Akbar was loved by his subjects.
He was known for his religious tolerance. In fact, Akbar married Jodhaa Baaee,
a Rajput Hindu woman.
Akbar often helped and advised people
on various religious matters.
One day a group of Brahmins
appeared in court of Akbar. They humbly said, ‘O Great Emperor, you are liberal
and just. You have always encouraged us to speak about our problems. Therefore
we decided to approach you with our concern’.
Akbar respectfully asked them to narrate
their problem.
The lead of the group said, ‘Majesty,
slaughtering of animals is against our religion. We plead you to discourage it
and proscribe it from the state. It should be a punishable crime’.
Hearing this Akbar got into a fix.
He knew that meat was an most important food in the market. He was unable to
decide or think what to do. He immediately send a word for Birbal.
Birbal came and heard the
problem. He thought for a while and said to the Brahmins, ‘O great upholders of
religion, I bow to your greatness and courage. We can consider you request on two
conditions - one, if any animal was found on the road, its safety cannot be
assured by the state; second, animals owners should fed and breed their animals
within the boundaries of their houses until the animal dies its natural death.
If an animal is if left for roaming and eating out, the state cannot assure its
safety. Thus slaughtering can be stopped only if animals are kept only at home
and never found on road. The owners should ensure the safety of animals they do
not want to be slaughtered’.
The Brahmin agreed and went back
happily.
A month later the Brahmins returned
and said, ‘Majesty, how can we constrain the animals in the boundary of the
house? We cannot do so. We take our words back’.
Thus Birbal brought meat back in
the community.
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