Research source

The cat is everywhere invested with demoniac qualities, and is the companion of the witch

Date of account: Second edition published 1896
Source: The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Reference: The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India, Vol. 2 (of 2) · selected passage 122
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

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Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

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The cat is everywhere invested with demoniac qualities, and is the companion of the witch. In "Macbeth" the first witch says, "Thrice the brinded cat has mewed." Among Muhammadans the cat is a pure animal, and to kill a cat is very unlucky, and brings on trouble and sickness. So, among Hindus, the killing of a cat can be expiated only by the performance of the rite known as the Prajapati Yajna, which secures the birth of male issue. They say that Mahâdeva and Pârvatî were one day playing dice, and Pârvatî called in Ganesa in his form as a rat to upset the dice with his tail and cause her to make a good throw. Mahâdeva was wroth, and called in a demon like a cat, but he was afraid to kill Ganesa. Then Mahâdeva cursed any one in after days who should kill a cat. We have the same tale in the Rasâlu cycle, where the rat of Dhol Râja changes the course of the game between him and Râja Sarkap. The cat is respected because she is the vehicle of Shashthî, the protectress of children, and part of the orthodox Hindu rite at dinner is giving food to the cat.

Historical context

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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