BEEF-CONSUMPTION IN
HINDUISM
I. REVERENCE FOR THE COW
II. BEEF-CONSUMPTION PROMOTED IN THE
UPANISADS
III. NON-VEGETARIAN HINDU DEITIES
I. REVERENCE FOR THE COW
The cow, and its urine and dung, are regarded as holy in Hinduism as
illustrated in the following scriptural excerpt of the Mahabharata; the
goddess Laxmi (also known as Sri), dwells in cow urine and dung:
"The goddess of fortune (Sri) left the demons and went to the gods. After
many years she went to the cows and asked to dwell within them; at first they
refused, since she was so inconstant and fickle; at last she said, 'No part of
your bodies is disgusting; let me live somewhere in you.' The cows agreed to
let her dwell in their urine and dung." -- Mahabharata 13:81:1-86. [O'Flaherty,
Wendy D. The Origins of Evil in
Hindu Mythology. Pub.: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04098-8. p.341].
However, despite the alleged sacredness of cows, the reality is that
beef-consumption is allowed in Hinduism as detailed below.
II. BEEF-CONSUMPTION PROMOTED
IN THE UPANISADS
The following ritual (which incidently also includes sex and wife-battering) is
excerpted from the Upanisads (the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad) and in the
middle of the ritual, beef-consumption is encouraged in order to beget a
learned and famous son:
"Surely, a woman who has changed her clothes at the end of her menstrual
period is the most auspicious of women. When she has changed her clothes at the
end of her menstrual period, therefore, one should approach that splendid woman
and invite her to have sex. Should she refuse to consent, he should bribe her.
If she still refuses, he should beat her with a stick or with his fists and overpower
her, saying: 'I take away the splendour from you with my virility and
splendour.' And she is sure to become bereft of splendour. If, on the other
hand, she accedes to his wish, he should say: 'I confer splendour on you with
my virility and splendour.' And then they are both sure to become full of
splendour. If he wants her to love him, he should slip his penis into her,
press his mouth against hers, and stroke her vagina as he softly recites: 'From
my body you spring -- from every inch! Born from my heart, you are my body's
pith! Make her crazy about me, as if she's been hit with a dart carrying a
poisoned tip.' If he does not want her to become pregnant, he should slip his
penis into her, press his mouth against hers, blow into her mouth and suck back
the breath, as he says: 'I take back the semen from you with my virility and
semen.' And she is sure to become bereft of semen. If, on the other hand, he
wants her to become pregnant, he should slip his penis into her, press his
mouth against hers, suck in the breath first, and then blow it back into her
mouth, as he says: 'I deposit the semen in you with my virility and semen.' And
she is sure to become pregnant. In case someone's wife has a lover whom he
hates, this is what he should do. He should place some fire in an unbaked pot,
spread out a bed of reeds, arranging them in a way that is the reverse of the
normal, apply ghee to the tips of those reeds, again in an order that is the
reverse of the normal, and offer them in that fire, as he recites: 'In my fire
you made an offering! So-and-so, I take away your out-breath and your
in-breath. In my fire you made an offering! So-and-so, I take away your sons
and livestock. In my fire you made an offering! So-and-so, I take away your
sacrifices and good works. In my fire you made an offering! So-and-so, I take
away your hopes and expectations.' A man cursed by a Brahmin possessing this
knowledge is sure to depart from this world bereft of his virility and stripped
of his good works. One should, therefore, never try to flirt with the wife of a
learned Brahmin who knows this, lest one make an enemy of a man with this
knowledge. Now, when a man finds that his wife is having her period, he should
make sure that she does not drink from a metal cup or wear fresh clothes for
three days. Nor should a low-caste man or woman be allowed to touch her. When
the three days are over and she has taken her bath, he should get her to thresh
some rice. 'I want a son with a fair complexion who will master a single Veda
and live out his full life span' -- if this is his wish, he should get her to
cook that rice with milk, and the two of them should eat it mixed with ghee.
