Hindu dietary law
Encyclopedia
Food in Hindu law is traditionally governed by the rules laid out in the Dharmaśāstras, a genre of Sanskrit
texts pertaining to Hindu
religious and legal duty. The Dharmaśāstras has put much emphasis on Bhojana ("that which is enjoyed"). Others have attached additional Hindu Law instructions and taboos to food. Together, these address areas such as how many times food was to be taken, the kinds of foods and drinks allowed or forbidden, what causes food defilement, whose food was to be eaten, and etiquette and ceremonies before taking food both at the time of taking it as well as after taking it.
It is also instructed that one who is about to eat food should greet the food when it is served to him. In performing this act, he should pay honour to it, and never find fault in it.
The injunctions found in the Dharmaśāstras are summarized more clearly by Patrick Olivelle in his article "From Feast to Fast: Food and the Indian Ascetic." In his work, Olivelle breaks down more clearly what the Dharmaśāstra prescribes for individual parts of Hindu society. All the topics that Kane touched on, mentioned above, are explained here in a way which relates food to both everyday life for Hindus as well as life in the cosmic realm.
The production, preparation, exchange and consumption of food have very particular processes of execution. These aspects of food are all commanded in order to protect kinship, purity, ritual, ethical values, and social stratification, each of which play a huge part in Hindu society.
Food plays a central role in explaining the Hindu conception of the cosmos and creation itself. Ancient creation stories portray the creator god of the Brahmins as the creator as well as the actual food for his creatures. The production of food is the immediate concern after the creation of the very first beings. Other creation myths exist, each of which, however, connect creation, food, and sacrifice. Food was held in high respects, according to the Dharmaśāstra, from the very beginning. Manu "From the sun comes rain, and from rain food, and therefrom the living creatures derive their subsistence”
Kane and Olivelle both reference the command that “One should not speak ill of food. That is the rule” to further the point that food is established upon food. Food being established upon food in this text is the ancient way of describing the correlation between food and eater, that one cannot exist without the other. “The whole of creation, therefore, is a vast food chain."
As well as being the source of creation, food is also seen as a danger in Hindu society. As food is the source of creation at the cosmic level, so is it the source of immorality at a social level. Food is central to sacrificial offerings to the gods. Even of the five daily sacrifices, four of them involve transaction of food. In this way, since the cosmos represents a giant food cycle, the interdependence of all beings is expressed in the transaction of food.
Although in most Dharmaśāstra texts the behavior towards food is described more for Brahmins, the elite caste, recent studies of these texts show that similar behavioral patterns existed at all levels of Hindu society. This culture has formulated many prohibitions and classifications with regard to food as a critical mechanism for the formation of social groups and the expression of leadership. Other such social classes in society that are to obey injunctions of food are the mendicant world renouncers and the sedentary forest hermits.
The forest hermits, on the other hand, are not mediated in their food habits by culture. Their food is wild and uncultivated. Their diet would consist mainly of fruits, roots, leaves, and anything that grows naturally in the forest. Forbidden to them is anything that is cultivated. Gaut. III 32 and Baudh II.6.11 state that ‘He shall not step on plowed land; he shall not enter a village.’. Like the renouncers, the forest hermits are further subdivided into those who cook their food and those who do not cook their food. Each of these subcategories are even further divided into five classes based upon whether they only grains, or only roots, and so on for those that cook. For those who do not cook their food, their five classes are based more on how they eat their food: with hands only, with mouth only and so on.
Observing ascetical food codes and habits allows scholars to make generalizations regarding food according to these patterns. For instance, Olivelle claims that four distinct areas of Hindu relationships to food exist in ascetical food practices. These would be procurement, storage, preparation, and consumption. In these areas, humans put forth much effort and energy to follow them correctly. This then, becomes a social as well as cultural endeavor for which to practice. The rules of the ascetics show that they take and eat only that which is enough for their sustenance. The creation myths at the cosmic levels show that the ideal world with provide everything humans need, so long as humans take only what is necessary to them. Taking more than one needs or what is commanded of one’s caste results in greed and the overall deterioration of the world. Food then, is a dangerous substance, as well as the source of all things in being. The relationship between a man and his food, then, is his relationship to the cosmos.
and yak
as being too cow-like as well as pork
, crab
s, reptile
s, amphibian
s, and snail
s. Animals that have died of natural causes are considered highly polluting. Eating them makes a person untouchable
.
The highest castes (Brahmin
s and sometimes also Kshatriya
) may also avoid chicken
. Goat
or mutton is often the only acceptable meat, but many are completely vegetarian
. Eggs
may be completely unacceptable, or acceptable only if unfertilized. Some avoid onions and garlic
.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
texts pertaining to Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religious and legal duty. The Dharmaśāstras has put much emphasis on Bhojana ("that which is enjoyed"). Others have attached additional Hindu Law instructions and taboos to food. Together, these address areas such as how many times food was to be taken, the kinds of foods and drinks allowed or forbidden, what causes food defilement, whose food was to be eaten, and etiquette and ceremonies before taking food both at the time of taking it as well as after taking it.
