The 2009 festival which began at dawn accompanied by an eerie swirling mist was opened with the sacrifice in the main temple of two rats, two pigeons, a pig, a lamb and a rooster while spectators chanted "Long live Gadhimai" Like some performance of macabre entertainment people jostled one another for a better view.

During the stage of the gruesome proceeding called the  “panchhbali,” or five offerings, the throats of five kinds of animals are slit with a knife, buffalo, goats, pigs, roosters and rats, this death is deliberately protracted, it is slow and agonising for these creatures, according to the belief of this gross and obscene tradition the Goddess prefers it that way.  Their throats are slit with a knife, these animals suffer a slow violent and extremely painful death while the priests sprinkle the blood across the image of the goddess and its surroundings.

If you think that was horrific enough there was more hideous brutality to come, as after this violent and barbaric ritual it was the turn of the buffalo who suffer the most unimaginable pain.   Drunken men, about 250 local men who are given licenses, enter the enclosure swinging their swords( traditional khukuri knives) hacking way at the defenceless animals. These sadistic individuals target the hind legs first to bring the animals down before hacking away the necks, as many as twenty five times to kill a large buffalo. These animals take so long to die that these men literally cut them apart. It appears there is some kind of competition and payment is made according to the number of animals killed and these men brandishing knives and swords compete with one another to kill the most animals. Spectators queue to watch the cruel massacre of these helpless creatures, each paying 20 Nepali rupees to do so.

Bloody slaughter of 20,000 buffalo Ahimsa is not causing pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one's mind, speech or body. Sandilya Upanishad

Can you imagine 20,000 of these placid harmless creatures hacked to death whilst thousands of men, women and children look on with callous disregard, jostling one another for a better view. It turns my stomach, the mere thought of such a vile atrocity, how any sane person can witness such an event and not feel compassion or become emotionally scarred for life is beyond my comprehension. It is truly heart breaking.  I cannot imagine the effect this has on the thousands of children who came with their parents. Such appalling cruelty is beyond may imagination. What kind of person inflicts such cruelty on other living beings or exposes their children to scenes of horrific violence. It is dreadful to think that such people walk the earth, that they too are human and we share the same air, the same planet.

Here is how the guardian newspaper described the shocking scene:

In the main event, 250 appointed residents with traditional kukri knives began their task of decapitating more than 10,000 buffalo in a dusty enclosure guarded by high walls and armed police.

Frightened calves galloped around in vain as the men, wearing red bandanas and armbands, pursued them and chopped off their heads. Banned from entering the animal pen, hundreds of visitors scrambled up the three-metre walls to catch a glimpse of the carnage.
Hindu sacrifice of 250,000 animals begins, by Olivia Lang in Bariyapur *3)

Other killings were carried out by any one who wanted to do so in a three kilometre radius of the Gadhimai temple, where Individual devotees killed the remaining  buffalo, an estimated 20,00 in total, and an unknown number of other animals such as sheep, rats, chickens, pigeons, pigs, goats after paying  Rs 25. Anyone could come simply to watch after also paying the same fee. Many of the animals arrived at the festival after spending two days with no food or water. During the massacre the animals were not tethered and knives were not sharpened, and often nothing more than a kitchen knife is used . Herded into one place the animals witness the killings of other animals prior to their turn and baby animals saw their mothers killed.

This poor pig  was killed using a simple blunt  household knife. (Photograph Animal Nepal) He who permits the slaughter of an animal, he who kills it, he who cuts it up, he who buys or sells meat, he who cooks it, he who serves it up, and he who eats it, are all slayers. There is no greater sinner than that man who seeks to increase the bulk of his own flesh by the flesh of other beings Manusmriti,(lawsof Manu): Hindu scripture

According to the campaigners, the festival is promoted as a "spectacle" and a cultural event that enriches Nepalese culture.

"The truth is that Gadhimai legitimises violence against the innocent. The priests make the devotees believe that their wish will only come true when offering an expensive buffalo, goat or other kind of animal," Manoj Gautam

Many of the butchers and onlookers were actually laughing during it all. One butcher, Ramlal Mahato, is quoted as saying: "The more animals I kill, the more satisfied I feel. I am helping an ancient tradition to survive."

