लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु
lokāh samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu
"May all beings of the Universe be happy."
The legal luminary, V. R. Krishna Iyer
A special cover was brought out on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary during Kochipex-2014
The above Sanskrit citation
is inscribed beneath the Pūrṇakumbha in the cancellation which is part of the
following quartet chanted by every Brāhmaṇa of the smārta, vaiṣṇava or mādhva sampradāya as
Maṅgalācaraṇa or as a Śānti-pāṭha (at every concluding ritual), especially in
South India. Others chant the fourth pāda only, for obvious or
misconceived reasons. Here I shall quote the golden words of the Mahāsvāmin,
Śrī-Śaṅkarācārya of Kānci-Kāmakoṭi-Pīṭham, which is highly logical from the
traditional view-point.+
गोब्राह्मणेभ्यः शुभमस्तु नित्यं लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ॥
svasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantām
nyāyyena mārgeṇa mahīṁ mahīśāḥ
go-brāhmaṇebhyaḥ śubhamastu nityam
lokāh samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu
May people live happily
go-brāhmaṇebhyaḥ śubhamastu nityam
lokāh samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu
May people live happily
May the rulers righteously rule the land
May the COW and the Brāhmaṇas be auspicious, always
May all beings of the universe be happy.
May the COW and the Brāhmaṇas be auspicious, always
May all beings of the universe be happy.
+.......... In this verse, in addition to referring to people and worlds in general, why is special reference made to the welfare of cows and the Brāhmaṇas? After talking about all, does it not appear partial to pray specially for the welfare of Brāhmaṇas? It may appear incorrect to many. Even if we assume partiality among humans there, why should cows be referred separately? Cow is common to all people, is it not? Hence the reason for this is unclear. We have to find out the reason; let it be ……………..
Whatever questions may be asked by anyone in the world, the Gītā-śāstra has the reply.
सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः ।
पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् ॥
सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः ।
पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् ॥
sarvopaniṣado gāvo dogdhā gopāla-nandanaḥ
partho vatsaḥ sudhīr-bhoktā dugdhaṃ gītāmṛtaṃ mahat (Gītā, Maṅgaḷācaraṇam, 4)
[All the Upaniṣads are (like) the cows. The milker of the cow is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda. Arjuna is the calf. The fine nectar, the Gītā, is the milk. Those who drink are the enjoyer's of the milk.]
Gītā-śāstra removes the doubt of anyone; any question asked by anyone can be answered by Gita. Though there are many works, there is a reason why I chose this book. Nowadays all are agreed that Gītā is a lofty work of doctrine, is it not? Though the principles enunciated therein are open to debate, nobody disagrees that Gītā is a lofty work. If we can get an answer from that book accepted by great people, I thought you will all have faith in that answer.
Let us look at the way we humans live in this world. If a material is produced in large quantity in one place, we send that material to another place where it is not available; similarly we import material grown in plenty in another place. The carpenter, the goldsmith and others render certain services for us; we in turn give them materials required for their livelihood. We provide grass to cows; they give us milk. We pay tax to the government; they provide us security. Thus the whole world subsists on mutual exchange of goods. We are also exchanging certain things with the other worlds. Engineers and others can channelize rain water properly into rivers, etc., but they cannot make rain. If we need rain, we have to send certain things to the Devaloka. This is stated in the
partho vatsaḥ sudhīr-bhoktā dugdhaṃ gītāmṛtaṃ mahat (Gītā, Maṅgaḷācaraṇam, 4)
[All the Upaniṣads are (like) the cows. The milker of the cow is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda. Arjuna is the calf. The fine nectar, the Gītā, is the milk. Those who drink are the enjoyer's of the milk.]
Gītā-śāstra removes the doubt of anyone; any question asked by anyone can be answered by Gita. Though there are many works, there is a reason why I chose this book. Nowadays all are agreed that Gītā is a lofty work of doctrine, is it not? Though the principles enunciated therein are open to debate, nobody disagrees that Gītā is a lofty work. If we can get an answer from that book accepted by great people, I thought you will all have faith in that answer.
