to the extent of murder and cannibalism. This is a plausible reason to include it in the list of Kali-varjyas, even if it was a purely symbolic ceremony during the period of the composition of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. Whether or not the rite ever consummated in the slaughter of a human and the consumption of their flesh, however, remains so far a matter of scholarly speculation. Performance in Hindu epics The Aitareya Brahmana tells the story of a sacrifice carried out by King Harischandra. The childless king asked Varuna to provide him with a son, and in return, Varuna asks him to sacrifice the child to him. Harischandra delays the performance of the sacrifice and allows his son, named Rohita, to grow older. Eventually, Rohita wanders into the forest to find a substitute for himself. He comes across a poor Brahmin named Ajigarta, who sells his son Sunahsepa to him. Sunahsepa is bound to the stake, but he frees himself by reciting some mantras that were taught to him by Vishvamitra. This story is reproduced in the Bhagavata Purana. In Vedanta and the Puranas Human sacrifice and cannibalism are explicitly condemned in the Bhagavata Purana (5.26.31). The Chandogya Upanishad (3.16) states that the Purushamedha is actually a metaphor for life itself, and it compares the various stages of life to the oblations that are offered. Views Helmer Ringgren regarded that the traces of Purushameda are not clearly detectable. Dayananda Saraswati, founder of Arya Samaj has rejected any kind of human or animal sacrifice in vaidika yagñas. In November 2000, a modern version of Purushamedha was organised by All World Gayatri Pariwar at Shantikunj Haridwar, marking the completion of 12 year Yugsandhi Mahapurascharana. In this program, named Srijan Sankalp Vibhuti Mahayagya, participants had to tie themselves with Yup and take an oath to dedicate their life to social causes as a sacrifice. Yagya was performed on 1551 on the bank of the Ganges and was attended by four million devotees. See also Historical Vedic religion Notes References Sources Printed sources Parpola, A. 'Human Sacrifice in India in Vedic Times and Before' in Bremmer, J.N. (2007): The Strange World of Human Sacrifice'', Peeters Web sources Hindu rituals Human sacrifice