Animal Representation In Hinduism
Julia Cattani
Professor Goldwater
Animals & Society
18 December 2014
Animal Representation in Hinduism In Hinduism, animals are very sacred, whether they are physical beings or spiritual ones. Hindus are very adamant about treating all living things with great respect; this includes people, animals, and even insects. It is their belief that each being has a soul of their own and goes through the processes of birth and death. They believe in nonviolence towards all, which ended up making the sacrificing of animals to the deities uncomfortable, and it is now no longer fully appreciated in the Hindu culture. The adoration of animals in the Hindu culture does not stop there.
Being a vegetarian is ideal in Hindu cultures, although some groups …show more content…
It is a common belief that India is mainly a vegetarian country, but this is actually a false statement. There are actually Hindus that do eat meat, but they only eat jhatka, which is a way to kill the animal by one swipe of a sword, rather than slow ritualistic deaths. The Hindu communities that do eat meat abstain from eating pork or beef due to cow killing being prohibited in Hinduism. The Hindu culture varies when it comes to consumption of meat, but regardless, all Hindu cultures praise deities with animalistic …show more content…
An avatar is a “manifestation” of a deity, the bodily form of a deity on Earth. Varaha, an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, is a boar. There are multiple representations of Varaha, ranging from a full-body boar to a man’s body with a boar’s head. The representations of Varaha are usually depicted as freestanding sculptures made of sandstone. Those that are depicted with a human body usually have four arms, similar to Ganesh. Varaha, the boar, is actually the third of ten reincarnations of the god Vishnu, prior incarnations being a fish and a turtle. Vishnu became a boar as a demon named Hiranyaksha began to drag the Earth down to the bottom of the sea in order to rescue it. They fought for many years, and upon victory, Vishnu slayed the demon and pulled Earth above the water with his tusks. Although he is simply a representation of a deity, Varaha’s animalistic qualities make him memorable in the Hindu
Professor Goldwater
Animals & Society
18 December 2014
Animal Representation in Hinduism In Hinduism, animals are very sacred, whether they are physical beings or spiritual ones. Hindus are very adamant about treating all living things with great respect; this includes people, animals, and even insects. It is their belief that each being has a soul of their own and goes through the processes of birth and death. They believe in nonviolence towards all, which ended up making the sacrificing of animals to the deities uncomfortable, and it is now no longer fully appreciated in the Hindu culture. The adoration of animals in the Hindu culture does not stop there.
Being a vegetarian is ideal in Hindu cultures, although some groups …show more content…
It is a common belief that India is mainly a vegetarian country, but this is actually a false statement. There are actually Hindus that do eat meat, but they only eat jhatka, which is a way to kill the animal by one swipe of a sword, rather than slow ritualistic deaths. The Hindu communities that do eat meat abstain from eating pork or beef due to cow killing being prohibited in Hinduism. The Hindu culture varies when it comes to consumption of meat, but regardless, all Hindu cultures praise deities with animalistic …show more content…
An avatar is a “manifestation” of a deity, the bodily form of a deity on Earth. Varaha, an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, is a boar. There are multiple representations of Varaha, ranging from a full-body boar to a man’s body with a boar’s head. The representations of Varaha are usually depicted as freestanding sculptures made of sandstone. Those that are depicted with a human body usually have four arms, similar to Ganesh. Varaha, the boar, is actually the third of ten reincarnations of the god Vishnu, prior incarnations being a fish and a turtle. Vishnu became a boar as a demon named Hiranyaksha began to drag the Earth down to the bottom of the sea in order to rescue it. They fought for many years, and upon victory, Vishnu slayed the demon and pulled Earth above the water with his tusks. Although he is simply a representation of a deity, Varaha’s animalistic qualities make him memorable in the Hindu