An Ancient Curse and Today’s Predatory Instinct
"Mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṁ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ।
Yat krauñcamithunādekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam॥"
Meaning: "O Hunter! May you find no peace for eternal years, for you have killed one of the pair of Krauncha birds while they were lost in the act of love."
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The attached image is a drawing made by me. While I was creating this artwork, this very verse (Shloka) was echoing in my mind. I kept thinking that there must have been a pair of Krauncha birds just like this, one of whom was killed by a hunter that day. These poetic lines emerged from the compassionate and tender heart of Sage Valmiki, which he named 'Shloka'. At that moment, he didn't realize what subject to compose in this new poetic style, nor was he thinking of the saga of Rama told by Sage Narada; but later, at the suggestion of Lord Brahma, he composed the historical epic 'Ramayana' in this very 'Shloka' meter.
This was a historical event that gave human civilization not only the Sanskrit poetic style called 'Shloka' but also the monumental epic 'Valmiki Ramayana'. 💕
But I wonder... did that curse, born from the pure and innocent heart of a Sage, remain limited only to that one hunter? I think not. It has been distributed among all those who possess a 'predatory instinct' (Akhait-vritti) for eternity. Today, this predatory instinct has countless forms. Humans don't just want to take lives or wealth; they want to snatch away everything that belongs to someone else, to destroy it—be it even someone's small, innocent happiness. This is the predatory instinct, and the result is the curse that flowed from the Sage’s mouth.
People with this predatory mindset believe that things can be acquired simply by snatching them. But that’s not how it works. It is a law of nature that everything exacts its price, and deep happiness is never 'Ready-to-Eat'. It nurtures, ripens, and prepares slowly... much like this drawing. The price of this picture is 'time'. It has come into being through my time; it wasn't ready the moment I imagined it. No one wants to spend the time required to smell the fragrance of ripening happiness anymore; everyone wants everything 'Ready-to-Use'.
There are so many essential truths that should never have been forgotten because true peace and happiness are hidden within them. Our ancestors, through deep reflection and research, preserved these as social and ethical rules in the form of proverbs, stories, and sayings. They knew these values are timeless and essential for the excellence of human personality. However, in the rush of modernity and driven by selfishness and instant gratification, modern society discarded this path, considering it useless. As a result, today's humanity is surrounded by countless personal and social crises.
Today, everyone wants everything instantly—whether by snatching or destroying. This word 'Must' (Chahiye) has caused such havoc in the world today. This 'Must' compelled the hunter to kill that loving pair and cursed his kind for generations. In fact, the predatory instinct itself is a cursed mindset. 😒
Perhaps this is why today's creation and civilization are so terribly restless. There is no 'Pratishtha' (peace) anywhere. It is as if the Sage’s curse has become eternal, sanatan, and fixed for all time. 😔
Thinking about all this made my heart heavy. In my view, the compassion of the Sage is also a spiritual dimension that he experienced upon seeing the affectionate pair, which turned into anger and then a curse when they were destroyed. True spirituality begins where affection overflows from the heart. It is spirituality that allows us to experience the self in every living being and creates the essence of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The world is one family).
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Next Recommendation:
Indian Folklore: Start your journey through the unsolved mysteries of Chandangarh and the saga of Princess Suvarna here:
🔗 Episodes 1 to 11 available now (and upcoming episodes too): https://meetu2nishabd.blogspot.com/2026/03/princess-suvarna.html
✍️ From the pen of 'Nishabd' (Amita Mishra)
🖌️ Visuals created with the help of Gemini
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