TORTOISE---A
WONDERFUL CREATURE
__A. P. ANAND
Tortoise is very humble, sly,
flexible and squeezes itself in its hard shell (called crustaceous) while its
abdomen is very soft (called plastron). It is said that tiger sharks only can
eat this hard shelled creature. It has very long life of more than 250 years.
It is not out of place to mention here that a tortoise called Adwaita (meaning peerless)
died in Kolkata Zoo at the age of 255 years on March 22, 2006 after developing a wound on his
chest followed by liver failure. This creature was purely vegetarian and had
spent some years with Robert Clive, the victor of battle of Plassey in 1757.
Robert Clive consolidated the British empire
in India.
Another tortoise, Harriet by name, died at the age of 176 years on June 22, 2006 in Australia after
a short illness and heart failure. It was weighing 150 kilogram at the time of
its death. It is said that Charles Darwin, a famous English naturalist and
pioneer in theory of evolution, studied on it. Harriet was actually a female
creature.
Tortoise turns low and calm according
to the circumstances. It is a symbol of submission. Once Bismillah Khan , a
shehnai maestro of our times in India,
had rightly said in Urdu “Tu zero ho ja, zabar ho jae ga” (tread low and
humble, you will reach the pinnacle of life). They are both , vegetarian and
non-vegetarian species. One can find its icon in front of Hindu temples, also
being Coorma avatara (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. It is said that in Vietnam a large
sized album of the past era is found wherein Lord Ganapati (Lord of Wisdom) is
shown standing on the back of tortoise. It is also known as an ancient mariner.
Even Lord Krishna, while imparting sermon to Arjuna, at the battlefield of
Kurukshetra advised that like tortoise we should wind up our senses and exhibit
them again at any time and serve mankind and Lord with devotion and discern
between vices and virtues. Such a person is firmly fixed in perfect
consciousness. There is a mention about this in Bhagavad Gita 2:58. We should
not allow our senses to run amok but control them within ourselves for making
our mind steady and flexible according to the circumstances like the tortoise
otherwise we will rend our lives. Shri Hanuman is a glaring example of having
such qualities as he could easily change his form in accordance with prevailing
situations. We should pray God in complete submission and in kneeling posture
with concentration of mind. Tortoise is co-related to a famous dictum that
slow, consistent and steady wins the race.
It is also said that tortoise is
vehicle of Shanni or Shannichar (Saturn) who is incarnation of Lord Shiva. Thus
anyone coming under the influence of Saturn remains slow and has to suffer for
2-1/2 or 7-1/2 years. Saturn is thus considered very in- auspicious. Shanni has
two main temples in India.
One temple is situated at Koklavan, about 6 Km from Kosi (U.P) on the Nandgaon—Barsana Road and
the second one is at Shingnapur in Ahmednagar Distt. Of Maharashtra State.
It is said that like Shiva, Shanni is also preserver and destroyer.
There is another legend of Puranic
period about ocean churning by gods and demons for getting nectar. In Kurma
(Kacchapa) Avatara or incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Tortoise, Lord supported
the Mount Mandara on His back when a snake called Basuki was used for churning
purpose by the Devatas (gods) and Asuras (devils) for recovering celestial
nectar and many other treasures lost in ocean at the time of ‘Pralaya’
(Catclysm).
It was reported in press on Dec. 30, 2005 that Moscow scientists
successfully used tortoise, being slow and steady, as a sly spy in the form of
a robot capable of penetrating secret sites with cameras attached to its shell.
Tortoises have emerged as superior to pigeons and rats which were also
auditioned as spies. This creature can also survive without food and water for
long periods and carry loads far exceeding their own weights. The creature can
easily survive in high temperatures, radiation and magnetic fields.
A.P.ANAND
E/118-120,”VIRGO”, LOWER KHARODI,MARVE ROAD,
MALAD(W),
MUMBAI—400 095
Ph: 022-2862 0872
E.mail: anandpanand@yahoo.com
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