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Cows, Elephants, Dogs, and Other Lesser Embodiments ofAtman Reflections on Hindu Attitudes Toward Nonhuman

LANCE NELSON

The wise see the same [reality] in a endowed with learn­ ing and , a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an outcaste. - 5-18

The Deccan Herald of January 25, 1999, reports lessly and unharmed in the lap ofone astonished that, a few days earlier, in the town of Shakara­ member of the audience after another. When puram near the South Indian city of Bangalore, the function was over, it departed. The a group ofdevotees gathered to hear a talk on the participants were most impressed. Surely, it was Bhagavad GFta by a famous scholar, Bannanje concluded, this was a visit from , the Govindacharya. He was visiting from Udipi, a famed monkey god and hero of the Ramaya1Ja, Vai~t:lava pilgrimage center of great sanctiry. As who-in addition to being famed for his un­ part of the function, the pa1J4it's new Kanada matched prowess in battle-is known for his translation of the much-loved Hindu epic the perfect mastery of grammar.! Was he Riimaya1Ja was being formally released to the there to scrutinize the new version of the story public. As Govindacharya alighted from his ve­ in which he figures so prominently, and to sig­ hicle, proceeded into the hall, and ascended the nal his approval? As a ciraiijivi-a "long-lived" stage, an adult monkey followed dose behind. one, a near immortal-Hanuman is believed The organizers tried to shoo the monkey off the to appear wherever the Riimiiya1Ja is being read platform, but it refused to budge, so they de­ and honored. Partly because of their association cided to let it be. When it came time to re­ with Hanuman and the Riimiiya1Ja, monkeys are lease the book, the audience of 350 watched as treated as sacred everywhere in .2 the monkey took the new Ramiiya1Ja from the We are perhaps not surprised to hear such re­ author's hand, removed the ceremonial wrap­ ports in connection with the Hindu tradition. ping, and spent a few seconds scanning the After all, is not Hindu India home of the prov­ pages. Having returned the book to its author, erbial "holy cow"? Dorane Jacobson tells of a the monkey then descended from the platform central Indian villager who was accused of "cow and, while the scholar gave his talk, sat harm­ murder," even though the 's death was / 180 LANCE NELSON

accidental. He was sentenced to social and re­ ritual application of these "five products of the trate, strike the ligious ostracism until he could pay a substan­ cow" (paiicagavya) combined, a preparation also plore here the r tial fine, which took him ten years to save the known as "the five-fold nectar" (paiicamrta). In on the subject money to pay. Even then, for many years after recent centuries, the cow has emerged as a prime of nonhuman ; that he was still known as "the one who mur­ symbol of "Hindu nationhood," and the Cow will take a wei dered his calE" 3 The cow was associated with Protection Movement has become a focus of vad Gita (c. 20 the sacred, though not yet completely sacro­ Hindu identity vis-a.-vis the Muslim and colo­ fions through J sanct, in the ancient hymns of the (sec­ nial British OtherY dons, theology ond to first millennium BCE). Since then, she Sacred monkeys and holy cows do not tell the process, I ' has undergone a gradual apotheosis, becoming the whole story of nonhuman animals in India. to the oj over time a key symbol of all that is sacred to, Other species have symbolic religious value: 200 BCE-200 C 4 and unifies, . There is evidence of con­ snakes, as emblems of fertility; lions, associated Brahminical co cern for shelter and maintenance to un­ with the Goddess ; even rats, as we shall ligious duty). productive cattle as early as the fourth century see below. On the other hand, one should not The Sanskri and homes for aging and enfeebled cattle get the impression the Hindu world represents elite has tended (golalas) are attested in India by the sixteenth a secure zone for nonhuman animals. Animal anthropocentri~ 6 century CE. sacrifice, for example, plays a not insignificant centric") view ( Golalas continue to be a prominent feature role in Hindu religious up to the present. alized nonhum of Hindu religious institutions. Hindu faithful activists tell the story ofa woman existence and al refer to the cow as "our mother" (go-mata). The in Hyderabad during the I990S, who had just re­ same time, it d< cow in Puraf.1ic myth is Kamadhenu, "yielder ceived what in the United States would be called mines humanit; of the milk of all desire," source of nutriment a "career break." She had been given a part in species, and, by and prosperity? She is Surabhi, "the Fragrant," a Hindi film, and was on her way to name and rated as a core the symbolic embodiment of the Earth; she is fame, at least on a local level. Out of thanks, or noninjury (a Lak~mi, the goddess of fortune. Respondents she started a small temple for . always been ele in the holy city of , where Her celebrity apparen tly attracted others to offer have criticized a can be found who daily perform go-pujii (cow sacrifices in search of similar boons, and the verse elements ~ worship), confided, "We believe that 330 mil­ small shrine soon became, we are told, "a foun­ practice. These lion Hindu gods live in everyarom of the cow's tain of blood." 12 More recently, in June of 2002, more positive in body," and, "We believe in going to heaven by King Bir Bikram Shah Gyanendra of Nepal and will consider th, the aid of the COW."8 A cow donated to Brah­ his wife, Queen Komal Rajya, stirred up con­ mins is said to carry the departing soul across troversy by flying directly from Kathmandu to the river Vaitaraf.1I, which separates the world of Guwahati, Assam, to perform a paficabali, or Sameness ofSelf the living from the world of the dead. This be­ sacrificial offering of five animals, at the fa­ between Species lief is enacted in the Vaitaraf.1! ritual, in which mous (for some Hindus, infamous) temple of the worshiper clutches the tail of a cow with the Goddess Kamakhya. After the sacrifice, the A number ofpru both hands. In death as well as in life, human king and queen attended a lunch held in their been cited as del beings thus depend upon the cow as upon their honor at the official residence of the Governor portive ethic of 9 mother. The cow, further, is associated with the of Assam. Unmoved by the protests of animal Particularly inte] world-stabilizing purity of Brahminhood, and rights activists, the king and queen moved on to p8, which read indeed is said to be the animal whose form is Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), where they offered alityl in a BrallD typically inhabited by souls prior to their in­ a goat in sacrifice to the Goddess Kal! at the ­ culture, a cow, < 1O carnation as Brahmins. Touching a cow is a ghat temple.D caste (or 'Dog-' source ofgood fortune and ritual purification, as The attitudes toward nonhuman animals brings to the fOf( is the use ofgo-miitii's milk, curd, clarified but­ within are immensely complex and issues concern in ter, urine, or dung. Even more purifying is the often, as the incidents recounted above illus­ human animals. 181