Here is an eye witness account by Manoj Gautam

The animals were not provided with any water and food in the days before the sacrifice. Many young animals had in fact already died from stress, exhaustion and dehydration before the killings started. Their bodies were left among the live animals.

Everyone could kill anything, with whatever knife or sword. Many animals died an unbearable slow and violent death because the butcher was inexperienced and the knives were not sharpened properly. Thousands of buffaloes were standing in an enclosure when butchers holding swords started hacking randomly at the animals. Some heads could be severed in one cut; in other cases it took the butchers a long time to kill the buffalo.

No one was holding the animals – many tried to escape. Baby buffaloes were bleating and searching for their mothers. Soon they were walking around in a pool of blood. They were hunted down by the butchers. Needless to say, not a single animal survived the blood bath.

After witnessing the suffering inflicted on these gentle, loyal animals, I feel deeply upset and ashamed of the people of my country involved in the whole event.’
Manoj Gautam, member of a youth initiative  Roots & Shoots , which had been campaigning for the prevention of the slaughter. Above quotations are from
Animals Asia article : Mass animal sacrifices at Nepal's Gadhimai Festival

Most incongruous concerning the irrationality of these superstitious beliefs is the idea that the flesh of these brutally murdered sentient beings is considered blessed, the consumption of which is believed to protect the individual from evil! Surely no same person can consider that this vile act is in itself not evil

It is difficult for civilised people to even begin to imagine the carnage and sadistic brutally or the shocking indifference to the pain of other living beings that was displayed at the festival. Here are the deplorable statistics of the number of animals sacrificed.

Day one 20,000 water buffaloes are brutally slaughtered. Day two countless thousands of goats, chickens, ducks and other animals were massacred. It is estimated that 100,000 to 200,000 goats alone were sacrificed. Some estimates have between 250,000 and 500,OOO thousand as the sum total of animals slaughtered. The exact number may never be known.

Having well considered the origin of flesh-foods, and the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let man entirely abstain from eating flesh.
Manusmriti 5.49 Hindu sacred text

What Has the Gadhimai Festival Got to do With Hinduism?

We bow to all beings with great reverence in the thought and knowledge that God enters into them through fractioning Himself as living creatures.
Mahabharata

In one word, nothing!

It has indeed shocked many people around the world that such a barbaric anachronism is a part of Hinduism. Unfortunately this is a misconception which will inevitably result from this festival. In reality this debase tradition has nothing to do with mainstream modern Hinduism. To understand this it is important to realise that Hinduism is not one religion as such, there is no leading authority, it was not founded by any one person neither are its doctrines or teachings  based upon those of any one individual. Neither can the origins of Hinduism be traced back to any particular period in history although it is about 5,000 years old making it the most ancient living religion. The word Hindu is derived from the name given by Muslims to the people who settled on the banks of the river Sindhu in Northern India, these people had in fact a huge variety of religious beliefs and there is no one single Hindu religion; Hinduism is not confined to a single set of beliefs and there are many different schools of thought.

The oldest Sacred texts are the Vedas. Although seemingly polytheistic Hinduism has a concept of the supreme Spirit, God (Brahman) above the many divine manifestations including a triad of prominent gods:  Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. There are however many thousands of lesser deities some common and wide spread such as Krishna, Hanuman, Lakshmi, and Mahādevī, while others are more obscure and localised, thus Hindu belief and ritual can vary greatly even between villages.

I will attempt to explain Hinduism concerning its teachings regarding our treatment of other species. I will intersperse quotations from Hindu scripture which explain the importance of treating animals with compassion in keeping with Hindu beliefs and in keeping with the principle of ahimsa ( non violence) and the law of karma.

