When Kṛṣṇa appeared as a big fish, so the devotee is glorifying, keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare (Gītā Govinda, Daśāvatāra-stotra 1). When Kṛṣṇa appeared as the boar, this Vaiṣṇava is also glorifying: keśava dhṛta-śūkara-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare (Gītā Govinda, Daśāvatāra-stotra 3). So similarly, there are so many glorification of daśāvatāra by Jayadeva. Amongst the daśāvatāra, particularly this Buddha avatāra is one of them. So Jayadeva says, keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare (Gītā Govinda, Daśāvatāra-stotra 9). Why He accepted buddha-śarīra? Sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam (Gītā Govinda, Daśāvatāra-stotra 9). He was very much compassionate to see unnecessarily animal slaughter. Kṛṣṇa, God, is always kind. So when unnecessarily animal slaughter is done, He also becomes compassionate. He is compassionate always; He becomes so compassionate that He comes to stop this nonsense. That is buddha-śarīra. Lord Buddha appeared when there was too much animal slaughter.
- nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ
- sadaya-hṛdaya-darśita-paśu-ghātam
- (Gītā Govinda, Daśāvatāra-stotra 9)
Paśu-ghātam is never tolerated by any person in spiritual consciousness. In Christian religion also, first commandment is, "Thou shalt not kill." So killing business is not very compatible with religious life, or spiritual life. In every religion. In Muhammadan religion also there are devotees that are allowed to kill on a particular day, not daily. Qurbani. They are called qurbani.
So anyway, Lord Buddha appeared to stop this animal slaughter. He, he was born in Vedic family, kṣatriya family, princely order. That is Vedic order, brahmāna, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. So . . . but he enunciated a new type of religion, which is called Buddha religion. So the main purpose of this religion was to stop animal slaughter. Ahiṁsā paramo dharmaḥ. Ahiṁsā means nonviolence. Nonviolence. But in the Vedas there are recommendation, sometimes animal slaughter. Very rarely. The purpose is another. That animal slaughter is not actually slaughter; it is an experiment. Just like we experiment in biological laboratory, killing some animal, and see the physiological nervous system, anatomical. But the medical science cannot give them life. They simply slaughter and experiment. But in the Vedic system, the experiment is made by offering an old animal, bull, within the fire, but that old bull again comes out with a new body. It was the test to see how the Vedic mantras are being pronounced. If they are properly pronounced . . . (break) . . . make the animal alive again by chanting of mantra. So therefore it is forgiven.