Animal rights In Ancient India

The Vedic Laws of Ancient India prohibited cruelty towards animals and decreed that all life was sacred. The humane treatment of animals was and is an integral part of our glorious culture. The following well- known story from the annals of Indian history is one such example that upheld the rights of even animals.
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The young Chola prince sped through the royal streets in his new chariot pulled by the best thoroughbred horses. The people gathered along the streets to watch the young prince drive the chariot skillfully. They cheered and clapped as the prince handled the corners adeptly and never lost control of the chariot or the horses even when driving at a very high speed. As he turned a corner, a young calf suddenly sprinted across the street. The prince pulled at the reins and tried to bring the chariot to a complete stop but, alas, the calf was trampled by the horses and the chariot wheels ran over the baby calf which was crushed by the weight. All this happened in just a fraction of a second and in front of the watchful eyes of the mother cow which stood helplessly as it watched its child die!
 


The grieving cow ran towards the Bell of Justice and tugged at the bell-rope with its teeth. The bell rang loud and clear signalling the need for justice. The Chola King heard the call for justice and rushed towards the Bell of Justice. ‘Who is calling for justice,’ he wondered as he ran towards the Bell Tower followed by his ministers. He stopped dead in his track when he saw that a cow was ringing the bell. He proceeded towards the cow and stroked its back. ‘Are you seeking justice?’ he asked it and was saddened to see tears flowing from its eyes. The cow led the King to the place where its calf had been hit by the chariot. The King’s heart missed a beat when he saw the baby calf lying under the chariot wheels. ‘Who would do such a gruesome deed!’ he cried.



‘It was me, father,’ cried a meek voice.
The King was shocked to see his son standing next to the chariot. ‘I was driving this chariot when this baby calf suddenly rushed across the street. I tried very hard to stop the chariot but, …it was too late!’ cried the prince.



‘At what speed were you driving the chariot ?’ asked the King. ‘Didn’t you know that the streets are not meant for racing or that driving the chariot is a privilege not your right? You were granted permission to drive after an evaluation of your skills and after you had agreed to follow the rules. It was your duty to drive safely on the streets. Your reckless behaviour has resulted in the death of this calf. The mother cow has called for justice. When I was crowned as the king, I took an oath to protect all creatures and vowed to obey the Laws of Manu. The law is very clear on negligent manslaughter. I condemn you to death,’ cried the king.
 


The onlookers cried when they heard their king condemn his only child to death.
‘It is the king’s duty to uphold dharma. Sinners must be punished by the king according to the severity of the crime. If they are not adequately punished, then, the sinners are forced to endure many severe punishments in hell. You have taken a life. The shastras state that all jeevatmas are equal to one another and the differences we see is because of the bodies they have taken at birth. The body is like a dress worn by the jeevatma. Hence, whether it’s a cow, a dog or a human being, all are equal to one another and we must not discriminate based on their appearance. I thereby, condemn you to death and you too must feel the pain the baby calf felt when it was trampled by the horses and when the chariot wheels ran over its tiny body. I also am condemned to endure the pain felt by this mother cow. Your death will be my punishment. I myself will drive the chariot over you.’



Today in many countries capital sentence is banned and often violent offenders are released after just a few years in prison. This may seem like a humane law but, in reality by releasing such violent offenders back into the society the governments are endangering the lives of the innocent people. This is a classic case of hinsa in ahimsa – i.e injury to the innocent resulting from seemingly non-violent approach.
 


Legend has it that the moment the King drove the chariot over his only son, both the calf and the son came back to life. As the king hadn’t strayed from justice even when he was hearing the case against his son, he was proclaimed as “Manu Neethi Cholan.” The readers may find the justice practised by the Chola King hard to digest especially since in this day and age one cannot expect such fairness even among fellow human beings.