Let us look at the way we humans live in this world. If a material is produced in large quantity in one place, we send that material to another place where it is not available; similarly we import material grown in plenty in another place. The carpenter, the goldsmith and others render certain services for us; we in turn give them materials required for their livelihood. We provide grass to cows; they give us milk. We pay tax to the government; they provide us security. Thus the whole world subsists on mutual exchange of goods. We are also exchanging certain things with the other worlds. Engineers and others can channelize rain water properly into rivers, etc., but they cannot make rain. If we need rain, we have to send certain things to the Devaloka. This is stated in the
सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः ।
अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥
अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥
देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः ।
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ॥
saha-yajnāḥ prajāh sṛṣtvā purovaca prajāpatiḥ
anena prasaviṣyadhvam eṣa voऽstviṣṭa-kāma-dhukdevān bhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ:
parasparam bhāvantaḥ śreyaḥ paramavāpsyatha
“Initially, Brahmā created yāgas along with humans. At that time he said to the humans: ‘Performing yāga, you attain welfare. May this yāga fulfil your wishes! You satisfy the devas with this yāga. May those devas grant you well being! Being mutually helpful to each other, you attain superior comforts.”
Yāga has three forms -- mantra, devata and havis. Of them, the mantra has to be chanted by a Brāhmaṇa. The most important material required for performing homa [अग्निहोत्र] everyday, is cow’s ghee. These days Brāhmaṇas generally study English; they do not study the Vedas. Those who study English are unable to pronounce mantra properly, even if they learn at a later stage. Hence the power of mantra is lost nowadays. As karmas are not being done by anyone properly, study of the Vedas is also on decline. Nowadays, cow’s milk is generally used for coffee. Hence pure ghee is also not available. Thus purity of the material is lost.
We have to think that the Brāhmana and the cow are specially mentioned in all the above verses including that of Tiru-jñāna-sambandha*, because the Brāhmaṇa studies the Veda and the cow provides ghee, the most important material for homa. The benefit accruing from the yāga is not only for Brāhmaṇas and cows, but all the people in the universe will attain well being through the yāga. Yāgas alone can bring well being to the world. If yāgas are to be performed properly, Brāhmaṇas and cows should be in good state. .........
Though the doctrines in the Hindu religion vary due
to differences in principles, there has to be a common principle for all of
them. We have to think that as the Brāhmaṇas and the cows are generally the prime cause for the well being of the world, all sections of the Hindu religion make special
laudatory reference to the Brāhmaṇas and the cows."
*The Śaiva poet-saint (Nāyanār) of Tamiḷnādu who lived in the 7th century CE. The verse is quoted in the Periyapurāṇam of Sekkizhār (சேக்கிழார்).
வாழ்க அந்தணர் வானவர் ஆனினம்
வீழ்க தண்புனல் வேந்தனும் ஓங்குக
ஆழ்க தீயதெல்லாம் அரன் நாமமே
சூழ்க வையக முந்துயர் தீர்கவே.
vāzhga andaṇar vānavar āninam
vīzga taṇpunal vendanum oṅguga
āzhga tīyadellām aran nāmame
sūzhga vaiyagamuṃ tuyar tīrkave -
May the Brāhmaṇas, Devas and the cows flourish
May the cool rains fall
May the king rule justly
May all evil be destroyed
May the name of Hara (Śiva) spread
May the whole earth be free of misery
The same purport of the above Sanskrit śloka is reflected in the above Tamil verse. A parallel can be seen in the Mahābhārata, Śānti, 46.12.6 where again cows and the Brāhmaṇas are specifically mentioned.
नमो ब्रह्मण्यदेवाय गोब्राह्मणहिताय च ।
जगद्धिताय कृष्णाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः ॥
namo brahmaṇyadevāya gobrāhmaṇa hitāya ca
jagaddhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya namo namaḥ
"Prostrations to Kṛṣṇa, who is benevolent to Brāhmaṇas and cows".
Here too, Brāhmaṇas and cows have been specially extolled.
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