Diet in Hinduism
Part of a series on |
Hinduism |
---|
Diet in Hinduism signifies the diverse traditions found across the Indian subcontinent. Hindu scriptures promote a vegetarian dietary ideal based on the concept of ahimsa—non-violence and compassion towards all beings.[1] According to a Pew Research Center survey, 44% of Hindus say they are vegetarian.[2]
History
By mid-1st millennium BCE, all three major Indian religions – Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism – were championing non-violence as an ethical value, and something that affected one's rebirth. By about 200 CE, food and feasting on animal slaughter were widely considered as a form of violence against life forms, and became a religious and social taboo.[3][4]
Ralph Fitch, a merchant from London and one of the earliest English travellers to India wrote a letter home in 1580 stating:
"They have a very strange order among them ... They eat no flesh, but live by roots and rice and milk."[5]
Diet in Hindu scriptures and texts
Vegetarianism in ancient India
In that country they do not keep pigs and fowls, and do not sell live cattle; in the markets there are no butchers' shops and no dealers in intoxicating drink.
The Vedas
Evidence from the
Dharmaśāstras
According to Kane, one who is about to eat food should greet the food when it is served to him, should honour it, never speak ill, and never find fault in it.[14][15]
The Dharmasastra literature, states Patrick Olivelle, admonishes "people not to cook for themselves alone", offer it to the gods, to forefathers, to fellow human beings as hospitality and as alms to the monks and needy.[14] Olivelle claims all living beings are interdependent in matters of food and thus food must be respected, worshipped and taken with care.[14] Olivelle states that the Shastras recommend that when a person sees food, he should fold his hands, bow to it, and say a prayer of thanks.[14]
The reverence for food reaches a state of extreme in the renouncer or monk traditions in Hinduism.[14] The Hindu tradition views procurement and preparation of food as necessarily a violent process, where other life forms and nature are disturbed, in part destroyed, changed and reformulated into something edible and palatable. The mendicants (sannyasin, ascetics) avoid being the initiator of this process, and therefore depend entirely on begging for food that is left over of householders.[14] In pursuit of their spiritual beliefs, states Olivelle, the "mendicants eat other people's left overs".[14] If they cannot find left overs, they seek fallen fruit or seeds left in field after harvest.[14]
The forest hermits of Hinduism, on the other hand, do not beg for left overs.[14] Their food is wild and uncultivated. Their diet would consist mainly of fruits, roots, leaves, and anything that grows naturally in the forest.[14] They avoided stepping on plowed land, lest they hurt a seedling. They attempted to live a life that minimizes, preferably eliminates, the possibility of harm to any life form.[14]
Manusmriti
The Manusmriti discusses diet in chapter 5, where like other Hindu texts, it includes verses that strongly discourage meat eating, as well as verses where meat eating is declared appropriate in times of adversity and various circumstances, recommending that the meat in such circumstances be harvested with minimal harm and suffering to the animal.[16] The verses 5.48-5.52 of Manusmriti explain the reason for avoiding meat as follows (abridged),
One can never obtain meat without causing injury to living beings... he should, therefore, abstain from meat. Reflecting on how meat is obtained and on how embodied creatures are tied up and killed, he should quit eating any kind of meat... The man who authorises, the man who butchers, the man who slaughters, the man who buys or sells, the man who cooks, the man who serves, and the man who eats – these are all killers. There is no greater sinner than a man who, outside of an offering to gods or ancestors, wants to make his own flesh thrive at the expense of someone else's.