 The Cholas are descendants of the Solar Dynasty and were the upholders of Vedic Dharma in Southern India as noted by the above history in which the King strictly followed Manu Smriti. Manu Neethi Cholan was the Chola king Ellalan who ruled from 205 BCE to 161 BCE. He is proclaimed as a just and benevolent ruler a  statement which is acknowledged even by the Sinhalese. The Mahavamsa composed by the Sinhalese praises him for treating both friends and foes with fairness.

 

 

Scientific Theories In Atharvana Veda

The Atharvana Vedic verses also instructs to spin water in turbines to extract electricity.



வித்யுதஸி பாப்மாநம்  யத் வித்யுத:
தீர்த்தே பூமம் அக்ஷி சூர்யோ  சந்திரமா:
நக்ஷத்ரே இதஸ்தத:

The above verse predicts the generation of electricity from natural resources.


The Atharvana Veda informs us of electricity present inside Earth, Moon, Sun and the stars.

We can see the practical use of the concepts mentioned in the Atharvana Veda in the Kali Yuga We extract energy from the Sun rays by using solar cells. We build hydroelectric plants to extract the energy contained in water and we use coal power plants to generate electricity from coal mined from the Earth.

We memorise the Chemical formula of water as H₂O; i.e a water molecule is made of hydrogen and oxygen gas. It has two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. The Atharvana Veda gives the chemical formula of water as “pranan ekam anyath dwe” (பிராணம் ஏகம் அந்யத்வெ ) ; i.e per Atharvana Veda, water is made of prana vayu one part (oxygen)and two parts of another gas (hydrogen).



The Atharvana Vedic verses also provide instructions on weaponry and also in health sciences. Three chapters in the Atharvana Veda provide instructions on atomic energy. 

A verse in the Atharvana Veda predicts atomic warfare and the destruction of this world by the release of atomic energy. It states that there are subatomic particles which continuously orbit around the nucleus. Each particle revolves around the nucleus but, if they change direction and collide with each other, a large amount of destructive atomic energy is released. Scientists have recently discovered two tiny subatomic particles called as bottom quarks which could fuse together in theory to produce a powerful explosion so strong that it would equal the energy released by crores of hydrogen bombs!


The Atharvana Vedic verse state that like the subatomic particles, we must stay focused on our swadharma but, when we refuse to follow our swadharma and interfere with the swadharma of others, Vedic Dharma is destroyed and this destruction is more catastrophic than the atomic energy released by the collision of sub-atomic particles. The Vedic Verse is given below.


அணவ: தத் தடவ: தத் அந்தர் பூத பரம  அணவ:
பாம்யந்தி தத்ரைவா நாந்யத் பச்யதி
அந்யத் பச்யதி நேதரா கச்சதி



We are asked to meditate upon Angiras Maharishi to be freed from various doshams because of the powers attained by Angiras Maharishi by performing many types of Yagam. There is a particular yagnam called as Sayana Yagnam which was performed by Angiras Maharishi. The yagnam kundam for the Sayana Homam should be built by mixing earth with the dirt obtained from the surface of the moon. Vedam says “சந்த்ரமஸி  கிருஷ்ணம்”, i.e the soil present on the surface of the moon is dark in colour. Sample of the Lunar Dust is exhibited in many places like the Birla Planetarium and to our surprise, it is grey (Krishnam) in colour!
 
Today, if we want Lunar Dust to perform the Sayana Yagam, we have to fly in a rocket all the way to the Moon after burning a   hole in the Earth’s ozone layer. We do not have the power to obtain Lunar Dust instantly but, with the power of Vedic manthras, the ancient sages closed their eyes and chanted a manthram asking for the Lunar Dust to appear before them and it immediately appeared for their use! This is the main difference between the mechanised , scientific power and the power of the Vedic Manthrams! Atharvana Vedam itself differentiates between the two powers. It says that Vedic manthram is limitless (மந்த்ரம் அபரிமிதம் (வரையறையற்றது)) while yanthram , i.e mechananised power relying on scientific theories is limited (யந்த்ரம் பரிமிதம் (வரையறைக்குட்பட்டது ))

There is nothing which is not mentioned in the Vedas. All the inventions and discoveries are already explained in the Vedic verses!