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We know Sri Krishna was a Kshatriya. Besides He had weapons with Him which were used to hunt animals.

Can we hence categorically state that he was a non-vegetarian? If so, why do we offer vegetarian food to Him at home (like butter and seedai)? Do we know anything about His favourite non-veg item from Puranas?

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    Welcome to Hinduism.SE! There's already a question on the site about whether Rama was a non-vegetarian, so if you want to focus your question on just Krishna, then I'm happy to reopen it.
    – Keshav Srinivasan ♦
    Commented Jun 29, 2015 at 14:03
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    the reason for butter is because of the various leelas of Lord Sri Krishna where he used to eat butter from the different houses. I guess in bhagavata his various leelas and fondness of butter are depicted, which we humans have revered. As for seedai and such, I would guess that those delicacies are unique to different regions in India. Different regions celebrate differently by preparing different delicacies. For example, in one of the ISKCON temple where I went, I haven't seen seedais during janmashtami. All the best
    – Sai
    Commented Jun 29, 2015 at 14:43
  • So what is the answer over here? Did Krishna ate meat?
    – user3750229
    Commented Nov 18, 2015 at 5:10
  • @user3750229 He must have, being a Khsatriya, although I believe there is no actual reference to confirm one way or other which is why this question remains unanswered.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Dec 18, 2015 at 21:56
  • In Geeta Krishna says..'Patram pushpam phalam toyam....'.which means: If 1 offers fruit,leaf,flower or water with Love I accept it. If he ate meat He would have mentioned it.Its not that every Kshatriy ate meat. Also as long as I know;there is no such references that he ate meat in scriptures.
    – Vishal prabhu lawande
    Commented Sep 9, 2016 at 4:14

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In Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna has specifically told what exact food He accept.

पत्रम पुष्पम फलम तोयम यो मे भक्त्या प्रच्छति।

तदहम भक्तत्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन:।। (9.26)

If one offers Me with love and devotion

a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.

That means he must be a vegetarian.

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    Tip: When you use blockquotes, you should provide a link to the source.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Sep 9, 2016 at 20:39
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    He is not talking about the food he ate. He is talking about offerings from devotees. That is not the food he ate. Does that mean he ate flowers, leaves? From the same logic you have used, he didn't drink milk? Then why didn't he mention it in BG?
    – Sarvabhouma
    Commented Apr 5, 2017 at 7:56
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    @Sarvabhouma yep! Though I'm a practicing Krishna devotee myself, I've always felt commentators and satsang-givers (esp from a particular, well-known institution) use the above verse with quite a bit of intellectual-dishonesty to 'prove' Krishna was a vegetarian. My own faith says, He was a vegetarian, and even if He were not, I'd still remain His vegetarian devotee, BUT the verse above is SO NOT a proof of His being vegetarian.
    – Harry
    Commented Feb 14, 2018 at 0:52
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Yes, obviously he ate, because kshatriyas of that time period ate meat and were allowed to hunt and eat all edible animals. It is mentioned in Bibek Debroy's Mahabharata that Krishna and Arjuna used to hunt in the forests near Indraprastha. That's true. There's no fault of them. Its their accordance to dharma and cooperate with it. Yudhisthira also ate deer in the dwaitavana and is also mentioned and so they moved to the kamyaka woods.

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    Welcome to Hinduism SE.You should cite sources to back your answer.
    – Triyugi Narayan Mani
    Commented Jul 11, 2016 at 5:27
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    Bibek debroy is a director of some commercial serials and what he know about Krishna? Which purana has substantiated?
    – Parthasarathy Raghavan
    Commented Sep 9, 2016 at 4:44
  • @ParthasarathyRaghavan See Bibek Debroy. I think he knows more about Mahabharata than you and me :P
    – Say No To Censorship
    Commented Sep 9, 2016 at 20:38
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    he is not a kshatriya, he is a yadava . Those days it is normal to eat non vegetarian foods. almost all the people including brahman ate non vegan foods , for those who require source kindly read mahabharatha by k.m.ganguly or one by manmadanath dutta. both are authentic and translation of original.
    – sansknwoledge
    Commented Sep 11, 2016 at 10:19
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    @sansknwoledge Yadava means who is a descendant of king Yadu. Yadu is a king. He was a Kshatriya. Yadava was the name of a Kshatriya dynasty.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Commented Mar 31, 2017 at 6:59
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Lord Krishna did not eat meat- he promoted sattvic food in gita

आयु:सत्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धना: | रस्या: स्निग्धा: स्थिरा हृद्या आहारा: सात्विकप्रिया: || 8||

āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛidyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ

āyuḥ sattva—which promote longevity; bala—strength; ārogya—health; sukha—happiness; prīti—satisfaction; vivardhanāḥ—increase; rasyāḥ—juicy; snigdhāḥ—succulent; sthirāḥ—nourishing; hṛidyāḥ—pleasing to the heart; āhārāḥ—food; sāttvika-priyāḥ—dear to those in the mode of goodness

Translation

BG 17.8: Persons in the mode of goodness prefer foods that promote the life span, and increase virtue, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, succulent, nourishing, and naturally tasteful.

Also its a wrong interpretation that Lord Krishna ate meat because he was kshatriya, he grew up in cow herder family, most cow herder families in North India are primarily vegeterian, neither Mahabharata or bhagvatam mention anything about Krishna pataking in meat,

I can't even believe that rama ate meat too, the references to meat in ramayana are very few and almost all of them are indirect references nowhere it is mentioned that he ate meat explicitly.

Lord Vishnu represent sattva, one can't fathom that he can take part in meat.

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    "I can't even believe that rama ate meat too.." believes apart, the mention of rama ate meat , in Ramayana is not indirect unless you are following commentary of BG.
    – Talk is Cheap Show me Code
    Commented Nov 29, 2020 at 9:05
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harivamsa-viSNuparva-ch18 :

vishasyantAM cha pashavo bhojyA ye mahiShAdayaH | pravartyatAM cha yaj~no.ayaM sarvagopasusaMkulaH ||2-17-15

Let us sacrifice the animals such as buffalos to be eaten. Let this sacrifice be conducted with all gopa-s.

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