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soma sacrifice
soma sacrifice Aspects of a soma sacrifice in Pune (Poona), India, on behalf of a Brahman, following the same ritual used in 500 bce.

sacrifice

religion
Also known as: oblation
Written by
Robert L. Faherty
Director of Publications, Brookings Institution, Washingon, D.C. Staff editor, Religion, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1969–72.
Robert L. Faherty
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

sacrifice, a religious rite in which an object is offered to a divinity in order to establish, maintain, or restore a right relationship of a human being to the sacred order. It is a complex phenomenon that has been found in the earliest known forms of worship and in all parts of the world. The present article treats the nature of sacrifice and surveys the theories about its origin. It then analyzes sacrifice in terms...

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