By not killing any living being, one becomes fit for salvation."
Manusmriti, 6.60

Central to Hinduism is the belief in reincarnation, rebirth, and Karma, the law of cause and effect, the process whereby the good or bad deeds performed in the present determine the quality of life both in the here and now and future incarnations (rebirths). The principle or code of conduct called ahimsa, which means the avoidance of harm or causing harm to include harm to any animal also plays a significant role in all the religions that originated in ancient India to include Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The purchaser of flesh performs himsa (violence) by his wealth; he who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the killer does himsa by actually tying and killing the animal. Thus, there are three forms of killing. He who brings flesh or sends for it, he who cuts of the limbs of an animal, and he who purchases, sells, or cooks flesh and eats it-all of these are to be considered meat-eaters."
Mahabharata, Anu. 115:40

Most Hindus are vegetarian  and most certainly no Hindu will eat beef. Cows are regarded as sacred, the killing of cows is banned in India.  In Vedic sacred text the cow is a symbol of the divine bounty of the earth and the scriptures prohibit the slaughter of cows. Keep in mind that here in the west we often refer to both gender as cows instead of cattle which is correct. Here I will use the word cattle to mean both cows and bulls and I assume that when the term sacred cow is used it means both bulls and cows.  Both water buffalo and cattle belong to the same biological subfamily classification of Bovine and are in appearance and behaviour very similar. It therefore seems utterly incongruous to slaughter water Buffalo. But we must keep in mind that the slaughter of any animal goes against the principle of ahimsa.

Ahimsa is not causing pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one's mind, speech or body.
Sandilya Upanishad

As you will read further down sacrifice has been a part of most religions and has generally been set aside as human beings progressed to more civilised behaviours. And this is the case with Hinduism. From what I understand there are a number of villages and other communities that appear to live in a bubble of existence that has not been effected by the progress of modern thinking and these people continue to practice anachronisms that have probably either been introduced into Hinduism by misinterpretation as Anil Bhanot points out in this article in the Guardian*4) Or such rituals have been deliberately introduced to meet the self serving agendas of corrupt priests or simply those sick individuals who appear to derive some pleasure from cruelty. This has been the case in most religions. There is an example for instance of modern day animal sacrifice in the Christian Church in certain South African Catholic churches*5) You have to look at the overall beliefs of any religion, and generally speaking animal sacrifice is not a part of present day Hinduism and most Hindus are vegetarian.   Also again we need to keep in mind the overlying rule of Ahimsa (refraining from injuring - physically, mentally or emotionally - anyone or any living creature) ; if an Hindu wishes to follow this code of conduct he naturally adopts a vegetarian diet.

Beliefs of Hinduism Concerning Vegetarianism

For India's ancient thinkers, life is seen as the very stuff of the Divine, an emanation of the Source and part of a cosmic continuum. They further hold that each life form, even water and trees, possesses consciousness and energy. Nonviolence, ahimsa, the primary basis of vegetarianism, has long been central to the religious traditions of India-especially Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Religion in India has consistently upheld the sanctity of life, whether human, animal or, in the case of the Jains, elemental.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami from the article : How to Win an Argument with a Meat Eater. More about this article further down.

The Majority of Hindus are vegetarian.  Vegetarianism, Shakahara in sanskrit, has been for thousands of years a principle of morality, health and environmental ethics. Muslim and Christian sway radically influenced and eroded this ideal. It is interesting to note that Gandhi himself at one point during his youth was persuaded by a friend to briefly experiment with a diet of meat. His friend was able to persuaded him that eating meat would make him stronger. Gandhi's friend like many of his fellows erroneously attributed the British power to dominate India as the result of regularly eating meat, Gandhi of course in a very short time reverted to vegetarianism 

The major sects of the Hindu religion hold vegetarianism as an ideal for several reasons, probably the most important of which is in order to comply with the principle of Ahimsa and also to attain spiritual development.  Vegetarianism is an obvious requirement in order to live in accordance with the principle of ahimsa, which has been explained earlier. Concerning Spiritual development it is believed that vegetarian food enhances spiritual progress while conversely meat is a detriment. For this reason it is important that all Hindu priests and religious leaders are vegetarian. Vegetarian sects in Hinduism consider the avoidance of meat as an application of wisdom.  In addition it is considered that the consumption of meat is physically unhealthy. Moreover Hindus believe that those who eat meat absorb the vibration of the fear of death, the pain and despair of the slaughtered animal. It is believed that these mental states seep into the subconscious and will need to be confronted in the future. In addition the consumption of meat, and also eggs, absorbs the vibration of the animal's instinctive nature into our own nervous systems and amplifies are own lower nature which is prone to a terrible fear of death, anxiety, anger, suspicion, jealously, confusion  and other negative behaviours and mind states. In other words Hindus believe that meat effects our consciousness, our emotions and behaviours. if we expect to develop a higher state of consciousness, live in a state of peace, happiness and engender love for all beings we cannot eat flesh which will introduce into our bodies the negative attributes of animals.  Basically Vegetarians live in higher consciousness and meat-eaters abide in lower consciousness. Finally Hindus should be vegetarian and practice non violence to any living being because this way of life is advocated in the Vedas and other Hindu sacred text.

