Cow slaughter & beef eating in India has had political & religious connotations in history. Here's my attempt at a brief compilation.
According to Jha's "The myth of the holy cow", cow slaughter & beef eating was once prevalent in the Hindu religion. The Sanskrit word: Go-gna translated literally means: killing of cows, which is used in many scriptures & chants. However, I understand that Go-gna has an exception in Panini's codification of the language. From Krishna's or Panini's time, the cow has been held sacred in Hinduism. Here's Tom Alter challenging Jha's assumptions with research.
The 1857 Indian rebellion against the British was fueled by cartridges greased by cow fat (offensive to Hindus) & pig fat (offensive to Muslims). Hindus then would believe that eating beef would make them lose their religion.
When the Portuguese fought the Kerala Hindus, they slaughtered cows to make a political statement. When the Hindus resisted, it was in the name of the cow.
When the Cochin Raja welcomed Vaso-da-Gama, it was with a condition: "cow slaughter will not be permitted" (~1500 CE).
In Bengal, in 1971, the Pakistani army slaughtered a cow inside the Dhakeshwari temple to make a political & religious point.
In March 1789, when Tipu Sultan forcibly conquered Kathanad Raja of Kuttipuram, the forcible conversion of the Nair captives was completed by forcibly feeding them beef (accompanied for forced circumcision & forcible marriages of the females). This again happened during the Kerala Moplah riots in 1921.
Beef eating was taboo in Sri Lanka as well: eg: King Bhatia (38-66 ACE) would punish people for eating beef.
Ahmad Sirhindi, a conservative Islamic scholar (1564-1624 ACE), explicitly states that in addition to enforcing Jizya, cow slaughter should be performed to demonstrate the supremacy of Islam & to subjugate the Hindus.
The term, Bakr-Id, is in vogue only in India, where it means killing of cows (Bakara means cow in Arabic, {Bakra in Hindi means goat}). It is called Idul-Aza in other parts of the world. This interestingly went against Muhammad's teachings.
"From Mulaikah bint 'Amr: The Prophet (sallallahu Alayhi wa sallam) said: “The milk of the cattle contains healing, its fat is a medicine, and its meat (causes) sickness.” (Tabarani)
Declared Saheeh by Shaykh Albani (rahimahullah) in Silsilat as-Saheehah (1533) and Saheeh al-Jami' (1233)
From Ibn Mas`ûd : The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Use the milk and fat of the cow and avoid its flesh, for indeed its milk and fat are a medicine and its flesh is a disease.” [Mustadrak al-Hâkim]"
Ahmad Shah Abdali Durrani razed to the ground the Golden temple at Amritsar & filled the sacred Amrit Sarovar water tank with cow's blood.
Feeding beef is a standard ritual when converting Indian Hindus to Christianity or Islam. Force-feeding is used during forced conversions.
During the brutal Goan Portuguese inquisition led by Francis Xavier accompanied by unimaginable torture of the 'heathens', Hindus were force-fed beef during the forcible conversion. It was common practice to drop beef pieces in town as well. Xavier was to later introduce beef to Japan.
Mahatma Gandhiji worshipped cows, stated that Hindus should lay down their lives to protect cows and that anyone who did not wasn't a Hindu. He acknowledged that cow slaughter was used to defy & wound Hindu sentiment and called for a ban on it by all states. Contradicting this viewpoint later in a different context, he also said that he couldn't impose a cow slaughter ban in India, since it would mean imposing Hindu views on non-Hindus. When the Muslims agreed to such a ban in Mysore, he supported the Mysore Maharaja's ban.
Credit: @TrueIndology
Sunday, June 04, 2017
Saturday, June 03, 2017
Was Yudhishtira a gambling addict?
In popular modern versions of the Mahabharatham, Yudhishtira is shown as a gambling addict. Let's explore the epic for this origin.
Towards the end of the epic, when Yudhishtira ascends to Svarga (heaven) & later to Naraka (hell), Indra tells him that he had to experience Naraka briefly for the half-lie to Dronacharya. In fact, until then, his chariot would ride a little above the ground owing to his Dharma, and it comes crashing down. However, there is no mention of his gambling addiction here. It looks like his gambling had no effect on his chariot remaining afloat until the lie. Did Vyasa simply miss this? Maybe gambling wasn't considered a sin? Maybe this is an internal contradiction?
