The practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is in recent times mostly associated with Shaktism, and in currents of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local popular or tribal traditions. Animal sacrifices were part of the ancient Vedic religion in India, and are mentioned in scriptures such as the Yajurveda. The practice declined during the formation of Hinduism as Hindu scriptures like the Puranas and the Bhagvad Gita forbid animal sacrifice. Terminology A Sanskrit term used for animal sacrifice is bali, in origin meaning "tribute, offering or oblation" generically ("vegetable oblations [... and] animal oblations,"). Bali among other things "refers to the blood of an animal" and is sometimes known as Jhatka Bali among Hindus. The Kalika Purana distinguishes bali (sacrifice), mahabali (great sacrifice), for the ritual killing of goats, elephant, respectively, though the reference to humans in Shakti theology is symbolic and done in effigy in modern times. For instance, Sir John Woodroffe published a commentary on the Karpuradistotram, where he writes that the sacrificial animals listed in verse 19 are symbols for the six enemies, with "man" representing pride. Hindu scriptures The Ashvamedha, a ritual in which a horse was allowed to roam freely for a year, then finally sacrificed, is mentioned in the Vedic texts such as the Yajurveda. In the epic Mahabharata, Yudhishtra performs the Ashwamedha after winning the Kurukshetra war to become the Chakravartin emperor. The Mahabharata also contains a description of an Ashvamedha performed by the Chedi king Uparichara Vasu, however. The rulers of the Gupta empire, the Chalukya dynasty, and the Chola dynasty all performed the Ashvamedha. Agnisomiya was the simplest of all Soma sacrifices in which animal sacrifice played an important part; it required that a goat be sacrificed to Agni and Soma preceding the day of offering of nectar to the gods. In the Savaniya sacrifice, victims were offered throughout the day of offering to Agni. These rituals didn't focus on the killing of the animal but as a symbol to the powers it was sacrificed. In Bhagavata Purana written in 10th or 11th century, Krishna tells people not to perform animal sacrifices in the Kali Yuga, the present age. The Brahma Vaivarta Purana describes animal sacrifices as kali-varjya or prohibited in the Kali Yuga. The Adi Purana, Brihan-naradiya Purana and Aditya Purana also forbid animal sacrifice in Kali Yuga. The Padma Purana encourages respect for all living beings. Some orthodox interpreters of