What Hindu scriptures say about vegetarianism and the treatment of animals

The consumption of meat for pleasure is prohibited in Hindu scripture as it is the result only of human selfish desire and cravings to satisfy the palette and to make money from providing and cooking meat. The implication from the following passage is that eating meat will accrue negative karma both now and in the next life

He who injures harmless creatures from a wish to give himself pleasure, never finds happiness in this life or the next.
Manu-samhita 5.45

There are numerous admonitions against the consumption of meat in the Vedas.

The Vedas, a sanskrit word meaning knowledge, as already mentioned are sacred texts that originated in ancient India and are the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Although the original Vedic system is now different from modern day Hinduism,  with regard to the importance of a vegetarian diet both harmoniously agree.  As previously mentioned according to the Vedas and other Hindu scripture the attainment of spiritual knowledge and development begins with vegetarianism.

In the Vedas, the Vedic king Maharaja Pariksit, said
"only the animal killer cannot relish the message of the Absolute Truth."

In the Bhagavad-gita, (sacred texts and part of the Vedes designated by the Vedic scriptures themselves as the most important and essential revelations), are considered the word of God (Brahman), in the manifestation of Lord Krishna. It is the most well known of the Vedas. Again it is important to note that Hindus believe that all gods are avatars or manifestations of Brahman, the supreme being.

According to the  Bhagavad-gita all food should be offered as a sacrifice to God

"…all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me."
Bhagavad-gita 9.27

The type of food that should be offered is also specified . Note no meat is mentioned
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it."
Bhagavad-gita. 9.26

Non-injury, truthfulness, freedom from theft, lust, anger, and greed, and an effort to do what is agreeable and beneficial to all creatures - this is the common duty of all castes.
Srimad-Bhagavatam: sacred book of India, It is a collection of literature concerning devotion to the incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

Those who are ignorant of real dharma and, though wicked and haughty, account themselves virtuous, kill animals without any feeling of remorse or fear of punishment. Further, in their next lives, such sinful persons will be eaten by the same creatures they have killed in this world.
Shrimad Bhagavatam

We bow to all beings with great reverence in the thought and knowledge that God enters into them through fractioning Himself as living creatures.
Mahabharata: A Sanskirt epic of ancient India

He who desires to augment his own flesh by eating the flesh of other creatures lives in misery in whatever species he may take his birth.
Mahabharata,

One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one's own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Yielding to desire and acting differently, one becomes guilty of adharma.
Mahabharata

Those high souled persons who desire beauty, faultlessness of limbs, long life, mental & physical strength and memory should abstain from any acts of injury.
Mahabharata
 

One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal, and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head.
Rig Veda Samhita

Those noble souls who practice meditation and other yogic ways, who are ever careful about all beings, who protect all animals, are the ones who are actually serious about spiritual practices.
Atharva Veda Samhita
 

You must not use your God-given body for killing God's creatures, whether they are human, animal or whatever.
Yajur Veda, 12.32 third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas, contains mantras

It is stated in the Manusmriti, also called the laws of Manu, that one should abstain from eating all kinds of meat because it leads to killing which in turn results in karmic bondage, the continual cycle of birth and rebirth. The  Manusmriti is an ancient sanskrit text composed in poetic meter, and the most important work of the Dharmaśāstra textual tradition of Hinduism which pertains to both religious and legal duty. According to Hindu tradition, the Manusmriti records the words of Brahma

By not killing any living being, one becomes fit for salvation."
Manusmriti, 6.60)

The Tirukural.

Regarded as the world's greatest ethical scripture The Tirukural written in Tamil is an ancient Hindu text, written about 2100 years ago. The Tirukural is a classic of couplets, composed by Tiruvalluvar an Indian sage, it give us an insight into the lofty ethics and wisdom of ancient Indiana.

Below are quotations from the Tirkural admonishing against the eating of meat and causing harm to any creature:

Verse 251 How can he practice true compassion Who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?
 