COWS, ELEPHANTS, DOGS

.roducts of the trate, strike the observer as antithetical. I will ex­ parture and thematic touchstone for my remarks reparation also plore here the main outlines of Hindu thinking as we proceed. paficiimrta). In on the subject of the moral and spiritual status First, Gfta 5018 brings to mind the Hindu rged as a prime of nonhuman animals. As a thematic motif, I doctrine that is perhaps most fundamental to 'and the Cow wiH take a well-known verse from the Bhaga­ understanding the Hindu conception of the me a focus of vad Gftii (c. 200 BCE), and explore its implica­ spiritual and moral value ofevery life-form. This slim and colo- tions through references to Hindu legal tradi­ is the idea, shared by nearly all of the many tions, theology, myth, and popular stories. In schools of Hindu thought, that the true spiritual IWS do not tell the process, I will give considerable attention Self (iilman) is qualitatively identical in all be­ limals in India. to the Laws of Manu (Miinava .{iistra, ings - from, as it is said, the creator god eligious value: 200 BCE-200 CE), the most important work on down to a blade of grass (see Manu 1.50). The ons, associated Brahminical concepts of dharma (social and re­ Vai~l).ava commentator (eleventh­ 'ats, as we shall ligious duty). twelfth century CE) explains the text: )ne should not The Sanskritic orthodoxy of the Brahmin 'orld represents elite has tended, as we shall see, toward a narrow, Although the selves (iitmans) are being perceived limals. Animal anthropocentric (one might well say, "andro­ in extremely dissimilar forms, the wise know the ot insigaificant centric") view of the world, one that conceptu­ selves to be of uniform .... The dissimi­ ) to the present. alized nonhuman animals as "lower" forms of larity of the forms is due to [the various] ma­ Dry of a woman existence and allowed for animal sacrifice. At the terial [adjuncts], and not to any dissimilarity in ",ho had just re­ same time, it does contain material that under­ the self. (BhGR 5018) would be called mines humanity's vision of itself as a privileged given a part in species, and, by the classical era, it had incorpo­ There is a vigorous dispute between Hindu ay to name and rated as a core value the of theists such as Ramanuja, who believe there are Out of thanks, or noninjury (ahirrtsii). In addition, there have many iitmans, one for each being, and the non­ mimal sacrifice. always been elements within the tradition that dualist (advaitin) theologians, who hold that the d others to offer have criticized and even sought to subvert or re­ Selfis quantitativelyas well as qualitatively iden­ boons, and the verse elements of the orthodox worldview and tical, there being only a single, universal iitman. :e told, "a foun­ These have to some extent provided But the idea that all beings ultimately have the in June of 2002, more positive images of nonhuman life forms. I same spiritual potential is the same for both. So ra of Nepal and will consider them as well. the sages here see-quite literally, since it is as­ stirred up con­ sumed that their mystical vision is fully awak­ Kathmandu to ened-all beings as endowed with a Self that a pamabali, or Sameness ofSeifand Transmigratory Journeying is equal in potential and equal in value. On nals, at the fa­ between Species the level of spirit, at least, there is an essential lOUS) temple of equality between the Brahmin, the cow, the ele­ :he sacrifice, the A number of passages in the Bhagavad Gftii have phant, the dog, and the outcaste. ch held in their been cited as demonstrating an ecologically sup­ Extending the principle embodied in this )f the Governor portive ethic of respect for life in all its forms. verse, the Gftii itself, in certain passages, articu­ Dtests of animal Particularly interesting in this connection is Gftii lates a vision of universal empathy, as at 6.32, ~en moved on to ).I8, which reads: "The wise see the same [re­ which echoes the golden rule: "When one sees Iere they offered aliry] in a Brahmin endowed with and the pleasure and pain in all beings as the same i KalI at the Kali­ culture, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an out­ in comparison with self ... one is considered the caste (or 'Dog-Cooker,' lvapiika)." This verse highest yogin." The great nondualist commen­ human animals brings to the foreground a number of important tator Sankara (seventh century CE) takes this ~ly complex and issues concerning Hindu attitudes toward non­ text as suggesting the universality of conscious­ ted above illus­ human animals. I will use it as the point of de­ ness and, therefore, a reflective basis for univer­ LANCE NELSON sal : "Just as for me pain is both dis­ their next human birth in the bodies of these has once been agreeable and undesired, so is it for all living be­ rats, protected in this temple. Devotees bring its own vomit ings" (sarva-prib}iniim, BhGS 6.32). Holding to food offerings to present to the rats; they allow this standard, the GTtii espouses as its ideal sages the rodents to climb all over them and finish The yogin is ' who "delight in the welfare ofall beings" (sarva­ off any food the rats may leave. Eating prasiid template violen bhuta-hite ratiir, 5-25), that is, allbeings, not just (offertory food) that has been nibbled or sipped quences. As to d human beings. by these sacred rats, and thereby consecrated, the following be Perhaps equally important in determining brings good fortune. 15 the Hindu view of nonhuman beings is the re­ Having robbel lated and complementary notion of transmigra­ loses the vigol tion or rebirth (punar-bhiiva). It is the same con­ The Doctrine ofNoninjury caused pain h sciousness that may appear at different times hell, in [the bo all life forms, whether Brahmin, cow, elephant, These two notions, equality in spirit and aware­ evil spirits, anI dog, or outcaste. AB is well-known, Hindus be­ ness of reincarnation, are closely associated with lieve that each being, on its journey toward its the well-known, though not exclusively Hindu, We will take ultimate goal of mokfa-final beatitude in re­ doctrine ofahif!Zsii or noninjury. The Mahiibhii­ terization ofthe, lease from the cycles of rebirth (saf!Zsiira) - goes rata proclaims repeatedly, "ahif!Zsii is the high­ denced here, as , through a succession of innumerable lives, dur­ est duty (dharma)" (1.11.12, 3-198.69, etc.) and mal rebirths as a ing which the iitman undergoes a wide variety the Hindu books teach uniformly that non­ is that the yogin of embodiments. These embodiments may be injury is the common duty (siidhiira1}a-dharma) tirely uproot via in plants as well as animals, not to speak of of all human beings.16 In the Hindu tradition, cetics who succe gods and other beings inhabiting other, "higher" the ahif!Zsii ethic is especially incumbent on as­ power to compI planes of existence. cetics. The ritual ofsaf!Znyiisa or renunciation in­ their environmel An essential notion here, of course, is that volves giving a promise of "safety to all living be­ yogic lore, the p each of us was once embodied in plant and ani­ ings" (6.39). "To protectliving creatures," the re­ mals and to caw mal forms, and may again be, as may others nouncer "should inspect the ground constantly mies to live togel who are near and dear to us. The Yogavasiftha as he walks, by night or by day" (Manu 6.68). An example 0 suggests that we ought to be mindful, and may Patafijali's Yogasutras (c. 400 CE), a manual for , th~ great tv through yogic practice actually become aware, ascetic practice, requires ahif!Zsii as the primary India. Ramana Vi of our former incarnations in animal form.l 4 As virtue ofyogins (practitioners ofyoga). It is de­ sonal realization we shall see below, the Pura~as contain many fined by the commentator as "the non­ vaita (nondualisr stories of individuals who, for various reasons, harming (anabhidroha) of all beings everywhere nary affection fo: were reborn as animals. At Deshnok, Rajasthan, at all times" (YSV 2.30). The system en­ with, animals. H( one may today visit the temple of Kar~I Mata, a courages yogins to investigate the subtle roots of likes, individual fifteenth-century female mystic, associated with violence within their own psyches through deep and even the in the ruling families of Bikaner, who came to meditation and counter them by developing of the various ar be regarded as an incarnation of the Goddess strong waves of "contrary thought" (pratipakfa­ ties that shared h Durga. The temple where she is now enshrined bhiivana, YS 2.33). According to Vyasa the yogin human devotees: as Deity has imposing silver gates and exqui­ should think as follows: crows, sparrows, site marble carvings, but is most famous as the scorpions. Bhaga, "Temple of Rats," because it is filled with scurry­ Burning with the terrible fire of rebirth, I have mana was known ing rodents who are understood to be deceased sought refuge in the practice ofyoga after prom­ often individual r members of the clan of Kar~I Mata. In conse­ ising safety to all living beings. If I, the very per­ creatures, and he quence of a boon given to the saint, these, her son who had once given up perverse thoughts [of nated between his relatives, never descend into the kingdom of the violence], were to revert to them, I would be be­ tees. "We do not god ofdeath, Yama, but wait out their time until having like a dog. '" One who reverts to what anting these bodic 183 COWS, ELEPHANTS, DOGS odies of these has once been renounced is like a dog licking up ishing what portion of their unfinished )evotees bring its own vomit. (YSV2.33) they may seek our company." 17 He is reported ats; they allow to have understood the language of the mon­ em and finish The yogin is encouraged to thoroughly con­ keys that lived in the environs and earned their Eating prasad template violence, its motives, and its conse­ trust to the extent that they brought their dis­ Ibled or sipped quences. As to the latter, Vyasa recommends that putes to him to adjudicate.ls Ramana refused to y consecrated, the following be deeply pondered: allow cobras and other snakes that appeared in the aframa to be killed, which would have been Having robbed the victim of strength, the killer the ordinary practice. A devotee reports that loses the vigor of his body and senses. Having once a large green snake had taken to frequent­ caused pain he suffers pain - by being born in ing a pa/J'!al, a large pavilion built for a festival. hell, in [the bodies of] animals, in the wombs of Ramana was reluctant to have this new inmate ,itit and aware­ evil spirits, and so on. (YSV2.34) of the aframa chased away, until it was pointed lSsociated with out that the snake might suffer at the hands of usively Hindu, We will take up below the negative charac­ festival-attendees, who were likely to be less tol­ The Mahabha­ terization ofthe dog in the Hindu tradition, evi­ erant of reptiles than himself. "It might be so," lsii is the'high­ denced here, as well the use of the threat ofani­ he responded. The account continues: 8,69, etc.) and mal rebirths as a moral deterrent. The point here Irmly that non­ is that the yogin is engaged in a struggle to en­ Bhagavan thereupon looked at the snake for a iiraIJa-dharma) tirely uproot violence from consciousness. As­ while, steadfastly and graciously. Immediately indu tradition, cetics who succeed in this endeavor develop the after that the snake, which was remaining still all :umbent on as­ power to completely neutralize all hostility in the time we were discussing, got down [from] the enunciation in­ their environment (YS 2.35). This includes, in pandal rapidly, went into the flower garden and to all living be­ yogic lore, the power to pacify dangerom ani­ disappeared. There was no knowing what mes­ eatures," the re­ mals and to cause species that are mutual ene­ sage he received when Bhagavan gazed at him. und constantly mies to live together in peaceful harmony. ... The snake was never seen afierwards. 19 " (Manu 6.68). An example ofsuch a saint is Ramana Maha­ ), a manual for rishi, the great twentieth-century sage of South Ascetics, of course, represent only a small as the primary India. Ramana was known not only for his per­ fraction of Hindu . Householders, the ~ yoga). It is de­ sonal realization of the highest truth of Ad­ vast majority, cannot follow the ahirrzsa ethic >a as "the non­ vaita (), but also for his extraordi­ as rigorously, but neither are they expected to. ngs everywhere nary affection for, and ability to communicate Indeed, the situation of the upper-caste house­ oga system en­ with, animals. He knew the habits, likes and dis­ holder in this respect was for centuries compli­ ~ subtle roots of likes, individual personalities and biographies, cated by the obligations of the ancient Vedic :s through deep and even the inter- and intra-species politics sacrificial cult. The practice of animal sacrifice by developing of the various animals and animal communi­ (pafu-bandha, "animal-binding") was by the ht" (pratipakfa­ ties that shared his aframa (hermitage) with his time of the major books (200 BCE­ Vyasa the yogin human devotees: dogs, cats, squirrels, peacocks, 200 CE) in decline. There was discomfort within crows, sparrows, monkeys, cows, snakes, and the Brahminical tradition about sacrificial vio­ scorpions. Bhagavan (the "Blessed One"), as Ra­ lence,z° as well as anxiety regarding its possible )f rebirth, I have mana was known, used personal pronouns, and consequences for the perpetrators;21 in addi­ 'yoga after prom­ often individual names, when referring to these tion there was the external pressure of critiC)ues If I, the very per­ creatures, and he is said not to have discrimi­ from Buddhist and Jaina advocates of ahirrzsa. rerse thoughts [of nated between his human and nonhuman devo­ Nevertheless, Vedic sacrifice was supported by n, I would be be­ tees. "We do not know what souls may be ten­ the prestige of antiquity and was still in vogue, J reverts to what anting these bodies," he would say, "and for fin­ and the authors of the law books take the sacri­ LANCE NELSON ficial ideology into account. For householders, A practice closely connected with the ethic things, have acc( at any rate, animal sacrifice was permitted, even of nonviolence, and one for which Hinduism liberation). To b( required (Manu 4.25-28). Indeed, Manu pro­ is rightly well-known, is . Along direct access to t claims that animals were created for sacrifice, with the killing ofanimals, the ancient sacrificial leges, one must­ declaring, "killing in sacrifice is not killing," rites allowed the consumption of animal flesh, - be a "twice-bo 28 and that violence (hi1J1sa) ordained by the Veda including beef, in a ritual context. By the ninth member ofthe Ul is really ahi1J1sa (5-39, 44). Plants and animals century, however, vegetarianism was becoming Sarikara, access 1 killed in sacrifice are reborn in the "highest the norm for Brahmins and followers of no less than a Bl level of existence" (Manu 5.42).22 Still, Manu sects, especially Vai~I?-avas, although the ruling (world-renounce! shows the influence of the rising tide ofahi1J1sa­ castes - the ~atriyas - retained their traditions As is well kn thinking. He recognizes that even plants have of game and eating meat. As, however, their many theol< consciousness and experience happiness and un­ the development of Hindu vegetarianism is well one's station in 1 happiness (Manu 1.49-50). Noninjury is highly documented by Edwin Bryant in the next essay, the course of on( praised as the preferred ideal for the virtuous, I need not dwell on it here. determined by 0 even among householders (Manu 5.45-47). quences of one's Slowly, the ahi1J1sa ethic triumphed over the one's birth, whel ancient sacrificial cultus, and animal sacrifice Hierarchy, Anthropocentrism, and form, is attribute came to be condemned as a practice no longer Symbolic Denigration be kept in mind· permissible, especially among followers of the linear, for one ca. 23 bhakti (devotional) traditions. The Vai~I?