Diet in Hinduism

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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]

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]

Evidence from the Vedas suggests the diet of the Vedic people consisted of cereals, initially barley but later dominated by rice, pulses such as māsha (urad), mudga (moong), and masūra (masoor), vegetables such as lotus roots, lotus stem, bottle gourd and milk products, mainly of cows, but also of buffaloes and goats.^[7] The Vedas describe animals including bulls, horses, rams and goats being sacrificed and eaten.^[8] Although cows held an elevated position in the Vedas,^[9] barren cows were also sacrificed. Even then, the word aghnyā ('not to be eaten', 'inviolable') is used for cows multiple times, with some Rigvedic composers considering the whole bovine species, both cows and bulls, inviolable.^[8]

Steven J. Rosen suggests that meat might only have been eaten as part of ritual sacrifices and not otherwise.^[10] Acts of animal sacrifice were not fully accepted as there were signs of unease and tension owing to the 'gory brutality of sacrificial butchery' dating back to as early as the older Vedas.^[11] The earliest reference to the idea of ahimsa or non-violence to animals (pashu-ahimsa) in any literature, apparently in a moral sense, is found in the Kapisthala Katha Samhita of the Yajurveda (KapS 31.11), written about the 8th century BCE.^[12] The Shatapatha Brahmana contains one of the earliest statements against meat eating, and the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, has an injunction against killing 'all living entities'. Injunctions against meat-eating also appear in the Dharmasutras.^[13]

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]

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]

Manusmriti's discussion on flesh-eating contains 25 verses condemning the consumption of flesh, bracketed by 3 verses defending the practice in the context of Vedic sacrifices.^[17] Commentators starting with Medhātithi interpret the verses to mean that flesh-eating is prohibited generally, and only permitted in the presence of mitigating circumstances, such as danger to life.^[18]

The Mahabharata contains numerous stories glorifying non-violence towards animals and has some of the strongest statements against slaughter of animals—three chapters of the epic are dedicated to the evils of meat-eating. Bhishma declares compassion to be the highest religious principle, and compares eating of animal flesh to eating the flesh of one's son. Nominally acknowledging Manu's authorisation of meat-eating in sacrificial context, Bhisma explains to Yudhishthira that "one who abstains from doing so acquires the same merit as that accrued from the performance of even a horse sacrifice" and that "those desirous of heaven perform sacrifice with seeds instead of animals". It is stated in Mahabharata that animal sacrifices were introduced only when people began to resort to violence in the treta yuga, a less pure and compassionate age, and were not present in the satya yuga, 'the golden age'.^[19]

The Tirukkuṛaḷ, another ancient Indian secular text of Hindu or Jain origin, emphasizes ahimsa and insists on moral vegetarianism or veganism.^[20]: 101 Originally written in the South Indian language of Tamil, the text states moderate diet as a virtuous lifestyle and criticizes "non-vegetarianism" in its Pulaan Maruthal (abstinence from flesh or meat) chapter, through verses 251 through 260.^[21][22][23] Verse 251, for instance, questions "how can one be possessed of kindness, who, to increase his own flesh, eats the flesh of other creatures." It also says that "the wise, who are devoid of mental delusions, do not eat the severed body of other creatures" (verse 258), suggesting that "flesh is nothing but the despicable wound of a mangled body" (verse 257). It continues to say that not eating meat is a practice more sacred than the most sacred religious practices ever known (verse 259) and that only those who refrain from killing and eating the kill are worthy of veneration (verse 260). This text, written before 400 CE, and sometimes called the Tamil Veda, discusses eating habits and its role in a healthy life (Mitahara), dedicating Chapter 95 of Book II to it.^[24] The Tirukkuṛaḷ states in verses 943 through 945, "eat in moderation, when you feel hungry, foods that are agreeable to your body, refraining from foods that your body finds disagreeable". Valluvar also emphasizes overeating has ill effects on health, in verse 946, as "the pleasures of health abide in the man who eats moderately. The pains of disease dwell with him who eats excessively."^{[24][25][26][27]}

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.^[28]

Per Dumont, in Hindu society, 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 (chicken). 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.^[29]

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.^[30][31] This was also seen in the north Indian Chamar caste.^[32]

According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, 44% of Hindus say they are vegetarian.^[2]

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 sattvic, associated with qualities such as goodness, balance, and serenity that are conducive to spiritual progress.^[33][34]

Lacto-vegetarianism is favoured by many Hindus; the diet includes milk-based foods and all non-animal derived foods, but excludes meat and eggs.^[35] Reasons for adopting such a diet include the principle of nonviolence (ahimsa) applied to animals,^[36] the intention to offer only vegetarian food to a Hindu's preferred deity and then to receive it back as prasad, and the conviction that non-vegetarian food is detrimental for the mind and for spiritual development.^[33][37]

