Non-Violence Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon
Non-Violence
The teacher said to his disciple,
'How is it that you look so fresh
Even after grazing the cows
in the forest for the entire day?
Have you cheated the calves
Of their milk again? '
The disciple said,
'Yesterday I fed on the cows' milk
After the calves had their fill.
And you forbid me, because
The calves would leave
more milk in the udder
For me to sate my hunger,
And that's violence against them
Enough to stop me from entering
The doors of heaven.
Today I fed on the drops of milk spilled,
while calves had their fill.'
Guru said,
'You did it again!
The calves would spill more milk
For your stomach to fill.
And that is more violence
That would deprive you of your
Right to heaven again! '
'If that is violence, '
Said my daughter,
'What will happen to us
Who killed fowl for our lunch? '
'Nothing, dear!
The sin of killing the bird
Is washed away, as we eat its flesh.'
The Story
The great sage Dhaumya had many disciples, but a young boy called Upamanyu was his favourite. One day, the sage decided to test Upmanyu's devotion and asked him, 'You look very healthy, what do you eat? ' In those days, sages and their disciples used to beg for food and alms. Upmanyu calmly replied, 'I eat the food that I get by begging. ' On hearing this, The sage instructed Upmanyu not to consume any food that he received as alms without asking for his permission first. Upmanyu was very obedient and from the next day itself, he offered everything that he received to the sage. The sage took away all the food and gave nothing to Upmanyu.
After a few days, the sage noticed that Upmanyu still looked very healthy. The sage then asked him, 'I take away all the food that you get, so what do you eat? ' Upmanyu explained that he offered the sage everything, and that he ate what he got the second time he went begging. The sage scolded Upmanyu and ordered, 'You shouldn't beg twice, because then there will be nothing left for other students. you should not be greedy. ' Upmanyu obediently followed what his teacher said.
After some days, the saint noticed that Upmanyu still looked hale and hearty and asked him, you still look healthy, what do you eat these days? ' Upmanyu replied saying, 'when I take the cows out to graze, I drink some of the milk that they give. ' The sage immediately forbade Upmanyu from having milk from the cows. As usual, Upmanyu followed his teacher's instructions.
However Upmanyu's health still did not suffer. The sage approached him again after a few days and asked him what he ate. Upamanyu promptly replied that he ate the foam that the calves produced after having milk from the cows. The sage told Upmanyu that this would affect the health of the calves and he should not do so. Upmanyu followed Dhaumya's advice.
The next day, when Upmanyu took the cows for grazing as usual, he felt very hungry. When he couldn't control his hunger anymore, he ate the leaves of a plant called Aak. The leaves of this plant were very poisonous and Upmanyu became blind. He kept wandering in the forest and then fell into a dry well. When Upamanyu did not return in the evening, the sage was worried and went with disciples to look for Upmanyu. They found Upmanyu in the well and pulled him out. When the sage heard how Upmanyu had been blinded, he asked him to pray to the Ashwini Kumars, the doctors of the gods, and request them to restore his eyesight. Soon, the Ashwini Kumars appeared and gave Upmanyu a medicine. But Upmanyu said that he would not eat anything without Dhaumya's permission. The Ashwini Kumars tried their best to convince Upmanyu to have the medicine but Upmanyu said that he would rather stay blind forever than disobey the orders of the sage.
The gods were impressed by Upmanyu's love, respect, and devotion for his teacher and blessed him. They restored his eyesight. Dhaumya was also very pleased with Upamanyu and told him that he had passed the test. The sage blessed Upmanyu and gave him a boon that he wouldn't need to learn religious texts but would know them automatically.
Thank you Ashika for finding time to read this poem and favouring me with your lovely comments. Thank a lot.
WoW! What a wonderful theme, nicely portrayed. Loved reading this.
ഹായ് ആഷികാ, ഈ കവിതയുടെ അവസാനത്തെ രണ്ടുമൂന്നു വരികൾ കൊന്നാൽ പാപം തിന്നാൽ തീരും എന്ന മലയാളം ചൊല്ലിന്റെ പരിഭാഷയാണെന്ന് മനസ്സിലായല്ലോ, അല്ലേ?
Thank you Ashika. A story line from the epic, I tried to interpret in the current context. The true sense on nonviolence is narrated here. Nonviolence is not just abstaining from inflicting injury to others. Even exploiting the love and sentiments others, including animals, towards one, is equally a violent act. So, nonviolence is abstention from such exploitation too, even if it involuntary. Such great lines of thoughts are the fundamental to Indian philosophy.
Wow! ! ! ! ! Very Powerful! ! ! ! ! And Moving Poem! ! ! ! ! With Very Interesting Beautiful Noting! ! ! ! ! Thank You Ever So Much For Sharing! ! ! ! ! Ever So Many 10S! ! ! ! ! ! ++++++
Hi Becca Thank you for the appreciation and lovely comments. Indian philosophy advocates that non-violence is not just abstaining from any violent act causing injury to others, but is is also abstaining from exploiting the love of other fellow beings including animals and plants towards you, thus depriving them of their food and comforts for your convenience, although they do so voluntarily. Such noble line of thinking....
awesome sir...touched! ! ! very true sir, we talk of non violence n eat non veg...i was a non vegetarian, n after reading our scriptures have developed aversion to it and am a veggie since 6 yrs..when one thinks of the cruel death of those creatures...they will not dare to be a non veggie...I think only a poet can think so...as poetry is something which comes from depths of heart...a feeling of compassion towards other beings...beautiful piece of work sir. this thinking is the need of the hour in this kaliyug! thanks for sharing sir
Hi Edward, Thank you so much for visiting me and posting the comments. Your appreciation means a lot to me.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/7/2024 8:52:31 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Very intriguing poem that instigated a very intelligent discussion. That is the purpose of poetry- -to ignite thought, to incite discussion, to create emotion. I cannot add much to this exchange except I believe there will come a time when there will be no death.