-ava There is a common presupposition that vedan­ fall into "lower" s Bhagavata Purara (BhP, eighth-ninth century) tic panentheism entails a Hindu sense of one­ to enjoy "higher" forbade the offering of meat in sacrifice and its ness with nature, seen as a manifestation of the In Manu we fi consumption as a violation of the principle of divine. In fact, classical Hindu theology and so­ tion of this hiera ahi1J1sa (BhP 3-25-7-8, 7.15.7-8, 10, 11.5.14). The cial thought present a view of the world that is migratory consec Purara attributes awareness of human inten­ unapologetically hierarchical and anthropocen­ of the theory of tions-as well as feelings of fear-to animals tric. The idea of the superiority of human be­ physical "qualitie~ confronted by the threat of sacrificial death: ings is justified, not on the basis of their pos­ to the traditional I "Seeing someone about to sacrifice with material session of a soul, for as we have seen the same of existe~ce, com offerings, beings are filled with dread, fearing is found in all beings. Even plants, we range of phenom 'This self-indulgent [human], having no com­ noted, have consciousness and experience hap­ cal. Sattva ("goO( passion, will slay me'" (BhP 7.15.10). Starting piness and unhappiness (Manu 1.49). Neither highly valued of t in the tenth century, Hindu legal writings in­ is it argued in physical or emotional terms, for of intelligence, cr clude animal sacrifice in lists of kali-varjyas, ac­ as the Hitopadefa tells us, "Human beings share ("energy"), the gz. tions that are "prohibited in the Kali Age," the food, sleep, fear, and sexual activity in common and ("darla present era of moral and spiritual decline, de­ with animals" (HN1.25). For the Brahmins who argy (Manu I2.24 24 spite their being enjoined in the ancient texts. set the rules, the key distinction is rather cogni­ we learn ofthe po: By the thirteenth century, we find the Vai~I?-ava tive, moral, ritual, and soteriological: only hu­ tinies of human theologian Madhva recommending across-the­ man beings have the capacity to receive and ­ a preponderance, board substitution of animal effigies (piHa-pafu, propriate revelation (fruti), in the form of the ties: "People of It or "flour-animals") for living victims in Vedic Veda, and thus only human beings have access people of energy 25 rituals. This was a generalization of a practice to that which comes from the Veda, namely people of darknes: that began in the late Vedic period 26 and may dharma (correct ritual behavior and morality). mals" (Manu 12.4 be observed today in modern reenactments of "Dharma is the distinctive quality," the Hito­ among the qualitie the ancient rites. Sacrifice continued, however, padefa verse continues, "without which human lists ignorance, cc in the temples of the goddesses Kali and Durga, beings are the same as animals." And in the end, to reason, lack of i 27 in tantric rites, and regional village traditions. only human beings, in the ordinary course of incontinence, crue 185 COWS, ELEPHANTS, DOGS with the ethic things, have access to mokfa or mukti (spiritual one begins to see that the portrait of the non­ ich Hinduism liberation). To be more precise, to have full and human world, onto which these qualities are ianism. Along direct access to these cosmically valenced privi­ projected, is not a very positive one. Among pos­ cient sacrificial leges, one must-for manyconservative teachers sible human destinies, rebirth as an animal is a f animal flesh, - be a "twice-born" Hindu, that is to say, a male frightening punishment. Thus: 28 By the ninth member ofthe upper three castes. For some, like was becoming Sankara, access to mokfa requires that one be Violent men become carnivorous (beasts); peo­ ,wers of bhakti no less than a Brahmin male, and a sa1Jlnyasin ple who eat impure things become worms; 19h the ruling (world-renouncer) to boot.29 thieves (become animals that) devour one an­ heir traditions As is well known, Hindu teachers, despite other ... Women, too, who steal in this way incur t. As, however, their many theological differences, all agree that guilt; they become the wives of these very same lrianism is well one's station in this hierarchical , and creatures. (Manu 12.59, 69) the next essay, the course of one's journey through sa1Jlsara, is determined by one's karma, the moral conse­ The Chandogya Upanifad (PO.7-8) prom­ quences of one's actions. The circumstances of ises rebirth as a dog or pig to those whose con­ one's birth, whether in human or nonhuman duct has been evil. Those who neglect or de­ form, is attributed to one's karma. And it must spise Vedic values, the text tells us, will be reborn be kept in mind that the process is not strictly again and again as "small creatures." Sailkara linear, for one can, over the course of rebirths, comments: )n that vedan­ fall into "lower" states ofexistence as well as rise sense of one­ to enjoy "higher" forms. They take birth as these small creatures-gad­ estation of the In Manu we find an interesting systematiza­ flies, mosquitoes, and other insects-which are eology and so­ tion of this hierarchical scheme, and its trans­ reborn again and again .... They spend their time e world that is migratory consequences, articulated in terms in mere birth and death, having opportunity for anthropocen­ of the theory of the gUlJas, the three psycho­ neither ritual nor enjoyment. (CU 5010.8) of human be­ physical "qualities" or "strands" that, according i of their pos­ to the traditional Hindu worldview, are the stuff The fact that Hindu theologians understand seen the same of existence, combining to make up the entire the selfor "soul" (atman) within all living beings ren plants, we range of phenomena, mental as well as physi­ to be qualitatively identical-and that some, cperience hap­ cal. Sattva ("goodness," "lucidity"), the most like Sankara, see all selves as metaphysically one L49). Neither highly valued of these constituents, is the gUlJa - is often cited as evidence of an egalitarian, mal terms, for of intelligence, creativity, and spirituality; even communitarian, spiritual outlook. The re­ n beings share ("energy"), the gUlJa of passion and dynamism; lated concept of reincarnation, in which the tyincommon and tamas ("darkness"), of ignorance and leth­ same soul may appear in different forms, hu­ Brahmins who argy (Manu 12.24-29, 38). At Manu 12.39-51, man and nonhuman, has likewise been offered s rather cogni­ we learn ofthe postmortem transmigratory des­ as implying an "organic solidarity between hu­ ;ical: only hu­ tinies of human beings who have cultivated manity and nature." 30 To be sure, our text from eceive and ap­ a preponderance of each of these three quali­ the Gtta tells us that the wise see the same tran­ le form of the ties: "People of lucidity [sattva] become gods, scendent essence and final spiritual potential in .gs have access people of energy [rajas] become , and Brahmins, cows, elephants, and dogs. But how Veda, namely people of darkness [tamas] always become ani­ do the sages respond to the empirical actuality md morality). mals" (Manu 12.40). When one considers that of these diverse species? Here is Sankara's take: lty," the Hito­ among the qualities associated with tamas Manu which human lists ignorance, confusion, sensuality, inability In a Brahmin, in whom sattva predominates and Jld in the end, to reason, lack of intelligence, greed, sleepiness, who has the best latent mental impressions (sal'(l­ lary course of incontinence, cruelty, atheism, and carelessness, skara), in an intermediate being like acow, which 186

