Once, Emperor Bindusara of Magadha asked a question in his royal court: “What is the cheapest way to solve the country’s food problem?” The ministers and other court members began to think. They reasoned that rice, wheat, millet, etc., require a lot of effort to grow—and that too only if nature is favorable. In such circumstances, food can never be truly cheap. At that moment, a nobleman who enjoyed hunting said, “Your Majesty, the cheapest food item is meat. It takes less effort to obtain and is also nutritious.” Everyone agreed with this statement, but the Prime Minister, Chanakya, remained silent. Then the emperor asked Chanakya for his opinion. Chanakya replied, “I will present my thoughts to you tomorrow.” That night, Prime Minister Chanakya went to that nobleman’s palace. Seeing Chanakya so late at night, the nobleman was startled. Chanakya said, “His Majesty has suddenly fallen gravely ill. The royal physician says that if we can get just two tolas (approx. 20 grams) of heart flesh from a nobleman, the king’s life can be saved. So I have come to you, requesting only two tolas of your heart. In return, here are one lakh gold coins.” Hearing this, the nobleman turned pale. He fell at Chanakya’s feet, begging for mercy. Instead, he gave Chanakya one lakh gold coins and said, “Please take someone else’s heart instead.” Chanakya then went to the homes of other nobles and military officers, one by one, and made the same request. But no one was ready to part with even two tolas of their heart. On the contrary, each one offered him large sums—one lakh, two lakhs, even five lakh gold coins—to save themselves. By morning, Chanakya had collected about two crore (20 million) gold coins and returned to his palace. He presented the entire amount before the emperor in court. The emperor asked, “What is all this?” Chanakya replied, “To purchase just two tolas of flesh, such a vast amount of wealth was gathered. Yet, I could not obtain the meat. Your Majesty, now you decide—how cheap is meat, really?” Chanakya further said, “Life is invaluable. We must not forget that just as our life is precious to us, the life of every living being on this earth—be it human, animal, or bird—is just as dear to them. The only difference is, humans can try to save their life by speaking, pleading, bribing, reasoning, or even begging. But animals and birds cannot speak. They cannot express their pain. So, does that mean we should snatch away their right to live—just because they are voiceless?”
– Mital Khetani (Mob. 98242 21999)