The Rashtrakutas and their Times c20.126

c20.126

The Gṛhya-sūtra ritual requires animal sacrifices in connection with some popular deities like Vināyaka, Kṣetrapāla, etc. (93) That these sacrifices prevailed in our period in northern India is proved by the statement of Alberuni, that the worshippers of some gods deities Durgā, Mahādeva, Kṣetrapāla, and Vināyaka used to kill sheep and buffalos with axes and offer them as naivedya to the deities concerned. (94) Similar practices must have prevailed in the Deccan since early times, but it is not unlikely that the great influence which Jainism exercised in our period may have led to these sacrifices getting unpopular to a great extent. It may be also pointed out that the Muslim travellers like Al Masudi and Al Idrisi, who were mainly acquainted with the conditions of the Deccan and who describe in detail its religious practices, do not refer to this custom which is mentioned by Alberuni, who was acquainted with the conditions prevailing in the north. Animal sacrifices are even to-day rare in the Deccan when compared to their great popularity in a province like Bengal. This comparative weaning of the masses in the Deccan from them may be attributed to the great influence of Jainism during our period.