Mahabharata Santiparva Chapter 337 on हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम्

[shankara]

Pranams to all,

Mahabharata Santiparva Chapter 337 (in Gita Press edition and Chitrasala edition) discusses हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम् - non-performance of animal sacrifice. To illustrate this Bhishma narrates the story of Uparichara Vasu and the debate between devas and rishis regarding animal sacrifice. As per the tika of Nilakantha, the purpose of this chapter is avoidance of animal sacrifice - हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम्

I am giving below a few verses from the chapter. This might be helpful in locating the chaper (since chapter numbers are not the same in various editions of Mahabharata).

ऋषय ऊचुः||
बीजैर्यज्ञेषु यष्टव्यमिति वै वैदिकी श्रुतिः | अजसञ्ज्ञानि बीजानि छागं न घ्नन्तुमर्हथ ||४||
नैष धर्मः सतां देवा यत्र वध्येत वै पशुः | इदं कृतयुगं श्रेष्ठं कथं वध्येत वै पशुः ||५||

I would like to know whether the same story or other similar stories are found in other Puranas or Vedic literature. I request the all learned members of this forum to help me to identify similar passages in other Puranas or Vedic literature.

 

regards
shankara

[Surendra Mohan Mishra]

one could look to ishvara krishna's sankhyakarika verse no. 2 and it's comms. 'aja' could mean both. but it could not be so that people mistook 'aja'(old grain unfit to germinate) for 'aja' (goat). 'adhvara' for a sacrifice also shows absence of violence. kalidasa may be seen for his ' pas'umaaranakarmadaaruno 'nukampaamriduko 'pi s'ritriyah' etc. as manu says: krita yuga is tapas, tretaa for satya, dvaapara for sacrifices and kali for daana !

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निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)
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Surendramohan Mishra
Dept of Sanskrit,Pali & Prakrit
Faculty of Indic Studies,Kurukshetra University
KURUKSHETRA-136 119,Haryana,INDIA
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[Hnbhat B.R.]

Very good finding. Our ancestors misunderstood the word अज in the context of Yaga, for millenniums and flown blood of animals for their fame!

'महानदी चर्मराशेरुत्वलेदात् ससृजे यत:
ततश्चर्मण्वतीत्येवं विख्याता स महानदी।'महाभारत, शांतिपर्व, 29, 123

आराध्यैनं शरवनभवं देवमुल्लघिताध्वा, सिद्धद्वन्द्वैर्जलकणभयाद्वीणिभिर्दत्त मार्ग: व्यालम्बेथास्सुरभितनयालंभजां मानयिष्यन्,
स्त्रोतोमूर्त्या भुवि परिणतां रन्तिदेवस्य कीर्तिम्।'

Meghaduta of Kalidasa

So it came popular in local people that goat is sacrificed in Yaga:

अश्वं नैव गजं नैव व्याघ्रं नैव च नैव च | 
अजापुत्रं बलिं दद्यात् देवो दुर्बलघातकः!!

And there was not any one to correct the misunderstanding so far to save millions of lives of goats sacrificed.

Even in grammar also the misunderstanding continued :

प्रेष्यब्रुवोर्हविषो देवतासम्प्रदाने॥ २।३।६१

Commentary provides the example:

अग्नये छागस्य हविषो वपाया मेदसः प्रे३ष्य। अग्नये छागस्य हविषो वपायै मेदसो ऽनुब्रूहि३। प्रेष्यब्रुवोः इति किम्? अग्नये छागं हविर्वपां मेदो जुहुधि। 

A small doubt on the subject discussed:

हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम् - non-performance of animal sacrifice.

As I can understand the word हिंस्र means wild beasts and like Tiger, Lion and such wild animals are never sacrificed, even by gross misunderstanding but only Aja़-s as the Subhasita says.

And there is no need to avoid the sacrifice of such हिंस्रपशु as the title gives. And the अज the goat is not a हिंस्र animal at all to be included in the list. How it could be included?

[shankara]

Mishraji,

Thank you very much for giving useful references. I will explore them.

