Sage Thiru-valluvar
"The Bard of Universal Man"
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Chapter - 33 : Not killing
 

Introductory Note

This chapter inculcates the virtue of ‘ahimsa,’ or ‘respect for all that has life’ or ‘non-violence towards all that has life.’ Ancient Tamil commentator says that this subject is treated last amongst ascetic virtues because this virtue is the highest (see couplet 323 below).

[See Manu v. 43, seq. x. 63, xi. 23.]

It must be noted this chapter on ‘Not Killing’ forms part of the section on ‘Ascetic Virtue’ and not ‘Domestic Virtue.’ By implication one can conclude that Thiru-valluvar allows the householder, who is to follow the ‘Domestic Virtue;’ to kill in certain circumstances. Such a case would arise for example for a soldier or in self-defense.

Having noted this, let us go the ascetic virtue of ‘Not Killing.’“Thou shalt not murder.” – Ten Commandments, Exodus 20.12, The Hebrew Bible [6].

“You shall not murder.” – Ten Commandments, Deuteronomy 5.13, The Bible [3].

"...and that ye slay not your children because of penury - We provide for you and for them... And that ye slay not the life which Allah hath made sacred, save in the course of justice. " - Prophet Muhammad (saw), The Straight Path, Al-Anaam 6.151, The Quran. [7]

There is something which is missing in Thirukural. It does not talk about children’s duty to take care of their parents. The verse of Quran quoted above mentions the duty to parents as “be good to parent.” The Bible also mentions it:

"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you." - Deuteronomy 5:1-20, The Bible [3]

However it is a fact that children in Tamil Nadu, as in rest of India, have great regards for their parents.

"Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, We shall provide for them and for you. Lo! the slaying of them is great sin. ... And slay not the life which Allah hath forbidden save with right. Whoso is slain wrongfully, We have given power unto his heir, but let him not commit excess in slaying." - Prophet Muhammad (saw), The Straight Path, Al-Isra 17.31-33, The Quran. [7]

Translation(s)

What is the work of virtue? ‘Not to kill,’ for ‘killing’ leads to every work of evil.

 

Translation(s)

Let those who partake (join) your meal, guard everything that lives. This is the most important and the sum of lore that hoarded wisdom gives.

Explanation

Drew translates it as guard ‘the manifold life of other creatures.’ It is not only abstinence from animal food that is inculcated, but, as the word --- suggests, cherishing all inferior creation.

Translation(s)

Of the good things the sole first thing is ‘not to slay;’ the second is ‘not to say untrue word.’

 

Translation(s)

You ask, ‘What is the good and perfect way?’ It is the path on him who studies not to slay.

Explanation

‘It requires care to avoid injury to living beings. Hence ----, which means study.’ (Pope, p. 242)

Translation(s)

Amongst those who renounce everything dreading being (i.e continuance of this embodied form) chief are those who dreading crime of slaughter, study not to slay.

Explanation

Those who dread the crime of slaughter & do not slay are greater amongst those who renounce everything for achieving salvation or emancipation.

Translation(s)

Even death that devours life shall spare their happy days who uphold the law of ‘Thou shall not kill,’ with reverent care.

 

Translation(s)

Even if your own life as price you must pay for that life spared, do not take away from that which lives, sweet gift of life.

Explanation

A man may not kill even in self-defense. This applies to ascetics.

Bhag. Gita says that for the warrior, who is householder, killing in self-defense is a duty. See Ch. 2 of Bhag. Gita

Translation(s)

Even though the gain of good may seem great, the wise will despise any gain won by slaughter.

Explanation

Even sacrifice of animals is forbidden.

Translation(s)

To minds of those who know what vileness is, to them those, whose trade is ‘killing,’ always show as vile.

Explanation

The above couplet applies to ascetics and they do not appreciate the professions of butchers, fishermen, hunters, bird trappers. Till 18th century in India, there was a community of people called “thugs” whose profession was to rob travelers on highways and then killed them.

Rev. G.U. Pope interprets this to mean: “Sacrificing priests, and soldiers, are not respected.” His interpretation is inaccurate. Thiru-valluvar, in Part-2 of this book on ‘Wealth,’ extensively covers subject of war, maintaining an army and the like (Ch. ----). In Part-3 of this book on ‘Love,’ he depicts the hero as having gone to war (couplet ---, Ch. --). How can we assume, in these circumstances, that he would say soldiers are to be looked down upon?

The error has arisen since Rev. G.U. Pope overlooks the divisions & sub-divisions like between Domestic Virtue and Ascetic Virtues: “I feel a doubt as to the authority of the divisions and titles throughout the work.” (Pope,  p. 232).

[The Dharmic religions have maintained a distinction between virtues for householders and ascetics.