— Manusmriti, 5.48-5.52, translated by Patrick Olivelle[16]
In contrast, verse 5.33 of Manusmriti states that a man may eat meat in a time of adversity, verse 5.27 recommends that eating meat is okay if not eating meat may place a person's health and life at risk, while various verses such as 5.31 and 5.39 recommend that the meat be produced as a sacrifice.[16] In verses 3.267 to 3.272, Manusmriti approves of fish and meats of deer, antelope, poultry, goat, sheep, rabbit and others as part of sacrificial food. However, Manusmriti is a law book, not a spiritual one. So it permits to eat meat but it doesn't promote it.[17] In an exegetical analysis of Manusmriti, Patrick Olivelle states that the document shows opposing views on eating meat was common among ancient Hindus, and that underlying emerging thought on appropriate diet was driven by ethic of non-injury and spiritual thoughts about all life forms, the trend being to reduce the consumption of meat and favour a non-injurious vegetarian lifestyle.[18]
Mahabharata
The
Tirukkuṛaḷ
Another ancient Indian text, the
Puranas
The Puranic texts fiercely oppose violence against animals in many places "despite following the pattern of being constrained by the Vedic imperative to nominally accept it in sacrificial contexts". The most important Puranic text, the Bhagavata Purana goes farthest in repudiating animal sacrifice—refraining from harming all living beings is considered the highest dharma. The text states that the sin of harming animals cannot be washed away by performing "sham sacrifices", just as "mud cannot be washed away by mud". It graphically presents the horrific karmic reactions accrued from the performance of animal sacrifices—those who mercilessly cook animals and birds go to kumbhipaka and are fried in boiling oil and those who perform sham sacrifices are themselves cut to pieces in viśasana hell. The Skanda Purana states that the sages were dismayed by animal sacrifice and considered it against dharma, claiming that sacrifice is supposed to be performed with grains and milk. It narrates that animal sacrifice was only permitted to feed the population during a famine, yet the sages did not slaughter animals even as they died of starvation. The Matsya Purana contains a dialogue between sages who disapprove of violence against animals, preferring rites involving oblations of fruits and vegetables. The text states that the negative karma accrued from violence against animals far outweighs any benefits.[27]
Diet and caste
Vegetarian castes are regarded to be superior to non-vegetarian castes. Eaters of clean animals like goats and sheep are considered higher compared to those who consume unclean animals like pigs and domesticated fowl. Carcass eaters are lower to those who consume the meat of animals that have been killed for food. In addition to being an indication of poor social, economic, and ritual status, eating carcasses is considered to be eating impure meat because death makes the animal impure.[28]
Sanskritisation
The process of Sanskritisation, a term coined by M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s, leads lower castes to adopt practices of ritually higher castes in order to improve the status of their community. One of these practices includes adoption of a vegetarian diet. Examples are the Patidar, and other Gujarati Hindu communities who have adopted Vaishnavism, and vegetarianism that goes with it.[29][30] This was also seen in the north Indian Chamar caste.[31]
Contemporary Hindu diet
According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, 44% of Hindus say they are vegetarian.[2]
Lacto-vegetarian diet
Vegetarianism is a dietary ideal among many Hindus, based on the concept of ahimsa—non-violence and compassion towards all beings.[1] It is also considered satvic, that is purifying the body and mind lifestyle in some Hindu texts.[32][33]
Lacto-
A typical modern urban Hindu lacto-vegetarian meal is based on a combination of grains such as
A number of Hindus, particularly those following the
Non-vegetarian diet
A significant portion of Hindus are non-vegetarians,[43] although even those who identify as non-vegetarian eat very little meat. India has significantly lower meat consumption than other regions of the world.[44] [45] According to an estimate on diaspora Hindus, only about 10% of Hindus in Suriname are vegetarians and less than five percent of Hindus in Guyana are vegetarians.[46] Non-vegetarian Indians mostly prefer poultry, fish, other seafood, goat, and sheep as their sources of meat.[47] In Eastern and coastal south-western regions of India, fish and seafood is the staple of most of the local communities. For economic reasons, even meat-eating Hindus in India can only afford to have lacto-vegetarian meals on most days.[48][49] Globally, India consumes the least amount of meat per capita.[50] Hindus who eat meat, often distinguish all other meat from beef. Respect for cattle[a] is part of Hindu belief, and most Hindus avoid meat sourced from these animals,[38].Domestic cattle is treated as a member of their owners family.[51] But in some part of India, Hindus do consume buffalo meat.[52][53][54] In Nepal, Hindus consume Sukuti, a dried meat made from buffalo, lamb, or goat meat.[55]
Prasada and Naivedya
Animal sacrifice
Naivedya and prasad can be non-vegetarian food prepared from animals such as goat sacrificed for deity such as Kali in Eastern India (including Kamakhya Temple), or Chhastisgarh.[60]
Animal sacrifice is practiced by
In Southern Indian states ofDuring ritual animal sacrifice at
The Kalika Purana distinguishes bali (sacrifice), mahabali (great sacrifice), for the ritual killing of goats, elephant, respectively, though the reference to humans in Shakti theology is symbolic and done in effigy in modern times.[68]
Diet on Hindu festivals and religious observations
The Hindu calendar has many festivals and religious observations, and dishes specific to that festival are prepared.[69][70]
Festival dishes
Hindus prepare special dishes for different festivals. Kheer and Halwa are two desserts popular for Diwali.
Diet on fasting days
Hindu people fast on certain days such as
See also
- Animal sacrifice in Hinduism
- Buddhist cuisine
- Buddhist vegetarianism
- Christian dietary laws
- Diet in Sikhism
- Etiquette of Indian dining
- Indian vegetarian cuisine
- Islamic dietary laws
- Kashrut (Jewish Dietary Laws)
- List of diets
- Vegetarian cuisine
- Vegetarian Diet Pyramid
- Vegetarianism and religion
- Sukuti
- Elephant meat
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b Sen 2014, p. 1168: "Still, certain attitudes and practices are shared by many Hindus, especially related to food. The concept of ahimsa, or noninjury to all forms of life, emerged in the sixth century BCE, and avoiding meat, especially beef, became a dietary ideal."
