Quote of the Week
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It is neither the horse nor the elephant
and never – ever – the tiger
It is the goat that is offered in sacrifice
Even the gods slain the weak
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Can readers please help me find the correct source/reference for this quote? It has been attributed to Chanakya on at least one site but it would be good to have other references and a confirmation.
Thanks.
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and Quote of the Day
UPDATE:Â The quote in Sanskrit:
whoever said this, I am sure he probably wanted to convey some other message and didn’t mean anything here. The truth is we always offer what we can eat. Obviously humans don’t eat horse, elephant and tiger, so its not fair to offer them to god when even we won’t eat them. Same goes to any offering to god, be it food or flower or dress. who knows there may be some tribes who office elephant meat
@Nanda
I guess the author(It is attributed to kautilya) meant what he says in the last line. He meant that if you dont fight back you are the best option for the altar. I guess he is right.
I can’t believe Nanda could invent a different meaning to it when it is fairly clear.
I think I am misunderstood. What I mentioned is, the author would have wanted to convey a message, could be what ‘borneveryday’ has pointed out. I just meant he didn’t literally mean that ‘even gods slain the weak’, cos I felt reading this out of context will show god in bad way.
@kiran, I didn’t invent any meaning at all, atleast i didn’t intend to 🙂
I could not find this quote in Chanakya niti book. Yes, If it is said by Chanakya than it is said in politically manner, that is already suggested in the link given by Shantanu in the above post. It is 100% fitting us. Be ready for the sacrifice because it’s you who believe in peace no body else.
Apologies Nanda. I stand corrected.
The quote is:
अशà¥à¤µà¤®à¥ नैव गजं नैव, सिंहमॠनैव च नैवच:।
अजापà¥à¤¤à¥à¤°à¤®à¥ बलिमॠदधà¥à¤¯à¤¾à¤¤à¥ दैवो दà¥à¤°à¥à¤¬à¤² घातक:।।
This is not attributed to Chanakya.
But also remember that in Ashvmedh Yagya a Horse is sacrificed and certain yagyas are performed only by those who can kill (have killed) an Elephant or a Lion. Please also remember that in Kamakhya Temple and in other temples where they offer bali there is provision to offer bali of different animals/birds etc..
I understand that in olden days they also sacrificed human beings in certain tantrik/occult cults all over the world.
I hope it is used in right context.
With best wishes,
Shantanuji,
When it comes to Hindus, it’s not the goat as sacrificial lamb but even the elephants too……
Why The Elephants Don’t Run (excerpts)
By Jim Donovan
A number of years ago, I had the rather unique experience of being backstage in Madison Square Garden, in New York, during the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. To say the least, it was a fascinating experience. I was able to walk around looking at the lions, tigers, giraffes and all the other circus animals. As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. I saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
“Well,” he said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They think the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they could not, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? How many of us are being held back by old, outdated beliefs that no longer serve us? Have you avoided trying something new because of a limiting belief? Worse, how many of us are being held back by someone else’s limiting beliefs? Do you tell yourself you can’t sell because you’re not a salesperson?
Remember that your subconscious mind does not know the difference between real and imaginary. It has been said throughout history that what ever you believe, with conviction, you can achieve. Don’t be like the poor elephant and go through your life stuck because of a limiting belief you were given or developed years ago. Take charge of your life and live it to the fullest. You deserve the best!
From http://www.AsAManThinketh.net
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Jim Donovan is the author of the International bestsellers, Handbook To A Happier Life and This Is Your Life, Not A Dress Rehearsal. He is also the founder and CEO of http://www.FreelanceHelp.com, an Internet network for creative professionals. His articles, books and a free subscription to his newsletter are available from http://www.jimdonovan.com
@Harsh
It is again propaganda that veda prescribed scarifices. If you read translation made by western author, you are about to find all these. Books by Aurobindo and other Vedic scholars made it very clear there is no such meaning of animal scarifices. Sanskrit words and its meaning were misunderstood by many and were taken out of context.
