The Markandeya Purana (Study)

by Chandamita Bhattacharya | 2021 | 67,501 words

This page relates ‘Non-vegetarian food’ of the study on the Markandeya Purana, one of the oldest of the eigtheen Mahapuranas preserving the history, civilisation, culture and traditions of ancient India. The Markandeyapurana commences with the questions raised by Rishi Jaimini (a pupil of Vyasa), who approaches the sage Markandeya with doubts related to the Mahabharata. This study examines various social topics such as the status of women, modes of worship, yoga, etc.

Non-vegetarian food

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The use of non-vegetarian food is found from ancient times. In the pre-Vedic period people were found to use meat, flesh. and non-vegetarian food occasionally in the purpose of certain sacrifice. The Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa describes about the non-vegetarian food in different way. In the śrāddha ceremony, offerings of flesh of different animals satisfy the manes for a particular period of time.^[1] At the time of worshipping Devī, offerings of animals is also described in the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa.^[2] These types of religious acts show the use of animal’s meat. In this purāṇa it is noticed that eating of non-vegetarian food was permitted under certain situations. For example, the left were food, offered to the pitrs and gods at the śrāddha dinner, can be eaten after satisfying them. The animal which had been killed for his meat for the utilization as medicine can be eaten by many.^[3]

The Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa also mentions about edible and non-edible meat. For example, [the following are recommended as edible]:

meat of godhā or go-samp, a very large kind of lizard found in jungle^[4],
śvāvit, the porcupine and
khaḍga, the rhinoceros.

The flesh of grāma-sūkara i.e. domestic pig and kukkuta i.e. fowl are prohibited food.^[5] In the Mahābhārata, it is mentioned that the eating of meat was the fashion of the rich people.^[6]