LANCE NELSON

is dominated by rajas and is without [such] im­ (Manu 3.239-42). Thus, as Doniger has pointed yond this, all of! pressions, and in [beings] such as elephants, out, "the dog [is] to the cow in the world of the vulture-king which are wholly dominated by tamas alone­ beasts what the outcaste is to the Brahmin in the ficed his own life those wise ones are "equal-visioned" whose habit world of men." 31 beloved wife, fro is to see equally the one immutable . vaI?-a. The great (BhGSp8) formed by the, AnimaL Heroes, AnimaL Stories nation, Rima, aJ Sankara sees oneness on the level of spirit, Even more belo' no doubt; that is what he is known for. How­ One more set of issues must be raised. The Bha­ heroic Hanumar ever, he also sees very clearly the kind of an­ gavata Pura1}a, in a passage quoted above, de­ forces in the bat thropocentric hierarchy we have been discuss­ scribes the fear experienced by animals at the ready encounterc ing. So does Visvanatha Cakravartin (eighteenth prospect of facing the sacrifice. This raises the monkey to a grOl century), the Gau<;lIya Vai~I?-ava commentator, question of the moral and spiritual sensibility by the Deccan H. who sees Brahmins and cows as being alike in of animals. The theological texts, interestingly, Among the II the highest class of beings, those who are pre­ do not really address this issue. We must look at are those which : dominant in sattva (sattvika-jati). The elephant mythic, literary, and popular narrative sources or mokfa, spiritu for him is in the middle (madhyame), while the for such information. We can afford to bypass I will observe thl dog and the outcaste Dog-Cooker (fvapaka) are here the fables of the Pafzcatantra and Hitopa­ 5-18: cows, eleph together at the bottom, in the group dominated deJa, which clearly intend to teach about human the story of Lakl by tamas (tamasa-jati, BhGV 5-18). This is an behavior and polity, not about animals or how among the most interesting kind of solidarity berween humans we should regard them. Other treatments ofani­ van Ramana Ma and animals, to be sure. It reflects how the non­ mals in Hindu are more promising re­ saint whose fon( human world becomes symbolically connected sources for our present concern. been mentioned. with the system of caste, and shows clearly the In Kalidasa's famous play The Recognition of of the saint, connection berween oppression of nonhuman SakuntaLa, we find the nonhuman world ex­ for whom she set animals and the oppression of marginalized hu­ pressing grief in an extraordinarily poignant way devotion. Devote man beings. This is the symbolic set that our when the beloved heroine must leave her father's was normally un Glta verse assumes and wants to evoke. Cows, as hermitage. Says Sakuntala's friend: pressions of his ( emblematic ofall that is pure and holy, are asso­ ceive fro~ him we ciated with Brahmins. Dogs, on the other hand, The bitterness of parting is not yours alone; hour of her deat are regarded as the Candalas or outcastes of the look around you and see how the Holy most tender atten animal world, being stigmatized as thoroughly Grove grieves, knowing the hour of head and heart in impure. parting from you is near: On 's to The orthodox tradition has held that dogs are The doe tosses out mouthfuls of grass, location in the iii) indiscriminate in their eating habits and their the peacocks dance no more; depicting her-w sexual behavior. Designated "vomit-eaters," pale leaves flutter down posed by the sain they haunt cremation grounds where they be­ as if the vines were shedding their limbs. attained mukti. A1 come eaters ofcarrion; they have sex with mem­ (Act 4, vs. 14)32 here used figurati' bers of their own family and menstruating fe­ words meant whal males. The behavior ofdogs, in short, resembles In numerous passages in the Bhagavata Pu­ There had been m that attributed to outcastes, both being utterly ra1}a, all of nature is portrayed as responding in son for the extraor abhorrent to Brahmin sensibilities. Dogs, along love to the beauty of Lord , the divine had given this cm with Candalas, pollute the food of Brahmins if incarnation, and the call of his flute: deer wor­ that she had kno' they happen to glance at them while they eat; ship, birds are dumbstruck, cows hold Krishna birth. A. D. Mudc a dog pollutes sacred offerings likewise by sight reverently in their minds (BhP 10.21.10-14). Be- during Ramana's I 187 COWS, ELEPHANTS, DOGS ger has pointed yond this, all of India knows ofthe noble Ja~ayu, Although Lakshmi now wore the form of a cow, 11 the world of the vulture-king of the RiimayalJa, who sacri­ she must have attached herself to Sri Bhagavan Brahmin in the ficed his own life attempting to save , Rama's and won his Grace by love and surrender in a beloved wife, from abduction by the demon Ra­ previous birth. It seemed hard to explain in any vaf.la. The great bird's funeral rites were per­ other way the great solicitude and tenderness formed by the very hand of the divine incar­ that Sri Bhagavan [Ramanal always showed in nation, Rama, and he thereby obtained mokfa. his dealings with her.35 Even more beloved is the loyal, devoted, and lised. The Bha­ heroic Hanuman, the monkey who led Rama's It was decided that Lakshmi must be the re­ ted above, de­ forces in the battle to rescue Sita. We have al­ incarnation of Keeraipatti, an elderly woman animals at the ready encountered him in his appearance as a who had rendered much devoted service to the This raises the monkey to a group of devotees, as documented master prior to her death in 1921. This seemed :ual sensibility by the Deccan Herald. possible, as Lakshmi had arrived at the aframa as , interestingly, Among the more interesting animal stories a small calf in 1926. Ramana would not confirm emust look at are those which show animals attaining mukti, this speculation on the cow's former human life rrative sources or mokfa, spiritual liberation. In what follows, directly, but hinted that it was the case.36 Ford to oypass I will observe the order of the animals of Gfta Returning to classical texts, in the Bhagavata 'tl and Hitopa­ 5.18: cows, elephants, and dogs. Consider first PuralJa (8.2-4) we read perhaps the most fa­ l about human the story of Lakshmi, a cow who was counted mous story in the Hindu tradition dealing with limals or how among the most faithful devotees of Bhaga­ animal spirituality; it focuses on the second ani­ .tments ofani­ van , the twentieth-century mal mentioned in our Gfta verse. The story of promising re- saint whose fondness for animals has already "liberation of the elephant" (gaja-mokfa, BhP been mentioned. Lakshmi grew up in the af­ 8.2-4) tells of Gajendra, the leader of a great Recognition of rama of the saint, and waited daily on Ramana, elephant herd, who-while bathing in a lake [an world ex­ for whom she seemed to have a single-minded -was caught in the jaws of a giant crocodile poignant way devotion. Devotees noticed that, while the saint and found himself being dragged into the water lve her father's was normally undemonstrative, "the open ex­ toward his likely death. Realizing that escape 1: pressions of his Grace that Lakshmi used to re­ was impossible, the elephant-king focused his ceive from him were quite exceptional." 33 At the mind, repeating mentally a Sanskrit hymn in 'ours alone; hour of her death, the Maharshi gave her his fervent praise of Lord Vi~f.lu. The Lord Him­ ,the Holy most tender attention, placing his hand on her self appeared, mounted on his heavenly vehicle, our of head and heart in a gesture of special blessing. the giant bird Garu<,la. With great difficulty, the On Lakshmi's tomb-erected in a prominent elephant uttered the words, "Hail to Thee, 0 grass, location in the aframa and graced with a statue Narayaf.la [Vi~f.luJ, Preceptor of the Universe!" depicting her-was engraved an epitaph com­ (BhP 8.3.32) upon which the Lord, dismount­ posed by the saint, declaring that the cow had ing, pulled both Gajendra and the crocodile out ir limbs. attained mukti. Asked whether "liberation" was of the lake, split the attacker's jaw with his dis­ : 4, vs. I4)32 here used figuratively, Ramana replied that the cus, and freed the elephant. words meant what they said, actualliberation.34 It turned out that the crocodile was a heav­ ~hagavata Pu­ There had been much speculation as to the rea­ enly being, a celestial musician (gandharva) , responding in son for the extraordinary attention that Ramana who had been incarnated as a crocodile as the [la, the divine had given this cow. The general consensus was result of a curse. Freed from his sin and this lte: deer wor­ that she had known the master in a previous unfortunate embodiment by the touch of the hold Krishna birth. A. D. Mudaliar, a devotee of the aframa Lord, he prostrated and returned to his heavenly ~I.IO- 14). Be­ during Ramana's life, writes: abode. Gajendra, having been delivered from r

188

LANCE NELSON the jaws of the crocodile, was delivered also on to explain that the dog's salvation was made time we get to the, from his elephant body, being granted mukti possible by -sa1}ga, the spiritually uplifting cal system ofvalue~ by the Lord. And in his case too we learn that effect of association (sa1}ga) with holy persons Manu - is chailenE the animal was more than merely an animal. In (sadhu). "This result is possible," he concludes, to overthrow the es his previous life he was Indradyumna, a noble "even for a dog." 38 despised species m king turned ascetic, who had been devoted to In the , we read of Yudhi~thira's orthodox and pot the Lord. It was in this former life that he had faithfulness to a dog who was faithful to him. of the inbreaking learned the rather longish (twenty-seven-verse) Marching through the Himalayas toward judged by outsider Sanskrit hymn he had just, as an elephant, re­ Mount Meru, Yudhi~thira was stunned to find oppressive categor membered and mentally recited to attract the the god appearing before him to announce cri tical, even capa Lord's solicitude. King Indradyumna, like the thathe-Indra, the king ofthe gods-had come most well-establisl gandharva-crocodile, had also been condemned to take him to heaven. Yudhighira begged to Second, the h to his uncomfortable animal rebirth as the result be able to take his faithful companion, the dog, stories-as in the ofa curse. He had made the mistake ofslighting with him. Indra refused, saying "there is no place gods - that the di, the temperamental Brahmin sage , who for dog-owners in heaven," and in the exchange life forms and that uttered the following imprecation: "May this that followed, Indra explained all the ways in through all beings impious, malevolent, and feeble-minded fellow, which dogs are sources of pollution. Yudhighira is a lesson that it is who has insulted a Brahmin just now, sink into remained adamant; he would not abandon the Indeed, in an imp in blinding ignorance. Since he is stupid like an dog: "People say that to abandon one who is de­ shown that Hindi elephant, let him be born as one" (BhP 8.4.10). voted to you is a bottomless evil equal to mur­ of sacrality only s In the Caitanyacaritamrta, a biography ofthe dering a Brahmin. Therefore, great Indra, I will Still, the lesson rer sixteenth-century Bengali saint Caitanya, we never, in any way, abandon him now in order fecdyappropriate( read ofa dog who had been tagging along with a to achieve my own happiness." At that point Third, and n01 group ofdisciples journeying to meet their mas­ the dog, who had been listening to the con­ point, one wondf ter, Lord Caitanya, at Purl. One of versation, changed appearance, manifesting his stories, in apparer the disciples, Sivananda Sena, had been caring true form as the god Dharma, or Righteous­ tential ofanimals, for and feeding the dog. He had even gone ness. He blessed Yudhighira, who was in fact to humans. As Jail to the trouble of bribing a boatman who had the god's son. Yudhighira then mounted Indra's man b

