Beyond Doubt

Author(s): Padmasagarsuri
Publisher: Arunoday Foundation

Page 28

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and the lions' cubs, the cow and the tiger's young one, the wild cats and the swans lived together in one place, as if they all belonged to one and the same family. The peacock and the snake too live happily in one place without any fear, and this is all due to the powerful speech and equanimous personality of the Supreme Lord. It has rightly been said:
अहिंसा प्रतिष्ठायां तत्सन्निधौ वैरत्यागः ॥ i.e. wherever Ahimsa i.e.non-violence, has been installed, the creatures living there, abandon enmity and fear and live together. The whole atmosphere and surroundings undergo a complete transformation. The place becomes holy and hence the animals which are enemies by birth become friendly. A very interesting incident took place which is worth illustrating in this context.
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Adi Shankaracharya established his Matha' in Sringeri, in South India after being influenced by what he saw there, before constructing the matha. The great Acharya was looking for a suitable land to establish his monastery. While on the move, he travelled to South India. He was a witness to a very strange and peculiar happening. He saw a cobra spreading the hood over an acutely injured frog, tortured by the hot sun unable to move to the shade of a nearby tree. He stood bewildered at what he saw before his eyes. The frog has always been a prey of the snake, how then the snake was so kind and compassionate in his behaviour towards its food, its prey. Shankaracharya could not believe what he saw, but it was all true and a common scene for the people and ascetics living in that holy land. Many years ago, an ascetic named Sringeri, practised penance there and was extremely compassionate and equanimous towards all creatures. The creatures living there
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