The answer is subtle & intriguing.
After Yudhishtira performs the Rajasuya Yagna, where Sisupala is killed, he has doubts about the outcome of the Yagna. He seems to be affected by Sisupala's killing & asks Vyasa if any bad outcome will end with the Yagna. Vyasa replies that with him, Yudhishtira as a cause, a destruction of the Kshatriyas (warrior class) was imminent in 13 years.
Here comes an interesting concept of Purusha Prayatna (human effort) in the Mahabharatha. Even though fate has ordained the destruction, Yudhishtira wants to do everything humanly possible to avert the destruction. He takes an oath that he shall not speak harsh words to any of his brothers or kings. He would live under the command of his relatives. He will make distinction between his children & others. He has avoid all disagreement, since that is the cause of war in this world. He will agree to others' wishes.
Later, Duryodhana, seething with jealousy at the wonders & riches of Indraprastha, disgregards Drithirashtra's & Vidura's advise & convinces his reluctant father to invite Yudhishtira for a game of dice. His uncle, Shakuni, calls Yudhishtira a gambling addict who can't refuse an invitation. Drithirashtra & Vidura foresee that this game is going to cause issues but he issues the order anyway.
When Vidura extends the invite, Yudhishtira expresses his reluctance to play, cites gamblers as deceitful, and agrees to play to fulfill Drithirashtra's wishes as a son. Before the game, Yudhishtira again explains the sins of gambling. He also warns against using deceit in the game. Does this sound like a gambling addict? Shakuni insists. Later, Duryodhana says that Shakuni will play on his behalf. Yudhishtira again says that this is against established norms and says that he will play if they insist. He was in essence following his oath taken after the Rajasuya Yagna.
Shakuni starts the game & keeps winning without a single chance given to Yudhishtira. After several victories, Vidura advises an end to the game & warns of eventual war & complete destruction. Duryodhana insists on continuing. After winning all the wealth & kingdom, Shakuni continues to play. Here, Yudhishtira first bets Nakula & Sahadeva, while elaborating their virtues. Shakuni caustically comments that he bet Madri's sons first. Upon Yudhishtira's rebuke, he apologizes.
He then bets Arjuna & Bhima, again extolling their virtues & finally himself. After he himself is lost, Shakuni asks Yudhishtira (now his slave), to bet Draupadi, which he does, extolling all her virtues.
Duryodhana now wishes to insult Draupadi & is rebuked by Vidura. He ignores him & sends a servant, Pratikamin to summon Draupadi. Pratikamin says that Yudhishtira lost himself in gambling & bet her. Draupadi asks him, if he was intoxicated & bet her before others. Hearing an answer in the negative, Draupadi sends him back asking who was lost first, Yudhishtira or Draupadi herself. This event happens a second time. Then, Dusshashana is sent, who drags her to court by her hair.
A furious Bhima accuses Yudhishtira of being an inveterate gambler & wants to burn his hands, but is rebuked by Arjuna, who points out that he was forced to play against his will. This looks like the origin of the charge. None of the other brothers ever rebuke Yudhishtira about the gambling game.
Later, in a subsequent game of dice, the Pandavas are exiled. In the forest, Yudhishtira, seeing the travails of Draupadi, laments about being addicted to dice. Sometimes, we may play to the public perception or the other person's perception of ourselves even though we know that it is wrong. It appears that Yudhishtira is doing that here to soothe Draupadi.
Why did the Kauravas not invite the Pandavas to another game of dice after the exile? During exile, Yudhishtira gains skill in the game of dice from a great sage in the Kamakya forest. Without this skill, the Kauravas would probably have invited him again to another game of dice. He uses his skill in dice to live in disguise as Kanka in the last year of exile. However, before joining the court, he again tells the king that he doesn't like gambling but will play for the king's pleasure. When harassed by Kichaka, Draupadi complains to Bhima about Yudhishtira & his addiction to dice. It looks like Draupadi was using Bhima's perception to convince him to kill Kichaka.
The answer is subtle & intriguing.
After Yudhishtira performs the Rajasuya Yagna, where Sisupala is killed, he has doubts about the outcome of the Yagna. He seems to be affected by Sisupala's killing & asks Vyasa if any bad outcome will end with the Yagna. Vyasa replies that with him, Yudhishtira as a cause, a destruction of the Kshatriyas (warrior class) was imminent in 13 years.