"arion was made time we get to the dog, the orthodox Brahmini­ bered the Lord ifmemories and tendencies from itually uplifting cal system ofvalues and symbols - as decreed by his past life as a royal ascetic had not been acti­ th holy persons Manu-is challenged, as ifbya parable that sees vated? Probably not, we must conclude. Siva­ ," he concludes, to overthrow the established order ofthings. The nanda Sena's dog was not a god in disguise, despised species may become a profound, if un­ nor did the narrator suggest that he was re­ ofYudhi~~hira's orthodox and potentially antinomian, symbol cendy born in human form. But would he, as a faithful to him. of the inbreaking divine. Hinduism, too often dog, have attained Vaikulfrha, the Lord's abode, lalayaS toward judged by outsiders as trapped its own rigid and were it not for the benefit of contact with hu­ stunned to find oppressive categories, here reveals itself as self­ man devotees, and their God-intoxicated mas­ lim to announce critical, even capable of the subversion of its ter, whose spirituality was somehow transferred ods - had come most well-established rules. to awaken the dog's fortunate heart? The story ~Illra begged to Second, the hearer may learn from these tells us in the end more about the transfor­ )anion, the dog, stories-as in the cases of dogs revealed to be mative power of the master's spirituality than there is no place gods - that the divine is to be waited upon in all the spiritUal potential of the dog. The birds of in the CA'-"HdJl~C life forms and that the sacred can manifest itself Krishna's Vrndavana forest, who respond so ex­ all the ways in through all beings, no how "lowly." This traordinarily to the Lord's beauty, are-after ion. Yudhi~~hira is a lesson that it is difficult to apply consistently. all, we are tOld - really not animals but ancient ot abandon the Indeed, in an important study Nagarajan 41) has sages (ni), incarnated to enjoy the Divine play 1 one who is shown that Hindus in daily life apply notions on earth. Even Hanuman, beloved as the mon­ il equal to mur­ of sacrality only selectively and intermittently. key god, is more deity than monkey, being com­ "eat Indra, I will Still, the lesson remains - no matter how imper­ monly recognized as an avatara of Siva and son n now in order fectly appropriated -and it is an important one. of , the god of the wind. , At that point Third, and now from a more critical stand­ The doctrine that all beings have souls that ng to the con­ point, one wonders here to what extent these are qualitatively equal may, as we have seen, sug­ manifesting his stories, in apparently extolling the spiritual po­ gest empathy and compassion. Lest we read too , or Righteous­ tential ofanimals, are reaIly subordinating them much into the Hindu view of things, however, vho was in to humans. As Jaini points out, the idea ofa hu­ it should be said that this doctrine in itself does nounted Indra's man being "temporarily shackled by a lower des­ not entail any developed psychic or moral life It no other had: tiny" is a common motif in the Hindu epics. Is in animals. Even less does it suggest the possi­ hly body (MBh it possible, as Jaini believes, that this "reduces bility of any real communion between humans the relevancy of the talds] as referring to ani­ and non humans. Atman in its transcendence is kS ought to be mals,"41 except perhaps insofar as it reempha­ aloof, inactive, and - though a witness of things stories such as sizes the conventional belief in the wretched -certainly noncommunicative; no atman-to­ )d that in many nature of animal existence? I think it is. Was litman communication is envisioned. In Hindu from their pre­ Lakshmi the cow liberated because, as a cow, thinking, communion would occur, not on the The cow Lak­ she manifested extraordinary devotion or be­ level of atman, but on the level of mind. And :ourse of things cause she incarnated devotional sensibilities pre­ Hindu thought does not, as we have seen, gen­ ,!a, since the or­ viously cultivated as a human? We know well erally have a high estimate ofthe cognitive abili­ humans are eli­ that the cow is a special case in the Hindu con­ ties of animals who, despite their possession of :ows-we have text. Still, the devotees were not satisfied in their litman, are dominated in their empirical being ai, and perhaps understanding of the master's behavior toward by the dullness of tamas. Hence, any powers of, aEry is perhaps Lakshmi until they had settled on the theory or potential for, communio would be limited.42 mal spirituality that she was human, and a devotee, in her im­ :du context, the mediately preceding life. Again, would Gajen­ Ie we go. By the dra, as an elephant, have spontaneously remem­ LANCE NELSON

Conclusion sionalities and resulting distinctions must be Works ofSankara iI taken into account. True, nonhuman animals Delhi: Modlal Ban In the Hindu context, nothing is simple; judg­ are in the classical tradition generally ranked low HN Hitopatkfa ofM ments must always be made cautiously after long in the hierarchy of beings. But then remember and notes by Max J study. We must keep in mind, whatever truth we the cow, sattvic in nature, whose value is tanta­ Hitopatkfa. Londo may see in them, that critiques such as I have mount to that of the Brahmin. Manu The Laws of, just offered can be pushed beyond the point Brahminism itself, which sees things inevi­ ger with Brian I< of usefulness. The theologies and sacred stories tably from the "top down," is not the only of Hinduism are appropriated by Hindus from voice in the Hindu tradition. With no enforcer within their own mythic canopy, not from out­ of orthodoxy, this is a tradition with multiple side, and this mythic universe is still very much voices, a diversity of visions. "Who speaks for alive. When I complained to a Hindu friend Hinduism?" is a constantly contested question. about the reductionism that treats manifesta­ There are yogic exemplars like Ramana Mahar­ 1. Deccan Herald, tions of extraordinary spirituality in animals as shi, who collapse orthodox categories in many .deccanherald.com/d human traits explainable by reincarnation, he ways, among these their quasi-shamanic com­ (May 16, 1999). Also: responded, "But then, all animals were once hu­ munion with animals. There are professional Auspicious Function man, were they not? Just as all humans were tellers of "God-stories" (-kathii), men and 1999, http://www.inc once animals!" women, immensely popular, who still vividly 0126/026p0 55.html "" Nonhuman animals are embodiments of the recount puranic tales of gods, , and ani­ 2. According to n: eternal Self that is universally present in all be­ mals miraculously shape-shifting back and forth as 10,000 or more m( ings. As such they carry the infinite value of across hierarchal boundaries. And there are Delhi. They occupy! Spirit, even if its manifestation in their psy­ millions of devoted Hindus for whom those ate other nuisances. chic life is limited. On another level, a notch stories are yet very real. In short, despite the killed by a flower p down from ultimacy, animals may be vehicles secular trends in contemporary India, which thorities are at a loss; for the consciousness of our deceased relatives give support on many levels to narrow hu­ out offending Hindi or friends (however veiled), or the lively aware­ man self-centeredness,43 there is material in the Lak, "Monkeys CI ness of saints; or they may even be the earthly Hindu tradition that may well lend itself to the News, April 14, 20< manifestations of gods. Such ideas cannot, in emergence of a new vision of human-animal world/south_asia/?] the Hindu context, be considered insignificant. relations. Rahul Bedi, "India Even on the empirical level, religious dimen­ news. telegraph, Jan graph.co.uk/news/n 12/wmonkYI2·xml ( ABBREVIATIONS 3. Dorane Jacob I08 Unless otherwise indicated, the translations from BhGV Srimad Bhagavadgitii with the Commentaries 4. Frank Kororn Sanskrit provided are my own. Siiriirthavar~ini of Viivaniitha Cakravartin and of Zebu, or Why tb Gitt1bhiisya ofBaladeva Vidyiibhusana. Kusuma­ Asian Folklore Studi BhG Bhagavad Gitii. See BhGS. sarovar, Mathura: Kr~l).adasababa, c. 1966-67. 5. Deryck Lodri BhGR Sri Riimiinuja Gitii Bhlifya. Text with trans­ BhP Bhiigavata Puriir:ta. Ed. J. L Shastri. Delhi: Origim and Survit lation by Svami Adidevananda. Mylapore, Ma­ Motilal Banarsidass, 1999. (Berkeley: Univers dras: Sri Math, n.d. CC Caitanyacaritiimrta of KrF.wdiisa Kaviriija. p.89· BhGS Srimadbhagavadgitii with the Srimat-Siinka­ Trans. Edward C. Dimock. Ed. Tony Stewart. 6. Peter van der rabhlifya. Ed. with several other commentar­ Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999. dus and Muslims il ies by Wasudeva Laxman Sastri Pansikar. New CU Chiindogya Upani~adwith Sailkara's Bhiifya. In California Press, 19 Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1978. Ten Principal with Sar:tkarabhiisya. 7. Madeline I 191 COWS, ELEPHANTS, DOGS

