Written by London Swaminathan
swami_48@yahoo.com
Date: 23 October 2018
Time uploaded in London – 20-26
(British Summer Time)
Post No. 5582
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GARLIC AND ONION BANNED FOR BRAHMINS-MANU (Post No.5582)
MY COMMENTS ON CHAPTER FIVE
1.TWO THOUSAND YEARS OLD SANGAM TAMIL LITERATURE DESCRIBED BRAHMINS AS PURE VEGETARIANS. WHEN THEY DESCRIBED FOOD IN AGRAHARA, THEY CLEARLY GAVE ONLY A VEGETARIAN MENU. THEY DESCRIBED THE BRAHMIN STREET- AGRAHARA—A NO GO AREA FOR DOGS AND COCKS.
2.KALIDASA, THE MOST FAMOUS INDIAN POET, WHO LIVED BEFORE TAMIL SANGAM AGE, AROUND FIRST OR SECOND CENTURY BCE, SHOWED BRAHMINS AS VEGETARIANS. IN ONLY ONE PLACE, HE TEASES ONE JESTER AS EAING MEAT (JOKES)
3.MANU’S RULES ABOUT MEAT EATING FOR DWIJAS—MEN OF TWO BIRTHS—IS APPLIED FOR ALL THE THREE CASTES IN HIS TIMES (RIG VEDIC TIMES; HIS NAME FIGURED IN THE RIG VEDA AND HE TALKS ABOUT VAST FLOWING SARASVATI RIVER). LATER DWIJA APPLIED ONLY TO BRAHMINS; THIS IS MY VIEW.
4.HE REPEATEDLY SAID MEAT EATING IS OCCASIONALLY DONE, THAT TOO ONLY DURING ANCESTOR WORSHIP. RAMA ALSO DID OFFER MEAT IN THE DIVASA/TITI- ANCESTOR RITUAL- SLOKA 5-27 AND LATER, HE SAYS IT IS OCCASIONALLY DONE.
5.BRAHMINS ARE CONSIDRED OUTCASTS IF THEY EAT GARLIC, ONION AND MUSHROOMS!! LEAVE ALONE THE MEAT!! !SLOKAS- 5-5 AND 5-19
6.TIRUVALLUVAR, AUTHOR OF TAMIL VEDA TIRUKKURAL,TRANSLATED SEVERALOF THESE SLOKAS IN HIS CHAPTER ON VEGETARIANISM AND NON -VIOlENCE –CHPATERS 26 AND 33 IN TIRUKKURAL- 20 COUPLETS
7.THE CONFUSING RULES ABOUT MEAT EATING IN THIS CHAPTER SHOW MANY HANDS IN IT- INTERPOLATIONS.
- SEVERAL OF HIS PLANTS AND ANIMALS ARE UNIDENTIFIABLE OR QUESTIONABLE OR DEBATABLE EVEN ACCORDING TO SMRTI EXPERTS. THAT SHOWS HIS AGE.
- WHEN HIS AUDINCE WONDERED HOW COME EVEN THE BRAHMINS WHO RECITED VEDAS DIE, HE GIVES FOUR REASONS- IN SLOKA 4- VERY INTERESTING!
10.SLOKA 5-22 AGASTYA DID IT IS AN INTERPOLATION. AGASTYA ATE VATAPI, ONE OF THE TWO DEMONS –AND DIGESTED HIM VERY NEXT MINUTE!! HE DRANK OCEAN!SO SOME ONE MUST HAVE JUST INSERTED HIS NAME- UNADULTERATED INTERPOLATION!
11.DARWINS THEORY—SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST—SLOKA 5-29- ‘COWARDS ARE THE FOOD OF THE BRAVE!’- THE WAY MANU DEALS WITH VARIOUS SUBJECTS SHOW HIM AS A GREAT GENIUS. HIS SIMILES ABOUT HYPOCRITE HERON, CAT, COW ARE ALL IN LATER LITERATURE.
12.SLOKAS 5-31-,5-33, 5-35, 5-38 WARN ABOUT MEAT EATING. THIS IS ORIGINAL MANU! RIG VEDIC MANU!
13.SLOKA 5-47 -HE WHO AVOIDS MEAT CAN ATTAIN ANYTHING HE WANTS. TAMIL POET VALLUVAR ALSO REPEATED IT.
- PUN ON WORD MAMSA/MEAT—SLOKA 5-55 IS KNOWN EVEN TO HINDU CHILDREN. IF YOU HURT AN ANT YOU WILL BE BORN AS ANT AND ANT WILL BE BORN AS HUMAN TO HURT YOU; THEY SAY IT EVEN IN SCHOOLS. IF ANY ONE EATS AN ANIMAL, THE ANIMAL WILL EAT HIM- SAYS MANU
IT IS SCIENTIFIC AS WELL- NON VEGETARIANS DIE OF DISEASES MORE THAN VEGETARIANS. ANIMAL CHOLESTEROL EAT MEN IN THE GUISE OF HEART DISEASES. NON- VEGETARIAN FOODS CAUSE MORE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. MAD COW DISEASES AND POULTRY INFECTIONS MADE THE WESTERN COUNTRIES TO KILL MILIONS OF ANIMALS OUT OF FEAR- TO PREVENT DISEASES SPREADING.
