Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.18.7
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyWorship Without Animal Sacrifice
“One who has accepted the vānaprastha order of life should perform seasonal sacrifices by offering oblations of caru and sacrificial cakes prepared from rice and other grains found in the forest. The vānaprastha, however, may never offer animal sacrifices to Me, even those sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas.”
What the purport teaches
- The vānaprastha should perform seasonal sacrifices using grains found in the forest.
- The offerings include caru and sacrificial cakes prepared from rice and other grains.
- A vānaprastha must never perform animal sacrifices, even those mentioned in the Vedas. He must also never eat meat.
Try this today
Choose a meat-free meal today, remembering the verse’s prohibition against killing animals in sacrifice.
Ask yourself
How does this restriction shape my understanding of worship?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.