- ^ a b Corichi, Manolo (8 July 2021). "Eight-in-ten Indians limit meat in their diets, and four-in-ten consider themselves vegetarian". Pew Research Center.
- ISBN 978-0-19-979076-0.
- ISBN 0-673-52074-9, pages 201–204
- ISBN 9780241950418. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ^ Sen 2014, p. 1165.
- ^ Achaya 1994, p. 31–35.
- ^ a b Achaya 1994, p. 53–55.
- ^ Staples 2020, p. 38–40.
- ^ Rosen 2020, p. 409–410: "Nonetheless, it is likely that even if flesh eating was widespread, and indulged in by certain sages, it occurred solely within the sacrificial context, or, beyond that, only by hunters and warriors in the forest, who also used it in sacrifice. In fact, this is what is indicated by the vast majority of Vedic texts on the subject, and it is certainly the version that has been passed down in later Hindu traditions. For further proof that meat eating occurred in Vedic culture only within the confines of sacrifice, see Schmidt 2010."
- ^ Bryant 2006, p. 195–196: "At the same time, preliminary signs of tension or unease with such slaughter are occasionally encountered even in the earlier Vedic period. As early as the Ṛgveda, sensitivity is shown toward the slaughtered beasts; for example, one hymn notes that mantras are chanted so that the animal will not feel pain and will go to heaven when sacrificed. The Sāmaveda says: "we use no sacrificial stake, we slay no victims, we worship entirely by the repetition of sacred verses." In the Taittiriīya Āraṇyaka, although prescriptions for offering a cow at a funeral procession are outlined in one place, this is contradicted a little further in the same text where it is specifically advised to release the cow in this same context, rather than kill her. Such passages hint, perhaps, at proto-tensions with the gory brutality of sacrificial butchery, and fore-run the transition between animals as objects and animals as subjects."
- ISBN 0-09-123340-2.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Bryant 2006, p. 196–197.
- ^ ISBN 978-9004095229.
- ^ Kane, History of the Dharmaśāstras Vol. 2, p. 762
- ^ ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 139-141
- ISBN 978-0195171464, page 122
- ISBN 978-0195171464, pages 279-280
- ^ Bryant 2006, p. 198–199.
- ISBN 90-04-03591-5.
- ISBN 978-93-8732-654-5.
- ^ Meenakshi Sundaram, T. P. (1957). "Vegetarianism in Tamil Literature". 15th World Vegetarian Congress 1957. International Vegetarian Union (IVU). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
Ahimsa is the ruling principle of Indian life from the very earliest times. ... This positive spiritual attitude is easily explained to the common man in a negative way as "ahimsa" and hence this way of denoting it. Tiruvalluvar speaks of this as "kollaamai" or "non-killing."
- ^ a b Tirukkuṛaḷ see Chapter 95, Book 7
- ^ Tirukkuṛaḷ Translated by V.V.R. Aiyar, Tirupparaithurai: Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam (1998)
- ISBN 978-0-14-400009-8.
- ^ "Russell Simmons on his vegan diet, Obama and Yoga". Integral Yoga Magazine. n.d. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Bryant 2006, p. 199–202.
- ^ Sopher, David E. “Pilgrim Circulation in Gujarat.” Geographical Review, vol. 58, no. 3, 1968, pp. 392–425. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/212564. Accessed 24 Sep. 2022
- ^ Desai, A., 2008. Subaltern vegetarianism: witchcraft, embodiment and sociality in Central India. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 31(1), pp.96-117.
- ^ Jaffrelot, C., 2000. Sanskritization vs. Ethnicization in India: Changing indentities and caste politics before mandal. Asian Survey, 40(5), pp.756-766.
- ^ ISBN 978-8120831865, pages 352-353
- ISBN 978-1-84303-295-3, retrieved May 18, 2009
- ISBN 978-1284021165, page 231
- ^ Tähtinen, Unto: Ahimsa. Non-Violence in Indian Tradition, London 1976, p. 107-109.
- ^ Mahabharata 12.257 (note that Mahabharata 12.257 is 12.265 according to another count); Bhagavad Gita 9.26; Bhagavata Purana 7.15.7.
- ^ Sanford, A Whitney."Gandhi's agrarian legacy: practicing food, justice, and sustainability in India". Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 7 no 1 Mr 2013, p 65-87.
- ^ ISBN 978-1845190347, pages 25-27
- ISBN 978-1-59884-205-0.
- ISBN 978-81-7991-101-3.