NOW READ THE SLOKAS……………….
MANU SMRTI, CHAPTER V.
5-1. The sages, having heard the duties of a Snataka (Vedic student) thus declared, spoke to great-souled Bhrigu, who sprang from fire:
- ‘How can Death have power over Brahmanas who know the sacred science, the Veda, and who fulfil their duties as they have been explained by you, O Lord? ‘
- Righteous Bhrigu, the son of Manu,answered the great sages: ‘Hear, (in punishment) of what faults Death seeks to shorten the lives of Brahmanas!’
WHY BRAHMANAS DIE?
5-4. ‘Through neglect of the Veda-study, through deviation from the rule of conduct, through remissness/inattentiveness in the fulfillment of duties, and through faults committed by eating forbidden food, Death becomes eager to shorten the lives of Brahmanas.’
5-5. Garlic, leeks and onions, mushrooms and all plants, springing from impure substances, are unfit to be eaten by twice-born men.
- One should carefully avoid red exudations from trees and (juices) flowing from incisions, the Selu (fruit), and the thickened milk of a cow (which she gives after calving).
- Rice boiled with sesamum, wheat mixed with butter, milk and sugar, milk-rice and flour-cakes which are not prepared for a sacrifice, meat which has not been sprinkled with water while sacred texts were recited, food offered to the gods and sacrificial viands,
- The milk of a cow or other female animal within ten days after her calving, that of camels, of one-hoofed animals, of sheep, of a cow in heat, or of one that has no calf with her,
- The milk of all wild animals excepting buffalo-cows, that of women, and all substances turned sour must be avoided.
- Among (things turned) sour, sour milk, and all (food) prepared of it may be eaten, likewise what is extracted from pure flowers, roots, and fruit.
- Let him avoid all carnivorous birds and those living in villages, and one-hoofed animals which are not specially permitted to be eaten, and the Tittibha (LITTLE FINCHES Parra Jacana),
- The sparrow, the Plava, the Hamsa, the Brahmani duck, the village-cock, the Sarasa crane, the Raggudala, the woodpecker, the parrot, and the starling,
- Those which feed striking with their beaks, web-footed birds, the Koyashti, those which scratch with their toes, those which dive and live on fish, meat from a slaughter-house and dried meat,
- The Baka and the Balaka crane, the raven, the Khangaritaka, (animals) that eat fish, village-pigs, and all kinds of fishes.
- He who eats the flesh of any animal is called the eater of the flesh of that particular creature, he who eats fish is an eater of every kind of flesh; let him therefore avoid fish.
ALLOWED FISH
5-16. But the fish called Pathina and Rohita may be eaten, if used for offerings to the gods or to the manes; (one may eat) likewise Ragivas, Simhatundas, and Sasalkas on all occasions.
IDENTIFYNG THESE FISHES IS VERY DIFFICULT; THOUGH SCHOLARS HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME, THERE IS NO AGREEMENT AMONG SCHOLARS.
- Let him not eat solitary or unknown beasts and birds, though they may fall under the categories of eatable creatures, nor any five-toed animals.
- The porcupine, the hedgehog, the iguana, the rhinoceros, the tortoise, and the hare they declare to be eatable; likewise those domestic animals that have teeth in one jaw only, excepting camels.
IF YOU EAT GARLIC, ONION, MUSHROOM YOU ARE AN OUT CAST
5-19. A twice-born man who knowingly eats mushrooms, a village-pig, garlic, a village-cock, onions, or leeks, will become an outcast.
- He who unwittingly partakes of (any of) these six, shall perform a Samtapana (Krikkhra) or the lunar penance (Kandrayana) of ascetics; in case he who has eaten any other kind of forbidden food he shall fast for one day and a night .
- Once a year a Brahmana must perform a Krikkhra penance, in order to atone for unintentionally eating forbidden food but for intentionally eating forbidden food he must perform the penances prescribed specially.
THESE VOWS ARE DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER 11
AGASTYA DID IT??
5-22. Beasts and birds recommended for consumption may be slain by Brahmanas for sacrifices, and in order to feed those whom they are bound to maintain; for Agastya did this of old.
- For in ancient times the sacrificial cakes were made of the flesh of eatable beasts and birds at the sacrifices offered by Brahmanas and Kshatriyas.
- All lawful hard or soft food may be eaten, though stale, after having been mixed with fatty substances, and so may the remains of sacrificial viands.
- But all preparations of barley and wheat, as well as preparations of milk, may be eaten by twice-born men without being mixed with fatty substances, though they may have stood for a long time.
- Thus has the food, allowed and forbidden to twice-born men, been fully described; I will now propound the rules for eating and avoiding meat.