In fact I didn't mean that our ancestors mistook the meaning of Aja. I am merely try to find out whether there are other similar discussion/debates in our ancient texts on the ethics of animal sacrifice, as we find in the story of in Mahabharata Santiparva quoted in my query.

 

regards
shankara

---

From: Surendra Mohan Mishra <dr.surendramo...@gmail.com>
To: भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत् <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, 21 November 2015 9:55 AM
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Mahabharata Santiparva Chapter 337 on हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम्

[shankara]

Bhat mahodaya,

I didn't mean that our ancestors mistook the meaning of Aja. I am merely try to find out whether there are other similar discussion/debates in our ancient texts on the ethics of animal sacrifice, as we find in the story of in Mahabharata Santiparva quoted in my query.

The word हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम् was not coined by me. I just quoted it from the Mahabharata Tika of Nilakantha Chaturdhara. I assumed that its meaning must be 'non-performance of animal sacrifice' or 'avoiding animal sacrifice in Yajnas'. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

regards
shankara

---

From: Hnbhat B.R. <hnbh...@gmail.com>
To: bvpar...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, 23 November 2015 10:25 AM
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Mahabharata Santiparva Chapter 337 on हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम्

[Surendra Mohan Mishra]

Good discussion. I think 'himsra-yajna' should mean a sacrifice involving violence to animals. Since at one point of time such animal-slaughter-involving sacrifices were there, the need arose to get rid of them.During Sandhi-puujaa in Navaraatra a goat that is being sacrificed is told: छाग त्वं  बलिरूपेण मम पार्श्वमिहागतः / अतस्त्वां घातयिष्यामि यस्माद्यज्ञे वधो 'वधः //

Sacrifice involving violence was prevalent and this was the main cause why Mahavir  and Buddha preached against violence.Jayadev wrote: 'nindasi yajnavidher ahaha s'rutijaatam sadaya-hridaya-darshita-pas'ughaatam' etc.

[Shrivathsa B]

hariH OM,
Sir,

   I have touched one aspect of this in the following article:
http://paryayavak.blogspot.in/2015/11/the-hindu-view-of-food-and-drink-a-critique.html

svasti,
       JAYA BHAVAANII BHAARATII,
                                                       shrivathsa.

[Nabanarayan Bandyopadhyay]

Dear all,

There is a book entitled Pashvaalambhamiimaam.saa published by Anandashram, Pune, on the topic under discussion. Interested scholars can go tthrough it. Details of the publication are attached and the book can be downloaded from the site:http://www.sanskritebooks.org/

Best

Nabanarayan Bandyopadhyay

[Dr.S.R.Leela(MLC)]

In any case millions of lives of goats would not have been saved for the simple reason that goats are domesticated for the sole purpose of consuming their meat.

Leela s.r

Sent from my iPad

[Hnbhat B.R.]

On 23-Nov-2015 8:53 pm, "'Dr.S.R.Leela(MLC)' via भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" <bvpar...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> In any case millions of lives of goats would not have been saved for the simple reason that goats are domesticated for the sole purpose of consuming their meat.
>
> Leela s.r
>
>

The question discussed in the topic is not on eating goats on food in general, but the sacrifice of goats in याग. Please read the question once again in the context, mistaking the word अज for goat to be sacrificed in याग.

Consider the amount of animals to make a river of flesh and blood to make the river चर्मणवती as declared in Mahabharata and sung as the glory Rantideva flowing as a river. It will be clear the question  of eating goat for food does not enter the discussion as it is not by misunderstanding of the word अज.

[Hnbhat B.R.]

On 23-Nov-2015 4:04 pm, "Surendra Mohan Mishra" <dr.surendramo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Good discussion. I think 'himsra-yajna' should mean a sacrifice involving violence to animals. Since at one point of time such animal-slaughter-involving sacrifices were there, the need arose to get rid of them.During Sandhi-puujaa in Navaraatra a goat that is being sacrificed is told: छाग त्वं  बलिरूपेण मम पार्श्वमिहागतः / अतस्त्वां घातयिष्यामि

यस्माद्यज्ञे वधो 'वधः //

This seems to follow the principle of मीमांसा

यस्माद्यज्ञे वधो 'वधः //

which means the हिंसा is याग is not considered as हिंसा at all. I remember it reading in न्यायसिद्धान्तमुक्तावलली. It might be found in original मीमांसा works..