- ^ Narayanan, Vasudha. “The Hindu Tradition”. In A Concise Introduction to World Religions, ed. Willard G. Oxtoby and Alan F. Segal. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007
- ^ Williams, Raymond. An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. 1st. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 159
- ^ Staples 2020, p. 26.
- ^ Jain 2011, p. 120–121: "Although asceticism, fasting, and celibacy are practiced only by a minority of Indians, the main diet of the majority of Indians largely consists of rice, wheat, pulses, and vegetables. Even those who are classified as "non-vegetarians" depend largely on vegetarian food as the chief components of their diet while eggs, meat, and fish are consumed occasionally. In 2002, India’s meat consumption was 5,456,264 metric tons, much less than other major meat-consuming regions. This shows that even with the advent of modernity and globalization Indians have successfully preserved their vegetarian habits that were laid down by their dharmic traditions several millennia ago."
- ISBN 978-81-8069-460-8.
- ^ "Hindus of South America".
- ISBN 978-0198327288, page 67[1]
- ISBN 978-0313375569. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ Speedy, A.W., 2003. Global production and consumption of animal source foods. The Journal of nutrition, 133(11), pp.4048S-4053S.[2]
- ^ Devi, S.M., Balachandar, V., Lee, S.I. and Kim, I.H., 2014. An outline of meat consumption in the Indian population-A pilot review. Korean journal for food science of animal resources, 34(4), p.507.[3]
- ISBN 978-1884852046.
- ^ No Ban On Buffalo Meat: Maharashtra CM Fadanavis, retrieved 2024-03-26
- ^ "Is Buffalo Meat Legal In India & What is Buffalo Meat Called? - GenV". GenV. 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Do Hindus Eat Buffalo?". 2023-10-16. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ a b "Sukuti:The Dry Meat Delicacy". ECSNEPAL. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech, 2014, The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies
- ^ Chitrita Banerji, 2010, Eating India: Exploring the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices.
- ^ Behera, Subhakanta (2002). Construction of an identity discourse: Oriya literature and the Jagannath lovers (1866-1936)]. pp. 140–177.
- ^ Pattinson, Susan (2011). The Final Journey: Complete Hospice Care for the Departing Vaishnavas. p. 220.
- hdl:10919/74386.
- .
- ^ S2CID 162925746.
- ^ Fuller 2004, pp. 83–4.
- ISBN 978-0-691-12048-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-515426-9. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-8147-3619-7.
- ISBN 978-0-520-07339-5.
- ^ "" Pramatha Nath Bose, A History of Hindu Civilization During British Rule, vol. 1, p. 65
- ^ Ferro-Luzzi, G. Eichinger. “Food for the Gods in South India: An Exposition of Data.” Zeitschrift Für Ethnologie 103, no. 1 (1978): 86–108. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25841633.
- ^ Babb, L. A. (1975). The divine hierarchy: Popular Hinduism in central India. Columbia University Press.pages=137-139 [4]
- ISBN 9780822541653.
- ISBN 978-1-78023-352-9. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ Dalal 2010, p. 6.
- ^ "Hindu Fasting".
- ^ "Weekly Rituals in the Practice of Hinduism".
- ISBN 978-9027977397. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-907325-79-6. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ISBN 9780309324458. NAP:14295.
- ^ Dalal 2010, p. 7.
- ^ Dalal 2010, p. 63.
Bibliography
- Achaya, K. T. (1994). Indian Food: A Historical Companion. Oxford University Press. OCLC 31901247.
- Bryant, Edwin (2006). "Strategies of Vedic Subversion: The Emergence of Vegetarianism in Post-Vedic India". In Waldau, Paul; Patton, Kimberly Christine (eds.). A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics. Columbia University Press. OCLC 144569913.
- Dalal, Tarla (2010). Faraal Foods for fasting days. Mumbai: Sanjay and Co. ISBN 9789380392028.
- ISBN 978-1-4094-0592-4.
- Rosen, Steven J. (2020). "Vaishnav Vegetarianism: Scriptural and Theological Perspectives on the Diet of Devotion". In Narayanan, Vasudha (ed.). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Materiality (First ed.). Wiley. OCLC 1158591615.
- Schmidt, Hanns-Peter (2010). "Ahiṃsā and Rebirth". In Alsdorf, Ludwig (ed.). The History of Vegetarianism and Cow-Veneration in India. Routledge. ISBN 9780203859599.
- Sen, Colleen Taylor (2014). "Hinduism and Food". In Thompson, Paul B.; Kaplan, David M. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-0929-4.
- Staples, James (2020). Sacred Cows and Chicken Manchurian. Seattle: University of Washington Press. OCLC 1145911567.
- Srinivas, M.N. (1984). "Some reflections on the nature of caste hierarchy". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 18 (2). SAGE Publications: 151–167. S2CID 144630309.