The Population Problem in the Ancient World and Today
October 26th 2006 09:16
Before quoting you a text from Mahabharatha, I would like to give you some context. According to the traditional Hindu mythology, there are four yugas or ages and Mahabharatha is set in the third yuga called Krita. The follwoing passage describes the onset of the Krita yuga:
And, O bull of the Bharata race, when such was the blessed state of the terrestrial world, the Asuras, O lord of men, began to be born in kingly lines. And the sons of Diti (Daityas) being repeatedly defeated in war by the sons of Aditi (celestials) and deprived also of sovereignty and heaven, began to be incarnated on the earth. And, O king, the Asuras being possessed of great powers, and desirous of sovereignty began to be born on earth amongst various creatures, such as kine, horses, asses, camels, buffaloes, among creatures such as Rakshasas and others, and among elephants and deer. And, O protector of the earth, owing to those already born and to those that were being born, the earth became incapable of supporting herself. And amongst the sons of Diti and of Danu, cast out of heaven, some were born on the earth as kings of great pride and insolence. Possessed of great energy, they covered the earth in various shapes. Capable of oppressing all foes, they filled the earth having the ocean for its boundaries. And by their strength they began to oppress Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras and all other creatures also. Terrifying and killing all creatures, they traversed the earth, O king, in bands of hundreds and thousands. Devoid of truth and virtue, proud of their strength, and intoxicated with (the wine of) insolence, they even insulted the great Rishis in their hermitages.
And the earth, thus oppressed by the mighty Asuras endued with great strength and energy and possessed of abundant means, began to think of waiting on Brahman. The united strength of the creatures (such as Sesha, the Tortoise, and the huge Elephant), and of many Seshas too, became capable of supporting the earth with her mountains, burdened as she was with the weight of the Danavas. And then, O king, the earth, oppressed with weight and afflicted with fear, sought the protection of the Grandsire of all creatures.
Most religious mythologies have this division of time into various ages. It is reflection of time when there was no bronze and there was no iron. The Iron Age in many is particularly evil. What is interesting for us today is that the passage of one age into another should be greeted with fear. At the start of Krita age, the earth was burdened. This is a standard term for overpopulation. Remember, when this epic was written there was very little civilisation. Cultivable land was very hard to salavage; forests had to be cleared, rivers had to be drained and if these events were bonze age or pre-bronze age, it would have been even worse. What I am saying is that a large part of the known world was simply inhabitable to man. The land where man could flourish was very small and this could be seized by strangers.
We do not know who exactly Asuras were. There is more than a likely chance that the term refered to a real people who were later metastatized to a myth. But, whoever they were they were overbreeding and a hero was required to set the record straight.
This fear of overbreeding of the enemy is palpable in many other epics and other religions too. It is also curiously a big issue of our time. It is palpable, for instance, in increasingly gloomy predictions of Europe and the rise of Eurabia; in the dying out of the West in general and the rise of Asia; in the ageing of Industrial world in general; I think it also lies at the heart of much of animosity toward Islamic world.
And this is not the exclusive preserve of religion. Last week, America surpassed its 300 million mark and many on the Left were openly aghast that such a thing has come to happen. Not to mention the environamentalists for whom the very advancement of human population is an anathema. I am not condemning this attitude; the fears maybe genuine.Since I have been writing on how similar modern world is to the ancient and how some of man's concerns have never changed, it is only apt to point out this fear. Looks like we haven't come far from the Stone Age.
And, O bull of the Bharata race, when such was the blessed state of the terrestrial world, the Asuras, O lord of men, began to be born in kingly lines. And the sons of Diti (Daityas) being repeatedly defeated in war by the sons of Aditi (celestials) and deprived also of sovereignty and heaven, began to be incarnated on the earth. And, O king, the Asuras being possessed of great powers, and desirous of sovereignty began to be born on earth amongst various creatures, such as kine, horses, asses, camels, buffaloes, among creatures such as Rakshasas and others, and among elephants and deer. And, O protector of the earth, owing to those already born and to those that were being born, the earth became incapable of supporting herself. And amongst the sons of Diti and of Danu, cast out of heaven, some were born on the earth as kings of great pride and insolence. Possessed of great energy, they covered the earth in various shapes. Capable of oppressing all foes, they filled the earth having the ocean for its boundaries. And by their strength they began to oppress Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras and all other creatures also. Terrifying and killing all creatures, they traversed the earth, O king, in bands of hundreds and thousands. Devoid of truth and virtue, proud of their strength, and intoxicated with (the wine of) insolence, they even insulted the great Rishis in their hermitages.
And the earth, thus oppressed by the mighty Asuras endued with great strength and energy and possessed of abundant means, began to think of waiting on Brahman. The united strength of the creatures (such as Sesha, the Tortoise, and the huge Elephant), and of many Seshas too, became capable of supporting the earth with her mountains, burdened as she was with the weight of the Danavas. And then, O king, the earth, oppressed with weight and afflicted with fear, sought the protection of the Grandsire of all creatures.
Most religious mythologies have this division of time into various ages. It is reflection of time when there was no bronze and there was no iron. The Iron Age in many is particularly evil. What is interesting for us today is that the passage of one age into another should be greeted with fear. At the start of Krita age, the earth was burdened. This is a standard term for overpopulation. Remember, when this epic was written there was very little civilisation. Cultivable land was very hard to salavage; forests had to be cleared, rivers had to be drained and if these events were bonze age or pre-bronze age, it would have been even worse. What I am saying is that a large part of the known world was simply inhabitable to man. The land where man could flourish was very small and this could be seized by strangers.
We do not know who exactly Asuras were. There is more than a likely chance that the term refered to a real people who were later metastatized to a myth. But, whoever they were they were overbreeding and a hero was required to set the record straight.
This fear of overbreeding of the enemy is palpable in many other epics and other religions too. It is also curiously a big issue of our time. It is palpable, for instance, in increasingly gloomy predictions of Europe and the rise of Eurabia; in the dying out of the West in general and the rise of Asia; in the ageing of Industrial world in general; I think it also lies at the heart of much of animosity toward Islamic world.
And this is not the exclusive preserve of religion. Last week, America surpassed its 300 million mark and many on the Left were openly aghast that such a thing has come to happen. Not to mention the environamentalists for whom the very advancement of human population is an anathema. I am not condemning this attitude; the fears maybe genuine.Since I have been writing on how similar modern world is to the ancient and how some of man's concerns have never changed, it is only apt to point out this fear. Looks like we haven't come far from the Stone Age.
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