The couple thus becomes capable of begetting such a son. 'I want a son with a
ruddy complexion and tawny eyes who will master two Vedas and live out his full
life span' -- if this is his wish, he should get her to cook that rice with
curd, and the two of them should eat it mixed with ghee. The couple thus
becomes capable of begetting such a son. 'I want a son with a dark complexion
and reddish eyes who will master three Vedas and live out his full life span'
-- if this is his wish, he should get her to cook that rice in water and the
two of them should eat it mixed with ghee. The couple thus becomes capable of
begetting such a son. 'I want a learned daughter who will live out her full
life span' -- if this is his wish, he should get her to cook that rice with
sesame seeds and the two of them should eat it mixed with ghee. The couple thus
becomes capable of begetting such a daughter. 'I want a learned and famous son,
a captivating orator assisting at councils, who will master all the Vedas and
live out his full life span' -- if this is his wish, he should get her to cook
that rice with meat and the two of them should eat it mixed with ghee. The
couple thus becomes capable of begetting such a son. The meat may be that of
a young or a fully grown bull. Then, towards morning, following the same
ritual procedure as at the cooking of the pot of milk-rice, he should prepare melted
butter and offer portions from the pot of milk-rice in the fire, saying: 'To
fire, svaha! To assent, svaha! To the divine Savitr, faithful in procreation,
svaha!' After making these offerings, he takes the rest out and, after first
eating himself, gives some to his partner. After washing his hands, he fills a
pot with water and sprinkles her with it three times, saying: 'Get up,
Visvavasu, and leave this place; find yourself some other luscious girl. This
wife is here with her husband.' Then he embraces her, as he says: 'I am ama,
you are sa -- you are sa, I am ama. I am the Saman
chant, you are the Rg verse; I am the sky, you are the earth. Come, let us
unite, deposit the seed, to get a son, a male child.' Then he spreads apart her
thighs, saying: 'Spread apart, earth and sky.' He slips his penis into her,
presses his mouth against hers, and strokes her three times in the direction of
her hair, as he says: 'May Visnu prepare your womb, and Tvastr mould the forms;
may Prajapati impregnate you, and Dhatr lay the foetus in you.' " --
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 6:4:6-21. [Olivelle, Patrick. Upanisads. Pub.: Oxford University
Press. ISBN 0-19-282292-6. pp.88-91].
Moreover, meat is further acclaimed by the Vedas as shown in the following
quote from the Satapatha Brahmana:
"Meat is indeed the best kind of food." -- Satapatha
Brahmana 11:7:1:3; cf. 12:8:3:12. [Doniger, Wendy. The Laws of Manu. Pub.: Penguin Books.
ISBN 0-14-044540-4.
Introduction, page xxxiii].
III. NON-VEGETARIAN HINDU DEITIES
Not only is meat-consumption praised in the Vedas, but some Hindu goddesses are
not vegetarian either, as they eat flesh.
For instance, it is recorded in the Puranas that Devi and other
goddesses had devoured Shiva's testicles:
"The demon Ruru with his army attacked
the gods, who sought refuge with Devi. She laughed, and an army of goddesses
emerged from her mouth. They killed Ruru and his army, but then they were
hungry and asked for food. Devi summoned Rudra Pasupati and said, 'You have the
form of a goat and you smell like a goat. These ladies will eat your flesh or
else they will eat everything, even me.' Siva said, 'When I pierced the fleeing
sacrifice of Daksa, which had taken the form of a goat, I obtained the smell of
a goat. But let the goddesses eat that which pregnant women have defiled with
their touch, and newborn children, and women who cry all the time.' Devi
refused this disgusting food, and finally Siva said, 'I will give you something
never tasted by anyone else: the two balls resembling fruits below my navel.
Eat the testicles that hang there and be satisfied.' Delighted by this gift,
the goddesses praised Siva." -- Padma Purana 5:26:91-125; cf. Linga
Purana 1:106:1-27; Matsya Purana 252:5-19, 179:7-186; Kurma Purana
1:16:141-222. [O'Flaherty, Wendy D. Siva: The Erotic Ascetic. Pub.:
Oxford University Press. ISBN
0-19-520250-3. p.280].