Food in the Dharmaśāstras
Food is the essence of life, from which things unfold. “Everything is centered in food, the evil deeds of man resort to their food. Whoever eats the food of another partakes of that man’s sin.” It is because of this that elaborate restrictions are laid out for Indian society about everything relating to food. Some obscure commands do exist in the Dharmaśāstras about food. For example, Manu says that one should face east when partaking in food and the Visnu KH. S. 68 goes on to say that a man is allowed to do so facing south, except when the diner’s mother is alive. Food does, however, play a useful role in the concept of life for Hindu society. Manu II. 5 goes on to tell which direction, when eating, promotes which asset in life. Someone facing the south would eat food that would lead to fame, as one who faces west eats food to produce wealth, and so on.It is also instructed that one who is about to eat food should greet the food when it is served to him. In performing this act, he should pay honour to it, and never find fault in it.
The injunctions found in the Dharmaśāstras are summarized more clearly by Patrick Olivelle in his article "From Feast to Fast: Food and the Indian Ascetic." In his work, Olivelle breaks down more clearly what the Dharmaśāstra prescribes for individual parts of Hindu society. All the topics that Kane touched on, mentioned above, are explained here in a way which relates food to both everyday life for Hindus as well as life in the cosmic realm.
The production, preparation, exchange and consumption of food have very particular processes of execution. These aspects of food are all commanded in order to protect kinship, purity, ritual, ethical values, and social stratification, each of which play a huge part in Hindu society.
Food plays a central role in explaining the Hindu conception of the cosmos and creation itself. Ancient creation stories portray the creator god of the Brahmins as the creator as well as the actual food for his creatures. The production of food is the immediate concern after the creation of the very first beings. Other creation myths exist, each of which, however, connect creation, food, and sacrifice. Food was held in high respects, according to the Dharmaśāstra, from the very beginning. Manu "From the sun comes rain, and from rain food, and therefrom the living creatures derive their subsistence”
Kane and Olivelle both reference the command that “One should not speak ill of food. That is the rule” to further the point that food is established upon food. Food being established upon food in this text is the ancient way of describing the correlation between food and eater, that one cannot exist without the other. “The whole of creation, therefore, is a vast food chain."
As well as being the source of creation, food is also seen as a danger in Hindu society. As food is the source of creation at the cosmic level, so is it the source of immorality at a social level. Food is central to sacrificial offerings to the gods. Even of the five daily sacrifices, four of them involve transaction of food. In this way, since the cosmos represents a giant food cycle, the interdependence of all beings is expressed in the transaction of food.
Although in most Dharmaśāstra texts the behavior towards food is described more for Brahmins, the elite caste, recent studies of these texts show that similar behavioral patterns existed at all levels of Hindu society. This culture has formulated many prohibitions and classifications with regard to food as a critical mechanism for the formation of social groups and the expression of leadership. Other such social classes in society that are to obey injunctions of food are the mendicant world renouncers and the sedentary forest hermits.
Food and Asceticism
The world renouncer is not allowed to produce, store, or prepare food. He obtains his daily food solely by begging. Because there is a proper time for this begging, which is after the householders of the upper classes have finished their food, his meals consist of their left-overs. Distinct types of begging exist, with each different method pertaining to a different subclass of these mendicants. The lowest class eats at the house of his son or his relative, the next class does not go to the house of his relative, but rather begs his food from seven other houses. The highest, archetypal renouncer begs randomly, but obtains just a morsel from each of the houses from which he begs. As these classes of people cannot produce or store food, their relationship to this entity is one-way. The renouncer does not engage in any form of food transaction, only reception.The forest hermits, on the other hand, are not mediated in their food habits by culture. Their food is wild and uncultivated. Their diet would consist mainly of fruits, roots, leaves, and anything that grows naturally in the forest. Forbidden to them is anything that is cultivated. Gaut. III 32 and Baudh II.6.11 state that ‘He shall not step on plowed land; he shall not enter a village.’. Like the renouncers, the forest hermits are further subdivided into those who cook their food and those who do not cook their food. Each of these subcategories are even further divided into five classes based upon whether they only grains, or only roots, and so on for those that cook. For those who do not cook their food, their five classes are based more on how they eat their food: with hands only, with mouth only and so on.
Observing ascetical food codes and habits allows scholars to make generalizations regarding food according to these patterns. For instance, Olivelle claims that four distinct areas of Hindu relationships to food exist in ascetical food practices. These would be procurement, storage, preparation, and consumption. In these areas, humans put forth much effort and energy to follow them correctly. This then, becomes a social as well as cultural endeavor for which to practice. The rules of the ascetics show that they take and eat only that which is enough for their sustenance. The creation myths at the cosmic levels show that the ideal world with provide everything humans need, so long as humans take only what is necessary to them. Taking more than one needs or what is commanded of one’s caste results in greed and the overall deterioration of the world. Food then, is a dangerous substance, as well as the source of all things in being. The relationship between a man and his food, then, is his relationship to the cosmos.
Practical Guidance
The great majority of Hindus avoid beef. Most also avoid the meat of water buffaloWater buffalo
The water buffalo is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.Water buffalo can also refer to:*Wild water buffalo , the wild ancestor of the domestic water buffalo...
and yak
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
as being too cow-like as well as pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s, reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s, amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, and snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s. Animals that have died of natural causes are considered highly polluting. Eating them makes a person untouchable
Untouchability
Untouchability is the social practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The excluded group could be one that did not accept the norms of the excluding group and historically included foreigners, nomadic tribes, law-breakers...
.
The highest castes (Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s and sometimes also Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
) may also avoid chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
. Goat
Goat meat
Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat . It is often called chevon or mutton when the meat comes from adults, and cabrito or kid when from young animals...
or mutton is often the only acceptable meat, but many are completely vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
. Eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
may be completely unacceptable, or acceptable only if unfertilized. Some avoid onions and garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
.