The Rhetoric of Brahmanical Ritual in Early Buddhism: A Comparison of the Five-Sacrifice Formula in the Pāli Nikāyas and Chinese Āgamas

Abstract

The Pāli Nikāyas preserve a recurrent set of five sacrificial terms—assamedha, purisamedha, sammāpāsa, vājapeyya, and niraggaḷa—here termed the “five-sacrifice formula.” This article compares the Ujjaya-sutta, Yañña-sutta, and Brāhmaṇadhammika-sutta with their Chinese Āgama parallels to examine how this formula functions rhetorically. In the Pāli tradition, the list remains relatively stable despite differing narrative settings and audiences; the Chinese parallels, by contrast, abbreviate, replace, or reorganize its individual terms. Yet lexical variation does not eliminate the underlying argumentative structure: sacrifices involving killing are criticized, while sacrificial efficacy is reassessed rather than simply denied. These divergences are therefore better understood as recontextualizations shaped by differing transmission histories, translation choices, and editorial processes, rather than as mere translational inconsistencies. The analysis argues that early Buddhist criticism did not entail the outright rejection of Brahmanical ritual language or authority. Instead, inherited ritual categories were selectively adapted, and the criteria for legitimate and fruitful sacrifice were reoriented toward non-violence and generosity. Kosala is the primary regional setting for the texts examined; the broader eastern Vedic horizon, including Videha and Magadha, contextualizes the circulation of ritual language between Buddhist and Brahmanical communities. The five-sacrifice formula thus illustrates selective ritual reworking rather than wholesale repudiation.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Religions, 2026 · DOI ↗