Hinduism - What Is Bhutayajna?

Bhutayajna (“creature sacrifice”) is one of the five major sacrifices (panchamahayajna) that are required in religious scriptures (Dharma Shastras). 

These five major sacrifices are daily religious observances for a “twice-born” householder, that is, a householder who was born into one of India's three “twice-born” groups—brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya—and is entitled to undergo the teenage religious initiation known as the “second birth.” Each yajna (sacrifice) is aimed towards a particular class of creatures, ranging from the Ultimate Reality to animals, and is fulfilled via specified acts. 

• The bhutayajna is aimed towards animals and outcasts (and, in some interpretations, ghosts), and it is fulfilled by placing food on the ground for them to consume. 

• Hindu life has changed dramatically since the Dharma Shastras were written, and this specific sacrifice is now seldom carried out.

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