Verse 252 Riches cannot be found in the hands of the thriftless, Nor can compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat.
 
Verse 253 Goodness is never one with the minds of these two: One who wields a weapon ad one who feasts on a creatures' flesh.

Verse 254 If you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkind?" It is not killing and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous.

Verse 255 Life is perpetuated by not eating meat. The clenched jaws of hell hold those who do.

Verse 256 If the world did not purchase and consume meat, There would be none to slaughter and offer meat for sale.

Verse 257 When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh Of another creature, he must abstain from eating it.

Verse 258 Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion Will not feed on flesh abandoned by life.

Verse 259 Greater then a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires Do not do sacrifice and consume any living creature.

Verse 260 All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration Of those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat.

Verse 312 It is the principle of the pure in heart never to injure others, even when they themselves have been hatefully injured. What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life, for killing leads to every other sin.

Verse 321 What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life, For killing leads to every other sin.

Verse 322 Of all the virtues summed by ancient sages the foremost are these: To partake of food one has shared and to protect all living creatures.

Verse 324 What is the good way? It is the path that reflects on how it may avoid killing any living creature. Refrain from taking precious life from any living being, even to save your own life.

Verse 328 By sacrifice of life some gain great wealth and good, But sagacious men scorn such gains.

Verse 327 Refrain from taking precious life from any living being, Even to save your own life.

Verse 329 Those whose trade is killing creatures are deemed defiled By men who know the defiling nature of being mean.

The Importance of Animals in Hinduism

Frequently mentioned in Hindu myths and legends, animals have an important status in Hinduism. Ancient sages, holy men, have long recognised the spirituality in all living species. Vedic texts even describe them as incarnations of God, Brahman, as divinities and incarnations of Vishnu or siva, Lord Vishnu first incarnated as a bear than a tortoise followed by a fish. Animals are the vehicles of the gods which they use to achieve their tasks, each god/goddess has a vehicle each of which symbolises animal energies, qualities and skilful attributes which either need to be enhanced or sublimated in human nature with the help of the divinities. Animals adorn temples in the form of decorative art and architecture and also inside as objects of veneration.

Angi God of fire:Vehicle a ram

According to Vedic teachings animals are considered capable of attaining exalted states of spirituality! It is believed that spirituality is not limited to human beings and the body is only a temporary abode for the eternal soul. It is taught in the Vedas that the soul at the time of death transmigrates from body to body, until it finally achieves human form, from were the soul is able to reason and  seek the truth and obtain the state of Moksha, enlightenment, and cease the cycle of birth and rebirth. Therefore in a way there is no difference between a human being and an animal because all humans were once animals and all animals will become humans.

Charging elephants which symbolise strength and stability are depicted on the lowest frieze of Halebidu Temple

All beings are spiritually equal and all are believed to be manifestations of God as limited beings called Jivas, and possess souls. There are many types of jiva, plants and humans, even micrograms are types of jiva. Jivas though have limitations of consciousness and capacity. In Hinduism animals are not inferior beings and are manifestations of God but on a lower level of evolution than humans. This is a complex subject, for more information please click:
The Significance of Animals in Hinduism and Hindu Ceremonies.  Legend has it that animals were able to communicate and the gods communicated with them while human begins needed to develop psychic ability to do so. It is believed that animals loiter nearby spiritual adepts in order to learn from them.

Is Animal Sacrifice a Part of Hinduism

Well apparently yes, at least it appears that way in limited circumstances as is the case with all religions. However,  I personally believe that animal sacrifices were perversions either by design or by accident, the result of the misinterpretation of scripture, as mentioned earlier, and in the past this took place during the ancient Aryan Vedic period, but things slowly changed and vegetarianism grew in prevalence in India due to the influences of both Buddhism and Jainism. The founders of these religions advocated the principle of ahimsa. The Brahman priests, who used to exploit the people and advocated animal sacrifices as offerings in the name of religion, also began to preach Vegetarianism since it gained much popularity in India. Nonetheless there remain today instances of animal sacrifice as is the case with the Gadhimai festival were unscrupulous priests continue to pry upon the fears of vulnerable people and continue to promote animal sacrifice as a means of appeasing, usually an obscure deity. Such events as the Gadhimai festival and other instances of animal sacrifice are the result of greed on the part of the priests and organisers and ignorance on the part of those who participate.

