[[pii-sacrifices]], [[animal-sacrifices]] # PII Animal Sacrifice `PII *yagna` - (Skt. *yajñá*; Av. *yasna*; cognant with Eng. hagio-) - Came to mean simply "sacrifice/worship" in both Indic and Iranian branches, but originally referred to bloody animal sacrifices. - More expensive than Pouring Sacrifices, and used for important occasions - Domestic livestock (PII `*pasu`; Skt. *páśu-*; Av. *pasu-*), not wild animals, were used (goats, sheep, cattle, horses). ## By Animal [[pii-horse-sacrifice]] [[pii-bovine-sacrifice]] [[pii-sheep-sacrifice]] [[pii-goat-sacrifice]] ### Order Indians and Romans ranked them by cost/importance: 1 horse, 2 bovine, 3 sheep/goats ### Other kinds? - Human Sacrifice? Atleast the Veda speaks of *puruṣa-medha*. IDK about Iranian texts. - All Species Sacrifice? Skt. *sarva-medha* ## Ritual > Scatter sacred grass (Skt. *barhíṣ-*; Av. *barəsman-*) on the ground as a seat for the descending god and as a plate for the sacrificed meat. Give the god-guest meat and praise songs. In return you will recieve men and cattle (i.e. pastoralist wealth). Additionally you will re-creating and re-affirming the first sacrifice ([[narrative-pii-creation]]). > (Based on: [[herodotus1.132]], [[rv8.69.18]], and [[lincoln1981]]p67-8) ## Decline - Zarathustra condemned cattle sacrifice (but not other kinds of animal sacrifices) - India developed the doctrine of *ahiṃsā* "non-harm (to living things)"