Purushamedha
Sign in to savePurushamedha (or Naramedha) 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.
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Within Vinony's link graph, Purushamedha is referenced by 187 other articles, and connects out to Buddhism, Ganges and International Standard Book Number.
It sits within the topics Criticism of Hinduism, Hindu rituals and Human rights abuses.
Its subject is documented across 10 Wikipedia language editions.
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Encyclopedic overview
13 sectionsContents
- Historical development
- During the Vedic period
- Rise of Sramanic religions
- Medieval period
- Performance in Hindu epics
- In Vedanta and the Puranas
- Views
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- Printed sources
- Web sources
Purushamedha (or Naramedha) 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.
Whether actual human sacrifice was taking place has been debated since Colebrooke brought the issue under attention in 1805. He regarded it as a symbolic ritual. Since there is no inscriptural or other record of Purushamedha ever being performed, some scholars suggest it was invented simply to round out sacrificial possibilities. Asko Parpola suggests actual human sacrifices are described in Vedic texts, while the Brahmanas show the practice diminishing. In Shatapatha Brahmana 13.6.2, an ethereal voice intervenes to halt the proceedings. The dhatupatha of Aṣṭādhyāyī by Pāṇini defines the root medha as synergizing the energy to perform something fruitful.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Purushamedha” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.