A typical modern urban Hindu lacto-vegetarian meal is based on a combination of grains such as rice and wheat, legumes, green vegetables, and dairy products.^[38] Depending on the geographical region, the staples may also include millet-based flatbreads. Fat derived from slaughtered animals is avoided.^[39]

A number of Hindus, particularly those following the Vaishnava tradition, refrain from eating onions and garlic, either totally or during the Chaturmasya period (roughly July to November of the Gregorian calendar).^[40] In Maharashtra, some Hindu families also do not eat any eggplant preparations during this period.^[41] Followers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON, colloquially known as the "Hare Krishnas") abstain from meat, fish, and fowl. Members of the related Pushtimargi sect also avoid certain vegetables such as onion, mushrooms, and garlic out of the belief that these are tamasic (producing dullness, lethargy, and inertia).^[39][42] The mainly Gujarati Swaminarayan movement staunchly adheres to a diet devoid of meat, eggs, seafood, onions, and garlic.^[43]

A significant portion of Hindus are non-vegetarians,^[44] although even those who identify as non-vegetarian eat very little meat. India has significantly lower meat consumption than other regions of the world.^{[45] [46]} 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.^[47] Non-vegetarian Indians mostly prefer poultry, fish, other seafood, goat, and sheep as their sources of meat.^[48] 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.^[49][50] Globally, India consumes the least amount of meat per capita.^[51] 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.^[39] Domestic cattle is treated as a member of their owner's family.^[52] But in some part of India, Hindus do consume buffalo meat.^[53][54][55] In Nepal, few Hindus consume Sukuti, a dried meat made from buffalo, lamb, or goat meat.^[56]

Prasada is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most often it is vegetarian food cooked for devotees after praise and thanksgiving to a deity. Mahaprasada is the consecrated food offered to the deity in a Hindu temple which is then distributed and served to all the devotees regardless of their religious orientation.^[57][58][59] Prasada is closely linked to the term naivedya. The food offered to God is called naivedya, while the sacred food sanctified and returned by God as a blessing is called prasada.

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 Shaktism tradition where ritual offering is made to a Devi.^{[61] [62]} Animal sacrifice is practiced in the states of Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Tripura in Eastern India, as well as in the nation of Nepal. The sacrifice involves slaying of goats, chickens, pigeons and male Water buffaloes.^[63][64] In Southern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, it is most notably performed in front of local deities or clan deities. In Karnataka, the goddess receiving the sacrifice tends to be Renuka. The animal is either a male buffalo or a goat.^[62] The warrior caste of Rajputs of North India worship their weapons and horses during the nine day Navratri festival; in autumn, and formerly offered a sacrifice of goat or male water buffalo to a goddess revered as Kuldevi (family or clan Goddess) – a practice that continues in some places.^[65][66] The ritual requires slaying of the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite of passage into manhood and readiness as a warrior.^[67]

The Kalika Purana distinguishes bali (sacrifice), mahabali (great sacrifice), for the ritual killing of goats, elephants, respectively, though the reference to humans in Shakti theology is symbolic and done in effigy in modern times.^[68]

The Hindu calendar has many festivals and religious observations, and dishes specific to that festival are prepared.^[69][70]

Hindus prepare special dishes for different festivals. Kheer and Halwa are two desserts popular for Diwali. Puran poli and Gujia are prepared for Holi in different parts of India.^[71][72]

Hindu people fast on certain days such as Ekadashi, in honour of Vishnu or his avatars: Chaturthi in honour of Ganesha, Pradosha in honour of Shiva and Parvati, Monday in honour of Shiva, Saturday in honour of Hanuman or Shani, Tuesday in honour of Hanuman, as well as Kali, Parvati, Kartikeya, and Ganesha, Sunday in honour of Surya, Thursday in honour of Vishnu or his avatars, Dattatreya, and Brihaspati, Wednesday in honour of Krishna, Vithoba, Ganesha and Budha and Friday in honour of Mahadevi, Durga, Kali, Mariamman, Lakshmi, Sita, Radha, Rukmini, Saraswati, and Santoshi Mata.^[73][74][75] Only certain kinds of foods are allowed to be eaten during the fasting period. These include milk and other dairy products such as curd, fruit and starchy Western food items such as sago,^[76] potatoes,^[77] purple-red sweet potatoes, amaranth seeds,^[78] nuts and shama millet.^[79] Popular fasting dishes include Farari chevdo, Sabudana Khichadi or peanut soup.^[80]