inctions must be Works ofSankara in the Original Sanskrit. Vol. 1. Books, 1991. (I have used Doniger and Smith's lllhuman animals Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1964. translations.) Ilerally ranked low HN Hitopadefa of NiiriiyalJa. Ed. with translation MBh Mahiibhiirata. It then remember and notes by Max Muller as The First Book ofthe YS Yogasutra of with the Commentary of ose value is tanta­ Hitopadefa. London: Longman, 1864. ijiisa. Ed. and trans. Bangali Baba. Delhi: Moti­ I. Manu The Laws of Manu. Trans. Wendy Doni­ lal Banarsidass, 1976. sees things inevi­ ger with Brian K. Smith. London: Penguin YSV Yogabhiisya of Vyasa. See YS. is not the only With no enforcer on with multiple "Who speaks for NOTES ntested question.

Ramana Mahar­ 1. Deccan Herald, January 25, 1999, http://www Mythical Cow, Symbol of Ptosperity," in Asian My­ tegories in many .deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jall25/ctman.htm thologies, ed. Yves Bonnefoy (Chicago: University of i-shamanic com­ (May 16,1999). Also: "Monkey Steals Show During Chicago Press, 1993), p. 99. are professional Auspicious Function," Indian Express, January 26, 8. Deryck O. Lodrick, "On Religion and Milk ~athii), men and 1999, http://www.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/ 1999 Bovines in an Urban Indian Setting," Current An­ who still vividly 0126/02652055.html (March 23, 2003). thropology 20 (March 1979): 242. gurus, and ani­ 2. According to recent reports, there are as many 9. van der Veer, Religious Nationalism, p. 87. 19 back and forth as lO,OOO or more monkeys wandering the streets of lO. Biardeau, "Kamadhenu," p. 99; Swami A. C. And there are Delhi. They occupy government buildings and cre­ Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, "Serve God or Serve ~or whom those ate other nuisances. It even seems that a man was Dog," 1976, http://www.prabhupadavani.org/web/ lort, despite the killed by a flower pot dropped by a monkey. Au­ text/236.html (February 8, 2003). ry India, which thotities are at a loss as to how to contral them with­ II. van der Veer, ReligiollS Nationalism, pp. 86­ to narrow hu­ out offending Hindu sensibilities. See, e.g.: Daniel 94: Christophe Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist .s material in the Lak, "Monkeys Create Havoc in Delhi," BBC Movement in India (New York: Columbia Univer­ lend itself to the News, April 14, 2000, http://news.bbc.co.uk/l/hi/ sity Press, 1996), pp. 204-10 . . human-animal world/south_asia/71315I.stm (March 23, 2003); 12. Poornima Harish, "Animal Sacrifice: One Rahul Bedi, "Indians Jail Marauding Monkeys," Brave Woman Leads the Fight for a Total End to news. telegraph, January 12, 2002, http://www.tele Ritual Killing," Hinduism Today, April 1999, http:// graph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/01/ www.hinduismtoday.com/1999 / 4/ 1999-4-12.html 12/wmonkY12.xml (March 23, 2003). (March 23, 2003)· 3. Dorane Jacobson, "A Reverence for Cows," 13. G. Vinayak, "Gyanendra visits Kamakhya Natural History lO8 (June 1999): 58, 63. Temple; 5 animals sacrificed," rediff.com, June 27, the Commentaries 4. Frank Koram, "Holy Cow! The Apotheosis 2002, http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/jun/27 Cakravartin and of Zebu, or Why the Cow Is Sacred in Hinduism," nep.htm (February 8, 2003); "Nepal King Sacrifices lusana. Kusuma­ Asian Folklore Studies 59 (2000): 181-204. Animal Again," rediff.com, June 28, 2002, http:// ba, c. 1966-67. 5. Deryck Lodrick, Sacred Cows, 5acred Places: www.rediff.com/news/2002/jun/28nep.htm (Feb­ Shastri. Delhi: Origim and Survivals of Animal Homes in India ruary 8, 2003). (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), 14. Swami Venkatesananda, VasiHha's Yoga (Al­ adasa Kaviriija. p.89· bany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, L 10ny Stewart. 6. Peter van der Veer, Religious Nationalism: Hin­ 1993), pp. 620-21. T Press, 1999. dus and Muslims in India (Berkeley: University of 15. See Karnimata.com, n.d., http://karnimata kara's Bhiifya. In California Press, 1994), p. 90. .com (January 18, 2003); "Deshnok Karni Mata SalJkarabhiisya. 7. Madeline Biardeau, "Kamadhenu: The Temple," ReaIBikaner.com, n.d., http://www.realbi LANCE NELSON

kaner.com/ temple/ deshnok/ index.html (January purity, Kingship, and Sacrifice in Assamese ," 32. Chandra Rajan 18, 2003); "Deshnok," Deshnok.com, n.d., http:// Journal ofthe American Academy ofReligion 69 (De­ Time: A Selection of}fl www.deshnok.com (January 18, 2003). cember war): 798. A fact that mayor may not Penguin Books India, 16. Pandurang Vaman Kane, History ofDharma­ comfort moderns disturbed by "animal" sacrifice in 33. A. Devaraja ~ sastra: Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law Hinduism, whether of the Vedic or Tantric variety, (Tiruvannamali, Indi India, 6 vols, 2d ed., rev. and enlarged, Government is that human beings have not always been excluded p. II. Oriental Series; Class B, no. 6 (Poona: Bhandar­ from the lists of animals to be offered. In the late 34. Mudaliar, The kar Oriental Research Institute, 1968), 2 (pt. I) :IO; Vedic period human sacrifice, if perhaps no longer 35. Ibid., p. II. 5 (pt. 2): 945· practiced, was somewhat nervously remembered 36. Ibid., p. 12. 17. Arthur Osborne, Ramana Maharshi and the and still countenanced as, at the very least, a theo­ 37. Edward C. [

Path ofSelfKnowledge (London: Rider, 1973), p. IIO. retical possibility. See Witzel, "The Case ofthe Shat­ tamrta ofKrf1'}adiisa j 18. T. M. P. Mahadevan, Ramana Maharshi: The tered Head," pp. 390-92; Houben, "To Kill or Not art (Cambridge: Ha Sage of Arunacala (London: Unwin Paperbacks, to Kill," pp. 120-23, 127-28; Danielle Feller Jata­ PP·782- 83. 1977), p. 55· vallabhula, "Rary.ayajfia: The Mahabharata War as a 38. Swami A. C. I 19. Suri Nagamma, "Letters from and Recollec­ Sacrifice," in Houben and Van Kooij, eds., Violence Caitanya-caritiimrta

tions ofSri Ramanasramam," Sri Ramanasram, n.d., Denied, pp. 69-I04. Tantric rites included (and per­ Part 3, vol. I (New Y( http://www.ramana-maharshi.org/lettrec.htm haps occasionally still include) the 1975), pp. 13, 17· (January 18, 2003). of humans in addition to goats and buffalo (Urban, 39. Wendy Doni 20. Jan E. M. Houben, "To Kill or Not to Kill "The Path of Power," pp. 806-9; Alex Perry Atapur, Textual Sources for tI the Sacrificial Animal (Yajfia-Pafu): Arguments and "Killing for 'Mother' Kali," Time Asia, July 29,2002, University of Chicaj Perspectives in Brahminical Ethical Philosophy," in http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/ 40. Vijaya Rettal Jan E. M. Houben and Karel R. Van Kooij, eds., 0,13673, 50I020729-322673,00.html [February 8, the Goddess Bhii [

