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| Sunday, 17 July 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Gava taruva
or the Bull Star
Sunday parable by Sunanda Mahendra "Talking about cattle slaughter in our country, on a massive scale, I can remember the story about the Bull Star or the Gava Taruva," said the politician addressing his colleagues in a solemn manner.
'Then I will tell you the story of the Gava Taruva or the Vrashaba Tarakava as it is titled in Sanskrit," said the good politician, who is learned in the ancient texts, and took the opportunity to address the whole house of public representatives. 'In the good old days most stars and planets in the sky were looking down at the earth thinking as to what they could do as a favour to the humans, beasts, and birds who so need it. Those days Sun (or the Surya), was the leader of the stars (taru) and planets graha) and the entire solar system. The decision The sun was so powerful that all the other stars and planets would consider, the Sun as their king. One day the Bull Star or the Gava Taruva went to see the Sun who was contemplating over some problem caused by his blazing sunshine and the scorching effects it had on the earth, especially on the humans. Right at this moment of contemplation the Gava Taruva approached the Sun and wanted to talk to him softly. 'What brought you here?,' asked the Sun. 'Excuse me, the King of the Heaven, I feel sorry for the human beings.' 'That is very strange and may I know the cause for your sorrow?' 'When I look down upon the earth, I see that the human beings are too tired in their cultivation work and they want some help from a good tireless animal.' 'Is that all?' 'No there is no grass and there is a severe starvation, the fertility rate is gradually going down and I feel sorry for the farmers who toil so hard and get nothing much from the earth.' 'So what is your solution?' 'First of all, the earth needs good grasslands and then it needs cattle, I feel so sorry about them.' 'Please tell me what your action plan is without wasting my time over simplified speculations.' 'First of all I feel sorry for these humans as they suffer owing to the lack of these items, so I am ready to implement just one plan of action through a self sacrifice.' 'I see that you are sympathising too much with the human beings as a good star in the sky or as the gods say the heaven. I see that you are duty- bound and has a sense of humanism which is slowly waning off from the human beings themselves .So tell me quickly what you hope to do?' 'I want to go in the form of a bull to the earth and help the farmers of the earth.' 'This should be included into the agenda of our action plan meeting.' 'But this has to be done rather hurriedly or else the humans will starve.' So a meeting of the solar bodies was summoned by the King, the Sun, with immediate effect, to discuss the action plan of the Bull Star or the Gava Taruva. In the first instance the members of the solar group failed to understand the ideological standpoint of the Bull Star as it was something unprecedented among the heavenly bodies. One member of the solar group went to the extent of saying 'anyway physically viewing you look like a strong animal who can help the humans in many ways.' To this remark the Bull Star responded softly with a smile. 'Perhaps that is the reason why I am called the Bull Star by you all. Look, I have got two good horns and a tail and four legs with hoofs.' 'You look a helpful star'. Agreed many other stars and planets and wished him all luck in his endeavour. 'Thank you, thank you very much for your blessings and please allow me to go to the earth as soon as possible. Please protect me and invoke blessings on me from the heaven, so that I can be constantly helpful to the earthen creatures.' 'Let's bless the Bull Star and permit him to help in the best possible manner the earthly creatures', said the Sun invoking blessings on the Bull Star in order to implement his action plan on the earth. From heaven to earth The rest of the members in the solar family too stood up to bless him. It was not at all difficult for the Bull Star to change his appearance from a star to a figure of a bull. The Bull Star descended from heaven to earth. When he bellowed, the farmers understood his language. The farmers and the bull had a good dialogue and a humane understanding. The bull helped the farmer community to such an extent that they refrained from eating his flesh. The family of the bull gradually extended and not only the main provisions like milk, and curd were provided but also cow-dung was supplied constantly for various purposes. The foremost male was known as the bull and his companion, the mother brought from heaven was known as cow and the entire bull-cow family was respected as a sacred cattle family. Day by day, the cattle family grew in the grasslands when the King of the Solar system, the Sun was so kind and created more and more grasslands for the cattle family to live on and help the human farmers. For over several centuries the humans were too kind to the cattle. But as it happens, the cruelty too prevails as a social stigma when the cattle too had to undergo tragic killings. Some human beings were unkind and ungrateful to the sacred bull and the cattle lineage from time to time. They forgot the fact that the initial stages of cultivation was helped by the heavenly body called the Bull Star. Having uttered this story the good politician made a profound public statement: 'I propose that the members of this house who are the members of various religious, cultural and ethnic groups agree to pass a special Act of legislature prohibiting the cattle slaughter in this country If we don't act immediately, the heavenly bodies like the Sun, the Moon, the stars and the planets of varying types will be angry with us and bring more and more disasters to this earth via fire, water and wind." (I am indebted to W. J. M. Lokubandara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Sri Lanka for the source material in his book titled 'epa epa maskannata kiriammage'). |
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'We haven't heard of such a star or a planet,' said his friends trying to
express their respective erudition. 
