In this book, J. C. Heesterman attempts to understand the origins and nature of Vedic sacrifice the complex compound of ritual practices that stood at the center of ancient Indian religion. Paying close attention to anomalous elements within both the Vedic ritual texts, the brahmanas, and the ritual manuals, the srautasutras, Heesterman reconstructs the ideal sacrifice as consisting of four moments: killing, destruction, feasting, and contest. He shows that Vedic sacrifice all but exclusively stressed the offering in the fire the element of destruction at the expense of the...
In this book, J. C. Heesterman attempts to understand the origins and nature of Vedic sacrifice the complex compound of ritual practices that stood at...
