Killing the killer

“Tell me what they are doing in that place they call sacred?” Asked the newly appointed king from his wise man of the royal palace.

“They are killing animals in order to sacrifice,” said the wise man.

“For what purpose?”

“To invoke blessings on the land and the gods who look after the land.”

“But tell me why should there be killings in a sacred ceremony?”

“That’s a traditional ritual handed down the centuries.”

“But can’t we put a stop to it?”

“I don’t think so?”

“But I don’t advocate any kind of killings.”

“What you say is quite correct Great Majesty. But in a sacrifice killings of not only animals, but also at times humans too become an integral part.”

The newly appointed king kept silent for a moment pondering over the disaster caused by killings.

“Surely there is some way to ward off this evil ritual,” emphasized the king. But the wise man was detached. He had no plans whatsoever to decide on how to put a total stop to the killings in sacrificial matters.

“I want to see more of these sacrifices,” insisted the king. The wise man nodded his head in approval. Then for several days the wise man went with the king to places where people performed sacrifices.

The king for the first time encountered various aspects of a variety of killings in sacrifices. Then to the surprise of the wise man, there once appeared a smile on the face of the king. The king was brooding over a matter which the wise man could not fathom. The king closed his eyes and said.

“Purohita take me to a giant nuga tree for I dreamt that the guardian god of the land wants to talk to me.”

The wise man knew that the king too was wise.

“There is a great big ancestral nuga tree. I will take you there Great Majesty.”

“See that you inform the opinion leaders of this land that I’m being given the rare chance of talking to the guardian god of this land who lives invisibly in that tree.

“I’ll certainly do that.”

Then the wise man made an announcement declaring that the king is scheduled to meet the god of the land.

People from all walks of life in the land gathered under the great nuga tree to see what was happening. The king was clad in his most venerated royal attire and stood under the spreading nuga tree. The king made some of his dearest and newest priests to chant some stanzas while he stood with clasped hands in veneration. As soon as the chanting was over the king was seen talking to an invisible god in the nuga tree.

“Yes, I can hear you, my great deity… Oh yes my great deity the people gathered here may not hear what you say… But they are sure to hear what I say… All right I can hear you… Yes I heard that you are going to punish those wretched people who engage themselves in killings in the name of sacrifices to gods… Yes I too endorse what you declare... Now that I got it from your good self, I will see that the killers of animals or humans for any sacrificial measure are instantly killed. In short all what you want from me is to kill the killer as a punishment… I’ll certainly adhere to what you say… Yes from time to time I will come here and pay homage to you...”

Then the king looked at the gathering under the nuga tree.

“Did you hear what I said to the god?”

Most people nodded.

“So I have to put a stop to the killings in the name of sacrifices. See that it is the will of the supreme guardian god of the land who spoke to me and me alone!”

A drummer was sent round the country proclaiming the royal announcement.

Nobody dared to go against the royal proclamation. From there onwards neither animals nor humans were engaged for sacrifice. ‘Long live the king’ was the voice heard from all quarters of the land.