NOBLE COW: MUNCHING GRASS LOOKING CURIOUS AND JUST HANGING AROUND
13.
We Are A Family
The kingdom of Vijayanagaram in south India was ruled by King Krishnadeva Raya. One day an old lady and her grown up son visited him in the court. The king respectfully received the lady, addressing her as Daima.
His courtier Tenali Raman noticed him addressing her as such and wondered why he did so. He could not help asking the king about it. The king replied that she nursed him in his childhood and therefore he treated her as his mother and called her Daima. Daima had a son whom the king affectionately addressed as his ‘dear half-brother’. They struck up a rapport right away and this half-brother started hanging around with the king.
The king started spending a lot of time with his half-brother and at times he would not even visit the court. The state administration was getting neglected. The courtiers did not like so much attention to be showered upon the old woman and her son and eagerly wanted them to depart. One day finally when they had left, the king said to Tenali Raman, “You know, I had such a good time in the company of my half-brother. I don’t think you have one, otherwise you would have known the warmth of brotherly love.”
Tenali Raman replied, “Your Majesty, I too have a half-brother.” This claim surprised the king because every one knew Tenali Raman was the only child of his parents. The king asked him to bring his half-brother to the court so that every one can see him.
Tenali Raman hesitated and tried to put it off for a few days. But when the king insisted, Tenali Raman one day arrived in the court with a rope in his hand, with a calf following him. The king was surprised and angrily asked Tenali Raman, “What is the matter with you? Why have you brought a calf in the court?”
Tenali Raman relied, “Your Majesty, this is my half-brother that you wanted to see.
The angry king exclaimed, “What is this joke? I never heard of any one having a calf as a half-brother ?”
Tenali Raman quipped, “Cow is my Daima because she nursed me with her milk. Since she is my foster mother, her son naturally becomes my half-brother.”
The entire court burst out laughing and so did the king.
We Are A Family
The kingdom of Vijayanagaram in south India was ruled by King Krishnadeva Raya. One day an old lady and her grown up son visited him in the court. The king respectfully received the lady, addressing her as Daima.
His courtier Tenali Raman noticed him addressing her as such and wondered why he did so. He could not help asking the king about it. The king replied that she nursed him in his childhood and therefore he treated her as his mother and called her Daima. Daima had a son whom the king affectionately addressed as his ‘dear half-brother’. They struck up a rapport right away and this half-brother started hanging around with the king.
The king started spending a lot of time with his half-brother and at times he would not even visit the court. The state administration was getting neglected. The courtiers did not like so much attention to be showered upon the old woman and her son and eagerly wanted them to depart. One day finally when they had left, the king said to Tenali Raman, “You know, I had such a good time in the company of my half-brother. I don’t think you have one, otherwise you would have known the warmth of brotherly love.”
Tenali Raman replied, “Your Majesty, I too have a half-brother.” This claim surprised the king because every one knew Tenali Raman was the only child of his parents. The king asked him to bring his half-brother to the court so that every one can see him.
Tenali Raman hesitated and tried to put it off for a few days. But when the king insisted, Tenali Raman one day arrived in the court with a rope in his hand, with a calf following him. The king was surprised and angrily asked Tenali Raman, “What is the matter with you? Why have you brought a calf in the court?”
Tenali Raman relied, “Your Majesty, this is my half-brother that you wanted to see.
The angry king exclaimed, “What is this joke? I never heard of any one having a calf as a half-brother ?”
Tenali Raman quipped, “Cow is my Daima because she nursed me with her milk. Since she is my foster mother, her son naturally becomes my half-brother.”
The entire court burst out laughing and so did the king.
The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one’s mother, human society takes cow’s milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains. Human society will kill its spirit of life by killing the father and the mother.
—Srila Prabhupada (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.2.29)