Violence Denied: Violence, Non- Violence and the Ra­ 2003]). bedded Ecologies' ! tionalization ofViolence in South Asian Cultural His­ 28. Rajendralala Mitra, "Beef in Ancient India," ing the Earthly Body tory (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. II7-24. in Indo-: Contributions Toward the Elucida­ Hindu India, ed. La 21. A number of passages in the Brahmary.as ex­ tion oftheir Ancient and Medieval History, vol. I, pp. N.Y.: State Universi press fear that, in the next world, the sacrificer will 354-88 (London, E. Stanford, 1881; reprint Delhi: 41. Padmanabh , be eaten by his victim. See Kaufitaki BrahmmJa 11.3; Indological Bookhouse, 1969); D.N. Jha, "Myth of the Spirituality ofA Satapatha BrahmmJa 11.6.1 and 12.9.1.1 and Jaima­ the Holy Cow." and W.G.Weerarat ntya Brahma1'}a 1.42-44. Manu 5.55 warns that one 29. Perhaps the most dramatic statement of this Culture: Essays in R who eats mean in this life will, in the next, be eaten radically elitist view occurs at the opening of Sail­ 78 (Colombo: N.A by the same animal. kara's VivekacurJama1'}i (vs. 2). See also BhP 3.29.28­ ume Committee, I' 22. Cf. ~gveda I.I62.2I: "You do not really die 34 and my 'Theism for the Masses, Non-dualism 42. If we recall here, nor are you injured. You go to the gods on for the Monastic Elite: A Fresh Look at Sailkara's Candalas in the cl paths pleasant to go on" (quored by Henk W. Bode­ Trans-theistic Spirituality," in The Struggle Over the witz, "Hindu Ahil!2sa and its Roots," in Houben and Past: Fundamentalism in the Modern World, edited Van Kooij, eds., Violence Denied, p. 24, n. 2 [Leiden: by William Shea (Latham, MD: University Press of Brill, 1999]). America, 1993), pp. 61-77. 23. Kane, History ofDharmasastra, 4:424-25. 30. Rajagopal Ryali, "Eastern-Mystical Perspec­ 24. Houben, "To Kill or Not to Kill," p. 153. tive on Environment," in Dave Stefferson, Wal­ 25. Ibid., p. 156. ter J. Herrscher, and Robert S. Cook, eds, Ethics for 26. D. N. Jha, The Myth ofthe Holy Cow (Lon­ Environment: Three Religious Strategies, pp. 47-48 don: Verso, 2002), p. 41; Michael Witzel, "The Case (Green Bay: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973). of the Shattered Head," Studien zur Indologie und 31. Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, The Origins of Iranistik 13/14 (1987): 412. Evil in (Berkeley: University of 27. Hugh B. Urban, "The Path of Power: Im- California Press, 1976), p. 173­ 193 COWS, ELEPHANTS, DOGS

I\ssamese Tantra," 32. Chandra Rajan, trans., Kalidiisa, The Loom of numbers of human beings (low caste, untouchable/ rReligion 69 (De­ Time: A Selection ofHis Plays andPoems (New Delhi: dalit, etc.) in Hindu India remain hierarchically mayor may not Penguin Books India, 1989), p. 224. marginalized-dare we say, like animals?-the ideal limal" sacrifice in 33. A. Devaraja Mudaliar, The Cow, Lakshmi of including nonhuman animals in a world that is )r Tantric variety, (Tiruvannamali, India: Sri Ramanasramam, 1996), a communion of subjects may seem all the more Iys been excluded p. II. remote. fered. In the late 34. Mudaliar, The Cow, Lakshmi, pp. 14-15. 43. Unquestionably the most visible animal ,erhaps no longer 35. Ibid., p. II. rights campaigner in India today is , lsly remembered 36. Ibid., p. 12. daughter-in-law of the late Indira Gandhi, three eery least, a theo­ 37. Edward C. Dimock, trans., Caitanyacari­ times elected to the Lok Sabha (India's parlia­ Case ofthe Shat­ tiimrta ofKrgladasa Kaviraja, edited by Tony Stew­ ment), former environment minister, and latelywel­ , "To Kill or Not art (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999), fare minister. A tireless campaigner for the protec­ lielle Feller Jata­ PP·782- 83· tion of India's endangered species and such varied lbharata War as a 38. Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, Sri causes as nonviolent silk production, resistance to oij, eds., Violence Caitanya-caritamrta ofKrP:ladiisa Kaviraja Gosvami, multinational fast food outlets, and the abolition leluded (and per­ Part 3, vol. I (New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, of animal experimentation. she is a founder and ~ ritual slaughter 1975), pp. 13, 17· current chairperson of the NGO, People for Ani­ I buffalo (Urban, 39. Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, ed. and trans., mals. Lamenting that India nowadays seems "to lex Perry Atapur, Textual Sources for the Study ofHinduism (Chicago: measure progress in the move from vegetarianism ,ia, July 29,2002, University of Chicago Press, 1988), 53-56. to non-vegetarianism" (Mark Gold, "Diet for the nagazine / article/ 40. Vijaya Rettakudi Nagarajan, "The Earth as New Century," March 1999, http://www.animal­ ml [February 8, the Goddess Bhu Dev!: Toward a Theory of 'Em­ aid.org.uk/campaign/vegan/feed99.htm [March 23, bedded Ecologies' in Folk Hinduism," in PurifY­ 2003]), Gandhi asserts: "Hindus are seen as a 1 Ancient India," ing the Earthly Body ofGod: Religion and Ecology in gentle people coexisting and caring for all plants ·ard the Elucida­ Hindu India, ed. Lance E. Nelson, 269-95 (Albany, and animals and setting an example to the rest (istory, vol. I, pp. NY.: State University of New York Press, 1998). of the world. Perhaps that was once true, but I; reprint Delhi: 41. Padmanabh S. Jaini, "Indian Perspectives on look at us now. Today India is the largest exporter "l. Jha, "Myth of the Spirituality ofAnimals," in David J. Kalupahana of meat in Asia with 75% exported. 37% of our and W. G. Weerararne, eds., and crop is going to feed Europe's meat animals and ;tatement of this Culture: Essays in Honor ofN.A. Jayawickrema, 169­ over 300,000 cattle are killed in abattoirs daily. opening of SaiI­ 78 (Colombo: N.A. Jayawickrema Felicitation Vol­ Factory farming is becoming the norm" (Maneka Iso BhP3.29.28­ ume Committee, 1987), p. 170. Gandhi, "Statement in Support of 's :s, Non-dualism 42. If we recall the identification of dogs and 'Veggie Month, 1997,''' n.d., http://www.animalaid. ook at Sankara's Candalas in the classical tradition, and that large org.uk/Veg98/warning.htm [May 16, 1999]). 5truggle Over the

'7l World, edited liversity Press of

1ysrical Perspec­ Stefferson, Wal­ k, eds, Ethics for ~gies, pp. 47-48 in Press, 1973). , The Origins of {: University of