Q: mArjArahatyA

[DEVARAKONDA VENKATA NARAYANA SARMA]

At 01:21 AM 9/10/97 BST, Narayan Raja writes:
>
>
>> >Further regarding the "sin of killing a cat" issue, the following 
>
>> >B [a certain Bapa Rao] says:
>> >
>> >> p.s. about the cats, I based my statement on my upbringing, which
>> >> held that it was a special sin to kill cats, as opposed to the
>> >> generic sin incurred by killing anything. No one around me
>> >> particularly liked cats, it was just held sinful to kill one. Don't
>> >> know much more about it, I'm afraid.
>
>
>This must be quite a widespread belief, then.
>I happen to know that Bapa Rao is Telugu, while,
>as I recall, someone from Maharashtra also referred
>to such a belief.  In my own family (we are Tamil),
>my mother and grandmother warned me that if a cat 
>"lost even one single hair" because of me, I would have 
>to go to "narakam" (i.e., hell. but temporary).  Why 
>cats in particular?  Don't know.
>
>Regards,
>
>
>Raja.
>

Yes, killing of cat is believed to be a great sin almost equivalent to
brahmahatya and there is a belief that such person's progeny will not
survive if the sin is not atoned.

sarma.