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India
had a variety of pets in the past. Here are some
interesting stories :
DOG : Dogs were popular pets in ancient Aryan India, from
2000 B.C. onwards. The dialogue hymns of the Hindu "Rig
Veda" tells us of a faithful pet (female) dog Saroma. A
band of robbers called the "Poni" stole the cattle of the
Indian Aryans and hid them in a faraway cave. Sorama hunted
for the lost cattle and found them in the cave. The "Rig
Veda" hymn has a dialogue between the Poni and Saroma.
Saroma asks them to let the cattle free.
COW : Cows are fondly known as "go dhon" (prized
possession) in India. Hindus are forbidden to eat beef. Taking
care of cattle was regarded as a sacred duty. Brahmin teachers
had pet cows. His students would take them out to graze every
day. Pictures depict Lord Krishna playing divine music on his flute
while his cattle is grazing. 6th century B.C.
King Dilip and Suddhokhina of Ayodha in Uttar Pradesh were
childless. They went to the wise sage Vashistha for advice. Vashistha said that they should take good care of his pet cow
Nandi. If they could please Nandini, she would bless
them with an offspring. The king and queen tended to Nandini
for a long time and the Queen did get pregnant. 3rd century
BC.
HORSE : Like every ancient civilizations wars were a regular
feature of Hindu civilization. Therefore every kingdom had
horses. King Nakula and Sahadeva of Hastinapur (6th century B.C)
were veterinary specialists with a special focus on horses.
ELEPHANT : Elephants were a vehicle for war. Not all
warriors
could mount an elephant in war, only the leaders could. An
elephant was decked up for every war. The height of an
elephant benefited the warrior because it enabled him to see a wide
range in the battle field. An elephant was also used for
travel. Prolhad's evil father sent his elephant to crush Prohlad to
death. The elephant instead gently picked up Prohlad and put
the child on his back.
DEER : They were a sensation - specially to Indian
women.
Sakuntala (4th century B.C) had a beloved pet deer named
Dirghapango ( the do-eyed one). Raja Dushmanto had come to
Sakuntala's forest to hunt. He killed and captured many
animals and finally spotted Dirghapango and ran after him with his
bow and arrow. The deer ran as fast as his legs could carry
him to Sakuntala. Sakuntala's adoptive parent was a sage and
in and around his lodging hunting was forbidden. So Dushmonto
kept aside his bow and arrow. He fell in love with beautiful
Sakuntala at first sight. The king offered the deer water but
he was still scared of him. When Shakuntala gave her pet water
he drank. The deer in a way acted as a liaison between
Dushmonto and Sakuntala. If Dirghapango cut his mouth while
chewing grass, Sakuntala would smear healing ointment on his
mouth. When Sakuntala was to leave to her husband's place, the
deer caught the edge of her attire with his mouth, he did not want
her to leave.
PARROT : A beloved pet because it could imitate a human
voice. The male parrot was called "Shuk" and the
female "Shari". · "Sree Harsha's Ratnaboli"
tells us the story of a pet parrot which was set free by the pet
monkey of the queen. The parrot flew to the king and told him all
the queen's secrets.
"Shuko Saptati Katha" written in the 12th century AD tells
us
how a parrot helped in preserving household harmony. The lady
of the house wished to meet her illicit lover in secret while her
husband was on a trip. Just when the lady was about to leave
the parrot would start to tell her stories he had heard. The
lady would give in to the stories and would not leave any
more. The parrot told 70 stories for 70 days till her husband
returned.
PEACOCK : Peacocks were favourite pets in Hindu and Islam
kingdoms in India. The peacock is India's national bird.
Sakuntala had many pets. All her pets mourned for her when she
left for her husband's kingdom. The peacocks who danced all
day quit dancing all of a sudden.
DUCK : Padmagupta's "Nabo Sahashanka Charita"
written in 11th century A.D tells how the pet duck of Princess
Sashiprabha stole her precious necklace. A king caught sight
of the duck with the necklace and saw Sashiprabha's name engraved on
it. The king wanted to meet her in person, fell in love with her and
married her.
SWAN : A pet swan carried messages between lovers King Nal
and Princess Damayanti.
