the story of a sacrifice carried out by King Harischandra. The childless king asked Varuna to provide him with a son, and in return, Varuna asks him to sacrifice the child to him. Harischandra delays the performance of the sacrifice and allows his son, named Rohita, to grow older. Eventually, Rohita wanders into the forest to find a substitute for himself. He comes across a poor Brahmin named Ajigarta, who sells his son Sunahsepa to him. Sunahsepa is bound to the stake, but was saved by the goddess Ushas,invocation of whom was taught to him by Vishvamitra.[5] This story is reproduced in the Bhagavata Purana.[6]
Human sacrifice and cannibalism are explicitly condemned in the Bhagavata Purana (5.26.31). The Chandogya Upanishad (3.16) states that the Purushamedha is actually a metaphor for life itself, and it compares the various stages of life to the oblations that are offered. The Mahabharta section XXII of the Sabha Parva in the Jarasandha-Badha Parva when the evil king Jarasandha is doing a human sacrifice. Sri Krishna states, "But you, O king, treating other kings with cruelty, seeks to offer them as sacrifice unto the god Rudra! O son of Vrihadratha, this sin committed by you may touch even us, for as we are virtuous in our practices, we are capable of protecting virtue. The slaughter of human being as sacrifice unto the gods is never seen. Why dost you, therefore, seek to perform a sacrifice unto god Sankara by slaughtering human beings? You are addressing persons belonging to your own order as animals (fit for sacrifice)!",[7] which is yet another example of Hindu scripture berating human sacrifice. It is unclear if such sacrifice was their and is now condemned or if it never existed.
Helmer Ringgren regarded that the traces of Purushameda are not clearly detectable.[8]
Dayananda Sarasvati, founder of Arya Samaj had rejected all human sacrifices and animal sacrifice in vaidika yajnas.[citation needed]
In November 2000 CE, a modern version of Purushamedha was organised by All World Gayatri PariwaratShantikunja Haridvara, marking the completion of 12 year Yugsandhi Mahapurascharana. In this program, named Srijana Sankalpa Vibhuti Mahayajna, participants had to tie themselves with Yupas and take an oath to dedicate their life to social causes as a sacrifice.[9] Yajnas was performed on 1551 kundas on the bank of the Ganga river and was attended by four million devotees.[citation needed]
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