MEAT EATING ONLY IN SACRIFICES!
5-27. One may eat meat when it has been sprinkled with water, while Mantras were recited, when Brahmanas desire one’s doing it, when one is engaged in the performance of a rite according to the law, and when one’s life is in danger.
- The Lord of creatures Pragapati created this whole world to be the sustenance of the vital spirit; both the immovable and the movable creation is the food of the vital spirit.
COWARDS ARE THE FOOD OF THE BRAVE
5-29. What is destitute of motion is the food of those endowed with locomotion; animals without fangs are the food of those with fangs, those without hands of those who possess hands, and the timid of the bold. COWARDS ARE THE FOOD OF THE BRAVE (SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST)
- The eater who daily even devours those destined to be his food, commits no sin; for the creator himself created both the eaters and those who are to be eaten for those special purposes.
MEAT EATERS ARE DEMONS!
5-31. ‘The consumption of meat is befitting for sacrifices,’ that is declared to be a rule made by the gods; but to persist in using it on other occasions is said to be a proceeding worthy of Rakshasas.
- He who eats meat, when he honours the gods and manes, commits no sin, whether he has bought it, or himself has killed the animal, or has received it as a present from others.
5-33. A twice-born man who knows the law, must not eat meat except in conformity with the law; for if he has eaten it unlawfully, he will, unable to save himself, be eaten after death by his victims.
- After death the guilt of one who slays deer for gain is not as great as that of him who eats meat for no sacred purpose.
IF YOU REFUSE MEAT………………
5-35. But a man who, being duly engaged to officiate or to dine at a sacred rite, refuses to eat meat, becomes after death an animal during twenty-one existences.
- A Brahmana must never eat the flesh of animals unhallowed by Mantras; but, obedient to the primeval law, he may eat it, consecrated with Vedic texts.
- If he has a strong desire (for meat) he may make an animal of clarified butter or one of flour, (and eat that); but let him never seek to destroy an animal without a (lawful) reason.
5-38. As many hairs as the slain beast has, so often indeed will he who killed it without a lawful reason suffer a violent death in future births.
- Svayambhu (the Self-existent) himself created animals for the sake of sacrifices; sacrifices have been instituted for the good of this whole world; hence the slaughtering of beasts for sacrifices is not slaughtering in the ordinary sense of the word.
5-40. Herbs, trees, cattle, birds, and other animals that have been destroyed for sacrifices, receive being reborn higher existences.
ANIMAL KILLING ONLY OCCASIONALLY
5-41. On offering the honey-mixture (to a guest), at a sacrifice and at the rites in honour of the manes, but on these occasions only, may an animal be slain; that rule Manu proclaimed.
- A twice-born man who, knowing the true meaning of the Veda, slays an animal for these purposes, causes both himself and the animal to enter a most blessed state.
- A twice-born man of virtuous disposition, whether he dwells in (his own) house, with a teacher, or in the forest, must never, even in times of distress, cause an injury to any creature which is not sanctioned by the Veda.
- Know that the injury to moving creatures and to those destitute of motion, which the Veda has prescribed for certain occasions, is no injury at all; for the sacred law shone forth from the Veda.
- He who injures HARMLESS CREATURES from a wish to (give) himself pleasure, never finds happiness, neither living nor dead.
- He who does not seek to cause the sufferings of bonds and death to living creatures, but desires the good of all beings, obtains endless bliss.
5-47. He who does not injure any creature, attains without an effort what he thinks of, what he undertakes, and what he fixes his mind on.
- Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to the attainment of heavenly bliss; let him therefore shun the use of meat.
- Having well considered the (disgusting) origin of flesh and the (cruelty of) fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let him entirely abstain from eating flesh.
- He who, disregarding the rule (given above), does not eat meat like a Pisaka, becomes dear to men, and will not be tormented by diseases.
- He who permits (the slaughter of an animal), he who cuts it up, he who kills it, he who buys or sells (meat), he who cooks it, he who serves it up, and he who eats it, (must all be considered as) the slayers (of the animal).
- There is no greater sinner than that (man) who, though not worshipping the gods or the manes, seeks to increase (the bulk of) his own flesh by the flesh of other (beings).
- He who during a hundred years annually offers a horse-sacrifice, and he who entirely abstains from meat, obtain the same reward for their meritorious (conduct).
- By subsisting on pure fruit and roots, and by eating food fit for ascetics (in the forest), one does not gain (so great) a reward as by entirely avoiding (the use of) flesh.
PUN ON WORD MAMSA=MEAT; IF YOU EAT ME, I WILL EAT YOU
5-55. ‘Me he (mam sah)’ will devour in the next world, whose flesh I eat in this life; the wise declare this to be the real meaning of the word ‘flesh’ (mamsah).
- There is no sin in eating meat, in (drinking) spirituous liquor, and in carnal intercourse, for that is the natural way of created beings, but abstention brings great rewards.
TO BE CONTINUESD……………………………
–subham–
Tamil and Vedas 