PIGEONS : Pigeons were in each and every kingdom as royal
pets. A king fighting a battle in a kingdom far away took a
white and black pigeon with him. If he won the battle he would
send a white pigeon to his kingdom to announce his victory. If
he lost he would send a black pigeon. A victorious king meant
to send a white pigeon but the black pigeon got freed by
mistake. The pigeon flew fast miles away to the native
kingdom. The king realizing his mistake rushed on horseback to
his kingdom, but he was too late. The queen and princesses had
already committed suicide on the arrival of the black pigeon.
FALCON : Falcon's were pet hunting birds of Islam emperors
and kings.
MONGOOSE
: Snakes could slide in and bite any time, therefore there had to be
a safeguard. The "Panchatantra" tells of a lady who
had left her home keeping her baby with her pet mongoose. When
she returned she saw blood smeared on the mouth of the mongoose.
She thought that the mongoose had killed her child and she killed
the mongoose in a frenzy. Later she discovered that the
mongoose was safe, it had killed a poisonous snake which would have
bitten the child.
Pets are not for mortals alone. Gods and Goddesses of India are seen
with their respective pets. Gods and Goddesses rode on their
pets to their destinations.
Agni
(the god of fire) rides a ram and holds a banner of smoke, this is
an anthropomorphic representation of the sacrificial fire.
Indra
the war lord rides the celestial elephant Ariavata.
Surya
( the sun god ) rides in a lavish carriage drawn by seven
horses.
Varuna
(the god of water) is seen on a crocodile or on a chariot
drawn by seven swans.
Vayu
(the wind god) mounts a chariot drawn by two, ninety nine, hundred
or even thousand horses ( the number perhaps, depends upon his wish
to produce an ordinary winter current or a storm or a cyclone! ) -
his chariot announces his arrival with mighty roars.
Yama
( the god of the dead ) rides a he-buffalo to claim his
victim.
Brahma
(the creator of the universe) has a chariot drawn by seven swans
standing for the seven worlds.
Lord
Narayana - the Supreme God - falls asleep on the great thousand
hooded serpent Ananta in the ocean of milk, the thousand hoods
indicate the innumerable divisions of time.
Vishnu
- yet another form of Narayana has a mighty bird vehicle - it is
like an eagle with a sharp beak and two wings at its back - a bird
famous for its multifarious exploits including bringing nectar from
Indra's heaven.
Lord
Shiva ( the god of destruction) carries an entire zoo with him -
Nandi his vehicle bull, Bhringi with three legs and three arms, a
mouse and peacock. Symbolically, the bull represents the animal
instincts, specially sex, and Shiva's riding on it represents his
absolute mastery over it.
Saraswati
(the goddess of learning and consort of Lord Brahma) is seen with
the swan - the swan is supposed to possess the power of separating
milk from water which in turn symbolizes the filtration of the
truest knowledge.
Lakhsmi
- the goddess of fortune is seen with quite an ominous bird - the
night owl. Yet, when we delve deeper into the matter we will
understand that "uluka" (the Sanskrit name for
"owl") is also the name of Indra - the king of gods.
Lakshmi being the goddess of fortune could not have found a better
person to ride on than the king of gods who personifies wealth,
power and glory.
Alakhsmi
(misfortune personified - the opposite number of Lakhsmi) is
pictured as an old hag riding an ass.
Goddess
Durga fights her battles on the lion - the royal beast representing
the best in animal creation.
Lord
Ganapati (the lord of intellect) has a small mouse as his
vehicle. The mouse that wants to see the inside of all things
can stand for intellect.
Kartika
(the god of war) is seen with a peacock which kills a snake.
The snake stands for time. By riding a peacock Kartika shows
he is beyond what is within time and outside it.
Ma
Soshthi - the goddess of fertility is seen with a cat.
The
planetary gods are seen with their respective animals : Mangala -
ram; Budha, Brahaspati, Sukra - horse chariot;
Sani and Ketu - vulture, Rahu - black lion.
Nirriti
(the chief of the demons) rides a donkey or lion.
Kubera,
the god of wealth mounts the ram or elephant.
Our thanks to Pallavi
in India for this article.
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