Here comes an interesting concept of Purusha Prayatna (human effort) in the Mahabharatha. Even though fate has ordained the destruction, Yudhishtira wants to do everything humanly possible to avert the destruction. He takes an oath that he shall not speak harsh words to any of his brothers or kings. He would live under the command of his relatives. He will make distinction between his children & others. He has avoid all disagreement, since that is the cause of war in this world. He will agree to others' wishes.
Later, Duryodhana, seething with jealousy at the wonders & riches of Indraprastha, disgregards Drithirashtra's & Vidura's advise & convinces his reluctant father to invite Yudhishtira for a game of dice. His uncle, Shakuni, calls Yudhishtira a gambling addict who can't refuse an invitation. Drithirashtra & Vidura foresee that this game is going to cause issues but he issues the order anyway.
When Vidura extends the invite, Yudhishtira expresses his reluctance to play, cites gamblers as deceitful, and agrees to play to fulfill Drithirashtra's wishes as a son. Before the game, Yudhishtira again explains the sins of gambling. He also warns against using deceit in the game. Does this sound like a gambling addict? Shakuni insists. Later, Duryodhana says that Shakuni will play on his behalf. Yudhishtira again says that this is against established norms and says that he will play if they insist. He was in essence following his oath taken after the Rajasuya Yagna.
Shakuni starts the game & keeps winning without a single chance given to Yudhishtira. After several victories, Vidura advises an end to the game & warns of eventual war & complete destruction. Duryodhana insists on continuing. After winning all the wealth & kingdom, Shakuni continues to play. Here, Yudhishtira first bets Nakula & Sahadeva, while elaborating their virtues. Shakuni caustically comments that he bet Madri's sons first. Upon Yudhishtira's rebuke, he apologizes.
He then bets Arjuna & Bhima, again extolling their virtues & finally himself. After he himself is lost, Shakuni asks Yudhishtira (now his slave), to bet Draupadi, which he does, extolling all her virtues.
Duryodhana now wishes to insult Draupadi & is rebuked by Vidura. He ignores him & sends a servant, Pratikamin to summon Draupadi. Pratikamin says that Yudhishtira lost himself in gambling & bet her. Draupadi asks him, if he was intoxicated & bet her before others. Hearing an answer in the negative, Draupadi sends him back asking who was lost first, Yudhishtira or Draupadi herself. This event happens a second time. Then, Dusshashana is sent, who drags her to court by her hair.
A furious Bhima accuses Yudhishtira of being an inveterate gambler & wants to burn his hands, but is rebuked by Arjuna, who points out that he was forced to play against his will. This looks like the origin of the charge. None of the other brothers ever rebuke Yudhishtira about the gambling game.
Later, in a subsequent game of dice, the Pandavas are exiled. In the forest, Yudhishtira, seeing the travails of Draupadi, laments about being addicted to dice. Sometimes, we may play to the public perception or the other person's perception of ourselves even though we know that it is wrong. It appears that Yudhishtira is doing that here to soothe Draupadi.
Why did the Kauravas not invite the Pandavas to another game of dice after the exile? During exile, Yudhishtira gains skill in the game of dice from a great sage in the Kamakya forest. Without this skill, the Kauravas would probably have invited him again to another game of dice. He uses his skill in dice to live in disguise as Kanka in the last year of exile. However, before joining the court, he again tells the king that he doesn't like gambling but will play for the king's pleasure. When harassed by Kichaka, Draupadi complains to Bhima about Yudhishtira & his addiction to dice. It looks like Draupadi was using Bhima's perception to convince him to kill Kichaka.
This is the fascinating origin of the sources of the charge of Yudhishtira being an inveterate gambler. What is your interpretation?
Further references:
Friday, June 02, 2017
Did Draupadi laugh at Duryodhana?
In the Mahabharatham as popularly portrayed, Draupadi laughs at Duryodhana when he falls into a pool. This is later cited as a reason as to his behavior towards Draupadi in the game of dice.
Is this true?
Indraprastha was built by Maya, the architect of the Asuras. The nature of this palace is that nothing is what it seems like. Only someone with a high level of control over his mind can actually see things as they are.