Sorry, offering Bali is not a part of Hinduism or Veda. I have gone through one link which clearly said who practises offering Bali.
Sorcery was practised by less than 1% of the society by those who were not afraid of God and did not believed in good karma. Some charms were prayers for well being of the family and the nation. Occult is found everywhere, true!
@Harish, ‘AshwamedhaYaga’ is the name of the sacrifice, ashwa means horse. It is propagated by western scholars that its offering the horse in fire, which is not correct. A horse is used to establish the king’s supremacy and authority on the region. This horse is used in a yaga to give it a special power through mantras so it could succeed. Emperors had very vast kingdoms so often they had to make sure all small kings agree to his authority over the region. He sends a horse on his behalf and when any small king wants to question his authority, he captures the horse, which is followed by a war. An emperor who successfully completes an ashwamedhayaga means he has full authority over his region.
namaste,
i know little but
i have heard and read about three types of yagyas
1) aja medha
2) ashwa medha
3) go medha
and these are the qualities to be sacrificed in the fire of attention.
tamasic
rajasic
sattwik
aja – a goat is also linked to daksha (prajapati) in shiva purana
who was envious of shiva.
what is the link here? and from where did cryptology emerge?
daksha is das aksha = 10 eyes = 10 senses = 5 gyana + 5 karma indriyan
shiva is conciousness. so daksha doesn’t like shiva.
@ Ray: Thats interesting…any more information or references?
@B Shantanu – namaste
well yes. but its my view. but maybe thats what is in the air now.
shiva is teaching now. you just have to tune in through gayatri and sandhyas.
like daksha. ramayana also has 10 headed ravana.
and lanka (lam the beeja for muladhara chakra) fights with rama ( the fire beeja) for iccha shakti or maybe manas (sita)
laxman rekha also explains how we know when we cross the line our budhhi tells us not to but we do it anyway. senses play all games to gain the attention and keep it.
also ram(fire) and (sheeta) represents the two nadis pingala and ida.
so we see its all about pranayam. i m not raising questions about whether it actually happened or not. cause when these greatmen were here their minds were in synchro with the external world so the fight for advait from dvait they did inside their minds and displayed it for everyone in the external world.
i think mahabharata is a gold mine for this. as the no of asuras is 3 times the devas. so we have 33 devas and 99 asuras or something like that i m not accurate. i have just started reading.
but all this has been codified very tightly which shows us the level of clearity these people had. which is beyond normal levels.
why dont you download mp3 or buy a copy of “Yatharth geeta”
this book explains the language of symbolism to a great extent.
the link is. http://www.yatharthgeeta.com/
the site has downloadable mp3 in hindi, english.
also i think svetasvatara upnishad is a very fine read about pranayam. you can order it from geeta press. they have a website too.
thank you 🙂
hariOm,
prashraysingh
@shantanu
also i found out
aja is goat which says mai mai. which means “me” in hindi.
so daksha’s head was replaced by a goats head cause daksha had too much ego.
gau means indriyan and its from this meaning that animal has been named gau. cause no matter how many flies are around it it never gets irritated. senses under control.
ashwa is i think the kumbhaka which splits in a-shwa (shwans)
so these yagyas we do.
hari om
Also it is said 5 pandavas means 5 good, and 100 kauravas means 100 type of bad qualities. We all have 5 pandavas and 100 kauravas in us and there will always be war between it. So human should always take control of 100 kauravas through 5 pandavas.
Pls excuse my ignorance, but have great interest in these topics.
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My views are not supported by any documents so you’re free to ignore them.
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Aja means Goat and does symbolise Ahamkaar (ego or pride)
All these yagas or Medhas seem to be symbolic
Sacrificing the Goat symbolises getting rid of your ego. Does not really men to kill a living soul. How could one attain happiness by killing someone else ? But one could be very happy if one kills the ego and prejudices we have…does it make sense ?
A very appropriate poem on goat come to mind !
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Maina ne “May Na” Kaha to mol bhayo das bees;
Bakra ne “May May” kaha to turat katayo sheesh.
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Jay Ho Prabhu Ki !