Below is the introduction from an article by Stephen Knapp, Vegetarianism: Recommended in Vedic Scripture. The article explains quite clearly what the Vedas advocate concerning the eating of meat, animal sacrifice and other aspects of our relationship with animals. Please take the time to clink the link at the end of the passage below and read this excellent article:

Many times there seems to be some confusion or lack of clarity on whether the Vedic path condones or condemns the eating of meat. Often times I hear Indians and followers of the Vedic path explain that meat eating is all right, that the Vedic shastras do not condemn it. Of course, in this day and age meat eating includes and supports the whole meat industry, which is the systematic slaughter of thousands of animals on a daily basis. But if we actually research the Vedic texts we will find that there are numerous references in the various portions of the Vedic literature which explain in no uncertain terms the karmic dangers of meat-eating and unnecessary animal slaughter. These indicate that meat eating should be given up for one’s spiritual and even material progress. This means that the Vedic conclusions that some people present for meat-eating are not accurate, and that they have never studied their own religious books very thoroughly. This is something that is important to understand, so let us take a look...
Vegetarianism Recommended in Vedic Scripture by Stephen Knapp

How to Win an Argument with a Meat Eater by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
is another excellent scource of comprehensive information concerning "The Hindu Virtue of Vegetarianism" a short extract of which appears below.

Scriptures Against Killing and Meat-Eating
Hindu scripture speaks clearly and forcefully on non killing and vegetarianism. In the ancient Rig Veda, we read: "O vegetable, be succulent, wholesome, strengthening; and thus, body, be fully grown." The Yajur Veda summarily dictates: "Do not injure the beings living on the earth, in the air and in the water." The beautiful Tirukural, a widely-read 2,000-year-old masterpiece of ethics, speaks of conscience: "When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he must abstain from eating it." The Manu Samhita advises: "Having well considered the origin of flesh and the cruelty of fettering and slaying of corporeal beings, let one entirely abstain from eating flesh." In the yoga-infused verses of the Tirumantiram, warning is given of how meat-eating holds the mind in gross, adharmic states: "The ignoble ones who eat flesh, death's agents bind them fast and push them quick into the fiery jaws of hell (Naraka, lower consciousness)." The roots of non injury non killing and nonconsumption of meat are found in the Vedas, agamas, Upanishads, Dharma Shastras, Tirumurai, Yoga Sutras and dozens of other sacred texts of Hinduism. Here is a select collection.

Vedas and agamas, Hinduism's Revealed Scriptures
LET YOUR AIMS BE COMMON, and your hearts be of one accord, and all of you be of one mind, so you may live well together. Rig Veda Samhita 10.191

Protect both our species, two-legged and four-legged. Both food and water for their needs supply. May they with us increase in stature and strength. Save us from hurt all our days, O Powers! Rig Veda Samhita 10.37.11. VE, 319

One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal, and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head. Rig Veda Samhita, 10.87.16, FS 90

Peaceful be the earth, peaceful the ether, peaceful heaven, peaceful the waters, peaceful the herbs, peaceful the trees. May all Gods bring me peace. May there be peace through these invocations of peace. With these invocations of peace which appease everything, I render peaceful whatever here is terrible, whatever here is cruel, whatever here is sinful. Let it become auspicious, let everything be beneficial to us. Atharva Veda Samhita 10. 191. 4

Those noble souls who practice meditation and other yogic ways, who are ever careful about all beings, who protect all animals, are the ones who are actually serious about spiritual practices. Atharva Veda Samhita 19.48.5. FS, 90

It is well worth reading the entire article where you will find more scriptural references concerning ethical behaviours toward animals and the importance of a vegetarian diet from the perspective not only of ethics but the related issues of health, the environment and the cruelty of factory farming

Himalayan Academy Publications

The overwhelming evidence from scripture is that the barbaric practice of animal sacrifice was not a part of Hinduism and most certainly in modern times is a prohibited act, and not in keeping with a religion, which as you can see from its ancient scriptures, is against the harming of any living being.

So why are we faced with this barbaric atrocity which it seems has little to do with Hinduism