This appears to be an allegory to the world itself. Maya can be translated as illusion. Adi Shankara uses the rope & snake analogy to describe the world as Mithya (Bhrahmam Satyam Jagan Mithya: ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या). What you think is a snake is actually a rope. The world is not what it seems to be. To transcend it, meditate and gain control over your mind, to see the world as what it truly is.
Duryodhana has poor control over his mind. When he goes through Indraprastha, he mistakes initially solid ground for water & later the reverse. He falls into the water. When he falls, Bhima, his retinue of attendants, Arjuna, Nakula & Sahadeva laugh. There is no mention whatsoever of Draupadi. There is also no mention of Yudhishtira laughing.
So, where did this come from?
Duryodhana later complains to Drithirashtra, requesting him to invite the Pandavas to a game of dice, which Drithirashtra is reluctant to do. He praises Yudhishtira's conduct who treated him with respect & gave him wonderful gifts. He also states that Yudhishtira immediately helped provide a change of clothes. This means Yudhishtira was present, but he had enough control over his mind that he didn't laugh.
Sometimes, when someone has an ungainly moment & injures oneself, the first instinct of the mind is to laugh. Only an instant later would we realize that the person is injured and the helpful instincts kick in. Yudhishtira has transcended the normal state of mind.
Duryodhana also speaks well of Nakula & Sahadeva who treated him with concern & supported him when he got injured. It appears that Nakula & Sahadeva laughed, but without malice. He is critical of Arjuna & especially Bhima, who appears to have found Duryodhana's inability to navigate Indraprasta funny.
In this rant, he also mentions Draupaid & her maids, who laughed.
In the original episode, there is mention of even Bhima's attendants, but no mention of Draupadi or her attendants. Later, we have only Duryodhana's word for this episode. It appears that Duryodhana may have lied to add color to the episode, to convince a reluctant Drithirashtra to invite the Pandavas over to the game of dice.
Draupadi laughing at Duryodhana is not supported by the original reference, given the amount of detail in who laughed.
Draupadi calling Duryodhana: blind son of a blind father (andha ka beta andha) is a creative rewrite of the original episode by recent playwrights. There is no original reference supporting this.
Is this true?
Indraprastha was built by Maya, the architect of the Asuras. The nature of this palace is that nothing is what it seems like. Only someone with a high level of control over his mind can actually see things as they are.
This appears to be an allegory to the world itself. Maya can be translated as illusion. Adi Shankara uses the rope & snake analogy to describe the world as Mithya (Bhrahmam Satyam Jagan Mithya: ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या). What you think is a snake is actually a rope. The world is not what it seems to be. To transcend it, meditate and gain control over your mind, to see the world as what it truly is.
Duryodhana has poor control over his mind. When he goes through Indraprastha, he mistakes initially solid ground for water & later the reverse. He falls into the water. When he falls, Bhima, his retinue of attendants, Arjuna, Nakula & Sahadeva laugh. There is no mention whatsoever of Draupadi. There is also no mention of Yudhishtira laughing.
So, where did this come from?
Duryodhana later complains to Drithirashtra, requesting him to invite the Pandavas to a game of dice, which Drithirashtra is reluctant to do. He praises Yudhishtira's conduct who treated him with respect & gave him wonderful gifts. He also states that Yudhishtira immediately helped provide a change of clothes. This means Yudhishtira was present, but he had enough control over his mind that he didn't laugh.
Sometimes, when someone has an ungainly moment & injures oneself, the first instinct of the mind is to laugh. Only an instant later would we realize that the person is injured and the helpful instincts kick in. Yudhishtira has transcended the normal state of mind.
Duryodhana also speaks well of Nakula & Sahadeva who treated him with concern & supported him when he got injured. It appears that Nakula & Sahadeva laughed, but without malice. He is critical of Arjuna & especially Bhima, who appears to have found Duryodhana's inability to navigate Indraprasta funny.
In this rant, he also mentions Draupaid & her maids, who laughed.
In the original episode, there is mention of even Bhima's attendants, but no mention of Draupadi or her attendants. Later, we have only Duryodhana's word for this episode. It appears that Duryodhana may have lied to add color to the episode, to convince a reluctant Drithirashtra to invite the Pandavas over to the game of dice.
Draupadi laughing at Duryodhana is not supported by the original reference, given the amount of detail in who laughed.
Draupadi calling Duryodhana: blind son of a blind father (andha ka beta andha) is a creative rewrite of the original episode by recent playwrights. There is no original reference supporting this.
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