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Several Indian tv shows have portrayed the popular trope of a "tântrik guy" performing some rituals and ultimately sacrificing a human, especially a Child.

In fact, occasionally one can read these kinds of news itself, in real, when a human was apparently sacrificed by a tantrik baba, as part of some "tantrika" based rituals.

So the question is: Are these kinds practices involving human sacrifice of child, etc., a part of any tantra, or can one safely reject these popular cinematic tropes as mere examples of "creative artistic cinematic license" and thus, should not be regarded as a part of Hinduism ?

Vivikta
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  • They are part of some Shaiva sects: the kapalikhas and kalamukhas. – Ikshvaku May 18 '21 at 15:32
  • @Ikshvaku from where did you get the idea that kapalikas and kalamukhas practice human sacrifice? Can you quote some of their scriptures which say so? – Tezz May 18 '21 at 15:39
  • @Tezz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapalika – Ikshvaku May 18 '21 at 15:53
  • @Tezz Also: https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/27087/11726 – Ikshvaku May 18 '21 at 15:54
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    @Ikshvaku that wikipedia link doesn't tell anything about whether kapaliks did human sacrifice or not.. nor do your other question-answer say anything specific related to practice of kapaliks and kalamukhas – Tezz May 18 '21 at 16:07
  • @Tezz Ok look here: https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/24059/11726 – Ikshvaku May 18 '21 at 16:17
  • @Ikshvaku a word mentioned in biography of someone can't give any evidence regarding whether they practiced human sacrifice or not... as Kapaliks held human skull in their hands they might assume that they do human sacrifice.. further as Advaita darshan is promoted in Shankara Digvijaya it can have inherent bias to degrade other sects... – Tezz May 18 '21 at 16:24
  • Safely reject those, at least I haven't came across any such thing in tantras. To obtain Mahapatras, there are no such sacrifices prescribed. (Mahapatra=human skull). And sacrifice of child is banned, only bodies that are Vikari are allowed. (Vikari=Shukra) – Second May 18 '21 at 17:01

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Yes of course, human sacrifice or nar-bali is a part of Shakti and Shiva traditions. This is given in the Bhagavata Purana aka Kalika Purana itself. There is a lot of information on this.

Some verses outline the various beings that we should sacrifice. These are: Birds, Tortoise, Crocodile, Fish, various types of animals including Rhino, Lions & Tigers and humans. You can take out your own blood as an offering to Chandika (Devi) or Bhairav (Shiva). One verse is very clear:

बलि से मुक्ति प्राप्त होती है। बलि से ही स्वर्ग भी प्राप्त होता है।

Liberation is achieved by Bali. Heaven is also attained only by Bali.

I can also quote from other scriptures like Shaiva but I think this is sufficient to answer your question. It is mentioned that this Puraan is the supreme Tantra and the supreme scripture anyway.

It is described how to property get a human killed by a Brahmin or Tantrik. Including how to worship that human before sacrificing it and how he attains liberation after dying even if he is a sinner.

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The kinds of people you can sacrifice are also given. For example, enemy king or son of enemy king.

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R. Kaushik
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  • Can you also quote verses 3 and 4 where explicitly nara bali is mentioned? – The Destroyer May 18 '21 at 17:27
  • can you quote sanskrit verses of 3,4 and 5 of that related chapter.. also in the Kalika Purana which I saw chapter 69 is about Deva Puja Vidhanam... – Tezz May 18 '21 at 17:27
  • @Tezz & Destroyer Sorry I meant 67 in the short version. Because we are not allowed to share Kali puraan I will just post a pic – R. Kaushik May 18 '21 at 17:34
  • Which chapter is it in the long version? It's okay if you can't share Purana due to secrecy.. but you can't make just claims like 'Yes of course, human sacrifice or nar-bali is an essential part of Shakti and Shiva traditions.' without quoting anything... furthermore this is a very sensitive issue and if you say it is essential part of Shakti and Shiva traditions it should be present in all parts like Kaula, Kalikula, Srikula, Pratyabhijna, etc.. systems... which is not the case.. or you are trying to say narabali means sacrifice of one's ego? – Tezz May 18 '21 at 17:39
  • The verse you shared mentions 'Naraschaiva swagatra rudhiram tatha' which means that human can also give blood by taking from their own body.... It is completely differently saying that human sacrifice is allowed (as asked in the question) as in that case people use other's body to sacrifice.. giving one's blood and angadana is accepted practice though in Shaiva/Shakta traditions... During the manifestation of Lalita Tripurasundari Devi also Gods did angadana and poured their own flesh blood in yajna kunda... so please format answer using suitable language so that there is no confusion... – Tezz May 18 '21 at 17:43
  • Anyways I have updated the answer. – R. Kaushik May 18 '21 at 18:17
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    @Tezz I am sorry, can you explain how the verse does not imply human sacrifice? Please allow me to state my translation - shardulascha (tiger and), naraschaiva (human and indeed), sva (from own) gAtra (body), rudhiram (blood), tathA (in this manner).....tiger, human and indeed blood from one's own body (can be given as sacrifice). –  May 18 '21 at 18:26
  • Yes "human AND ALSO from own". Please see the update I have given new picture to clear your doubt @Tezz – R. Kaushik May 18 '21 at 18:29
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    Regarding the update, it is mentioned in the Mahabharata that Jarasamdha used to capture enemy kings for sacrificing them to Rudra. However, Mbh also mentions that this is not the norm. –  May 18 '21 at 18:32
  • Thank you @alsoran !! It just shows that the family of King Bharata followed this purana in ancient times. It is definitely the real bhagavata. – R. Kaushik May 18 '21 at 18:33
  • Okay, interesting. Can you please link the source of those screenshots in your answer? – Vivikta May 19 '21 at 00:12
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    @Vivikta He has probably taken it from here - https://archive.org/details/KalikaPuranamVol.2AcharyaMrityunjayaTripathi/mode/2up Please refer starting page no. 850 Devanagari numbering. There is an entire chapter on bali/sacrifice. –  May 19 '21 at 02:25
  • @Vivikta the source is Kalika Puraan – R. Kaushik May 19 '21 at 06:07
  • Maybe you could link the direct page from which you took the screenshot or atleast the page number, etc., so we all can clarify our doubt more properly and in detail. – Vivikta May 19 '21 at 10:21
  • So sorry. But I actually cannot do that. Please understand! – R. Kaushik May 19 '21 at 10:22
  • This is fascinating – veganenvironmentalist Jan 17 '23 at 07:14
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Such human killing sacrifices are not mentioned anywhere.

kAlika purANa does describe a “human sacrifice” ritual but there it is clearly stated that the human is not to be killed in chapter 67 :

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ekAntika
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