[Advaita-l] Animal sacrifice is black karma

[S Jayanarayanan]

--- "Jaldhar H. Vyas" <jaldhar at braincells.com> wrote:

[..]

> I want to clarify one thing:
> 
> Kartik wrote:
> 
> > But there are nitya karmas that require animal sacrifice and
> therefore
> > meat-eating. How can one take the vow of abstention from
> meat-eating
> > and fail to perform the nitya karmas?
> 
> Actually the animal sacrifices are all kamya and hence optional.  So
> even
> the karmayogi can abstain from rhinoceros with a clean conscience :-)
> 

Is it certain that all Vedic animal sacrifices are kAmya? There was a
posting sometime ago that indicated that some nitya karmas required
animal sacrifice:

http://www.escribe.com/religion/advaita/m6994.html

---
 VijnAneshvara's mitAxarA :

Every year a soma-yAga must be performed. A nirUDha-pashu (animal) yAga
  must be performed in the daxINAyana and uttarAyaNa (the six month
periods
  during  which the sun moves south or north). Or (the nirUDha pashu
yAga)
  can be done every year as per) the smR^iti of BodhAyana "one should
offer
  the animal sacrifice every year or every six months according to
some."
  At the production of new grains, the AgrayaNa ishhTi is to be done.
  The four-monthly ChAturmAsya sacrifices are be done every year (at
the
  end of every four months.)

  If these nitya (obligatory) yajnas such as soma, described in the
  previous  (verse) are somehow impossible to perform, one should
perform
  the vaishvAnarI  ishhTi. Further, one who has sufficient resources,
  should NOT perform this  optional rite  (the vaishvAnarI) (but should
  do the regular soma and other  yajnas).  Also, (one who has enough
  resources) must not perform the optional  rite instead of a kAmya
yajna.
---

So it does seem that they are nitya karmas *according to VijnAneshvara*
(and/or YAGYavalkya). My question is -- are they (i.e. soma yAga, etc.)
kAmya karmas according to someone else?

-Kartik


		
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