The general Vedic injunction on हिंसा reads as मा हिंस्यात् सर्वे भूतानि holds good even herbals also.

It is prayed स्वधितते मैने हिंसीः.

Another aspect of हिंसा in याग is the श्येनयाग. The killing of श्येन bird in sacrifice is not considered as हिंसा as it is ordained for the याग in Veda. But श्येनयाग itself is considered as हिंसा due to the killing person through this श्येनयाग. This killing is हिंसा.

The question raised is in line with मा हिंस्यात् सर्वा भूतानि and raises voice against the theory that the killing of animals in Yaga is not हिंसा.

[अभ्यंकरकुलोत्पन्नः श्रीपादः |]

Thinking of the etymology of the word हिंस्र from Dhaatu हिंस् हिंस्र should mean cruelty. That should include cruelty of any kind, not just to animals. 

It is true that the word हिंस्र is very closely connected to पशु. But as an independent word, the word हिंस्र need not be always connected only with पशु. 

Actually हिंस्रपशु is such wild animal for whom, हिंसा is essential not only for its subsistence, but it is also its survival instinct.  Nobody has ever heard of a हिंस्रपशु being sacrificed. So Question of हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम् does not arise for any हिंस्रपशु. 

I think one must first decipher the compound word हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम् and only then discuss whether the word means cruelty only to animals. May I decipher it as हिंस्रस्य यज्ञे वर्जनम् or as यस्मिन् यज्ञे हिंस्रं तस्य वर्जनम् 

In Apte's online dictionary meaning of the word हिंस्र (an adjective) is given as murderous animal. But the meaning of हिंस्रपशु is given as a beast of prey. Somehow the meaning of हिंस्रपशु as 'a beast of prey' does not appeal.

Anyway looking at the word हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम्, which is under discussion, the word itself does not contain पशु. Should not we then think of the word हिंस्रयज्ञवर्जनम् independent of any context with पशु ? 

[Hnbhat B.R.]

On 24-Nov-2015 4:38 am, "अभ्यंकरकुलोत्पन्नः श्रीपादः |" <sl.abh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thinking of the etymology of the word हिंस्र from Dhaatu हिंस् हिंस्र should mean cruelty. That should include cruelty of any kind, not just to animals. 

 ३.२.१६७ नमि-कम्पि-स्म्यजस-कम-हिंस-दीपो रः । 

As per the above derivation, it should not mean cruelty, but as a noun or adjective it should mean "cruel" or one that kills others regularly.

नम्यादिभ्यः धातुभ्यः तच्छीलादिषु कर्तृषु रः प्रत्ययो भवति। नम्रं काष्ठम्। कम्प्रा शाखा। स्मेरं मुखम्। अजस्रं जुहोति। हिंस्रं रक्षः। दीप्रं काष्ठम्। अजस्रम् इति जसु मोक्षणे नञ्पूर्वो रप्रत्ययान्तः क्रयासातत्ये वर्तते।

All the words have the same meaning as the participles and used as adjective. Exception being अजस्रम् frequent used as नञ् compound.

नम्र - bending, bowing etc. दीप्रम -- burning, shining brightly etc. Hence हिंस्र should not mean cruelty.

[Surendra Mohan Mishra]

नमांसि / तदेवात्र विवक्षितं मन्ये / हिंस्र इति हिंसाशीलः ताच्छील्यप्रत्यययोगात् / तादृशः यज्ञ: हिंस्रयज्ञः / तद्वर्जनम् उपदिष्टं भारते / तथा यज्ञा भवन्ति स्मेति तेन च  प्रतीयते'पि / अध्वरः अहिंस्रो यज्ञः इति व्याख्यानम् / यज्ञशब्दस्तु हिंस्राहिंस्रोभयवाची / किमध्वरशब्दः हिंस्रयज्ञमात्रबोधकः ? तस्य वा ध्वरिधात्वर्थव्यतिरिक्तं  व्युत्पत्त्यन्तरम् अस्तीति जिज्ञासे /

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निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)
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