Smart & Hecht point out such a distinction in Buddhism:

 “The five precepts or virtues (silani) are the basic rules for lay and monastic Buddhists; monks and nuns had to obey a further five precepts as well.” (Smart & Hecht, p. 294)

Again, they point to such distinction in Hinduism also:

“Traditional systems of dharma understand that there are four such stages: the student (brahmacarin), householder (grhasta), forest dweller (vanaprastha), and the one who has renounced all ties to society (sannyasin). Here in this text from ‘The Laws of Manu’ we see some of the specific legal injunctions and ideals set forth for the householder and the sannyasin.” (Smart & Hecht, p. 233)

Thus, we feel that it is perfectly in order for Thiruvalluvar to have divided the part on ‘Virtue” into two – one for the householders and another for ascetics.

Smart, Ninian and Hecht, Richard D.; Sacred Texts of the World; Quercus, London, 2007.

Translation(s)

Those who lead a loathed life in bodies which are sorely pained, the wise declare, are men stained with guilt of slaughter.

Explanation

Naladiyar, a later Tamil composition, gives the following verses:

“Their legs in iron bound, as slaves to alien lords,
They’ll till the black and barren soil, who snared and kept
In cages partridges and quails, that dwell in the wilds
Where beetles hum amid the flowers.

Who loved in other times on crabs to feed, and broke
Their joints, what time the guilt of olden deeds comes home,
Like fires their palms shall glow, their fingers rot away,
When direful leprosy’s pangs arise.”
-         Naladiyar, 122, 123

This verse also suggests that bird catchers and fishermen should change their profession.

Summary Note

Today, ‘Not Killing’ has come to awareness and lime light for saving few animal species on the verge of becoming extinct.

Snow Leopard is well known for its beautiful fur and its pelts command a very high price in the fur market. It is an endangered species today. ( See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Leopard ). The desire for status, which humans acquire when they wear the fur, is the root cause of killing.

Blue Whale is the largest animal to ever live on earth, it is bigger than even the largest dinosaurs that lived on earth but are now extinct. Even this largest creature is driven close to extinction due to hunting by human beings in 19th and 20th centuries. It is an endangered species. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Whale ). The desire for whale meat is the root cause of killing.

Amongst land animals, the Elephant is the largest. They are also a protected species world over. ( See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant ). They are hunted for tusks which sell as expensive ivory. Here greed is the rrot cause of killing and driving their extinction.

‘Not Killing’ had to do with learning to be kind to non-human living beings. If one is kind to them then certainly one would be kind to other human beings. Today, it can help us preserve biodiversity also.

End of Religious Observances

The Sub-section-1 on Religious Observances by Ascetics comes to an end. Thiru-valluvar has nine observances for them. They are: Possession of benevolence, Renunciation of (eating flesh), Penance, Inconsistent conduct (pretending to be an ascetic while not conducting like one), Absence of fraud (coveting), Veracity (truthfulness), Not being angry, Not doing evil (even in return of evil), Not killing.

These as we noted are equivalent of ‘vrata’ in Sanskrit. The ascetic must observe these, just as Buddhist monks and Jain minks have five vows each.

The Sub-section-2 is on Wisdom.

[“All the negative commands, obedience to which confers on man ‘the five-fold uprightness,’ are reiterated by Tiruvalluvar, though not in order. (See Oldenberg’s Buddha, p. 290)

These are –

1.   To kill no living thing: (----)

2.   Not to lay hands on another’s property: (---) Ch. 29

3.   Not to touch another’s wife: (---) Ch. 15

4.   Not to speak what is untrue: (---) Ch. 30

5.   Not to drink intoxicating drinks: (---) Ch. 93”

(Pope, p. 242)Chapter-33: Non Killing

Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson is a vegetarian and spokesperson for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

Pam became a vegetarian in her early teens when she walked in on her dad slaughtering an animal he had just hunted.

She is also very deeply committed to stopping people from using fur since animals are killed to obtain the fur.

The star feels so strongly about people wearing animal pelts she actually wishes them harm. Once she said, “If I had a super power it would be to have people’s mink coats come back to life and attack them." On another occasion she said "I hate Vogue editor Anna Wintour because she bullies young designers and models to use and wear fur.”


In 2003, Pam stripped down for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" advertising campaign. In 2006, Pam posed naked with other protesters on a window display of the Stella McCartney boutique in London, England for an event to raise enough money for PETA, which it did.

This is the humane side of the celebrity who has graced the cover page of Playboy magazine 12 times - more than anyone else.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=31&contentid=200801232008012305073096861a56554# , retrieved on Jan 23, 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Anderson , retrieved on Jan 23, 2008Buddha also advices us to abstain from killing in the 4th of his Noble Eight Fold Path:

“And what, monks, is right action? Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from un-chastity: This, monks, is called right action” [13].

Thiruvalluvar Statue
Part of Thiruvalluvar Memorial called 'Valluvar Kottam,' Chennai, India
Credit: Irfan Clickr, Flickr

References