WHILE browsing the haphazardly arranged titles at a book stall, one in particular captured my attention — Sacred Animals of India. I picked it up, cast a glance at its contents and decided to purchase it.

In fact, the way the book has been dedicated to animals immediately won my favour and admiration. The author Nanditha Krishna from Chennai declared that “this book is dedicated to many dogs and one cat, who gave me so much love and companionship over the years, and to the many animals who have suffered and continue to suffer at human hands … May they find peace in their future lives.” And I say, Amen.

Krishna takes pride in saying that “India had a rich heritage of respect for all life forms.” However, she is sorry to say that “this respect has been destroyed without being replaced by anything similar or better.”

Ancient Indians, though, were not just content to respect animals. They worshipped them. Man and animals, as has been pointed out in this book, had co-existed since the beginning of creation. But it was not always a peaceful co-existence. The animal world also included beasts who appeared to be hostile to human existence. Krishna says that “the respect for a powerful adversary made [the animal] into a god, worshipped out of fear.”

However it was not always out of fear that ancient Indians worshipped animals. The cow is in no way a fearful animal. Seen even from the point of view of Indian Muslims, it is so innocent an animal that a simple, harmless person is called Allah mian ki gaiy. And our poet Ismaeel Meeruthi pays tribute to the cow in these words:

But if the Hindus worship her, it is not only because of her being a milk-giving animal. Their worship can be traced back to pre-historic times when ancient races held animals in high esteem. A number of animals carried with them a mystery which compelled the ancient people to worship them. If Hindus still believe in worshipping them it means that the ancient man, along with his rituals and cults, is still alive. In other words, we can trace back their practice of worshipping animals to old beliefs, rituals and superstitions.

As for respect and love for animals, along with a sense of fear associated with certain animals, it is not restricted to any one community. Human beings in general possess this trait. It is also true that certain birds appear lovable to us. The parrot is such a bird. In case of South Asia, the koel and papiha are the two most lovable birds. From among the four-footed animals, the deer and the horse are two such animals. As for the horse, it is held in high esteem among Muslims. We have to our credit at least one horse who is treated as sacred because of its association with Mairaj Sharif. That horse is Buraq or Raf Raf. Two other horses, Duldul and Zuljanah, may also be referred here as those held in high esteem because of their association with Hazrat Ali and Imam Husain respectively.

But what is amazing and also interesting in the case of Hindus is the fact that their sense of respect and worship is not restricted to certain animals only. Their generosity knows no limits. Sacred Animals of India seems to tell us that there is hardly an animal in South Asia which fails to evoke veneration in the heart of a Hindu. Each and every animal, however insignificant in other eyes, attracts the attention of a devout Hindu. He in his own way discovers some mystique in it, which compels him to bow his head with a sense of worship before it.

The long list of sacred animals given here includes lizards, frogs, mice, ants, bees and so on. Their sense of respect and devotion is wide enough to accommodate each and every insect crawling on the land of Bharat.

But how ironic that in spite of all this, cruelty to animals is also very much present. The writer of the preface is sad to note that the rich heritage of respect for animals has been destroyed. While respect for Nandi, Shivaji’s bull, is very much there, people reconcile with bullocks pulling overloaded carts, cattle and goats trucked or walked for days without food or water and wild life hunted from fast-moving vehicles with sophisticated weapons.