The origins of both the practice of sacrifice and the religious traditions trace back to the Silk Road, which would develop the application of sacrifice and these two religious traditions …show more content…
The Rig Veda frequently describes, in detail, the relevance of sacrifice to Hindu religious thought. It is from this text where such understandings are given to the origin of existence and the creator/creation along with some cosmological beliefs.
Sacrifice is seen as quantifying the ritual and divine parts within the religion/text. From the text, an understanding is presented that there is a distinct link between being worthy of heaven and sacrifice. This link is directly presented in the role that chariots and horses play in Hindu tradition, as seen in the Rig Veda.
Chariots can be seen as something used for funeral sacrifices that highlight their integral importance as they embody the deliverance of the soul on to heaven. The horse, the symbol of victory for the Central Eurasian people, are hence labelled in the Rig Veda as “a precious sacrificial victim.”
The hymns of the Rig Veda were seen in use during ritual sacrifices, presenting an undisputed theoretical, ritual, and epistemological significance. The presence of the gods in these hymns are seen through the ritual deities of Agni and Soma, which are conveyed as important in Hindu tradition and central to many Vedic and Brahmanic …show more content…
Sacrifice is seen throughout Zoroastrian text. The ritual offering of water is presented at the center of Zoroastrian liturgical text. Sacrificing of such animals (horses, cows, and sheep) are seen throughout the yashts as pleasing of the yazatas. This provides important evidence of sacrifice at the center of the evolving period of Zoroastrianism, despite distinction between reasons behind such an animal sacrifice.
In the Yasnas, there was a central importance of the ritual. The text of the Videvdad focuses on ritual purity, as a basis for high ritual. The Pahlavi books were composed as a way to preserve Zoroastrianism when the faith was becoming a minority. Thus, the liturgical text of Zoroastrian tradition is placed in high value on the importance, implementation, and preservation on the practice of ritual