Claws

Expressions researched:
"clawed" |"clawing" |"clawing" |"claws"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.10.24, Translation:

The dog, jackal, tiger, fox, cat, rabbit, sajāru, lion, monkey, elephant, tortoise, alligator, gosāpa, etc., all have five nails in their claws. They are known as pañca-nakhas, or animals having five nails.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.4.9, Translation:

By nature's arrangement, fruits and flowers are considered the food of insects and birds; grass and other legless living entities are meant to be the food of four-legged animals like cows and buffalo; animals that cannot use their front legs as hands are meant to be the food of animals like tigers, which have claws; and four-legged animals like deer and goats, as well as food grains, are meant to be the food of human beings.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.8.25, Translation:

When mother Yaśodā and Rohiṇī were unable to protect the babies from calamities threatened by horned cows, by fire, by animals with claws and teeth such as monkeys, dogs and cats, and by thorns, swords and other weapons on the ground, they were always in anxiety, and their household engagements were disturbed. At that time, they were fully equipoised in the transcendental ecstasy known as the distress of material affection, for this was aroused within their minds.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 21:

Śrī Yāmunācārya praises Kṛṣṇa's power of forgiveness with the following statement: "My dear Lord Rāmacandra, You are so merciful to have excused the crow's clawing on the nipples of Jānakī simply because of his bowing down before You." Once Indra, the King of heaven, assumed the form of a crow and attacked Sītā (Jānakī), Lord Rāmacandra's wife, by striking her on the breast. This was certainly an insult to the universal mother, Sītā, and Lord Rāmacandra was immediately prepared to kill the crow. But because later on the crow bowed down before the Lord, the Lord excused his offense. Śrī Yāmunācārya further says in his prayer that the forgiving power of Lord Kṛṣṇa is even greater than that of Lord Rāmacandra, because Śiśupāla was always in the habit of insulting Kṛṣṇa—not only in one lifetime, but continually throughout three lives. Still, Kṛṣṇa was so kind that He gave Śiśupāla the salvation of merging into His existence. From this we can understand that the goal of the monist to merge into the effulgence of the Supreme is not a very difficult problem. Persons like Śiśupāla who are consistently inimical to Kṛṣṇa can also get this liberation.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 17, Purport:

In the material world, material nature displays wonderful workmanship by creating varieties of bodies for the living beings according to their propensities for sense gratification. The living entity who wants to taste stool is given a material body that is quite suitable for eating stool—that of a hog. Similarly, one who wants to eat the flesh and blood of other animals may be given a tiger's body equipped with suitable teeth and claws. But the human being is not meant for eating flesh, nor does he have any desire to taste stool, even in the most aboriginal state. Human teeth are so made that they can chew and cut fruit and vegetables, although there are two canine teeth so that primitive humans can eat flesh if they so desire.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- South Africa, October 18, 1975:

He says, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām. Anyone who is twenty-four hours engaged in serving the Lord, bhajatām... This is called bhajana, always engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, bhajana-prīti..., with love and faith. To such person, He gives a direction. What is that direction? Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam: "I give him that buddhi-yoga." What for? Yena mām upayānti te. "By the process by which he is anxious to come to Me, I give intelligence, 'Yes, come this way. You come to Me.' " And those who are not devotee, they want to eat and sleep and sex life and defense in different types of bodies. The dog is also defending with his claws and teeth. The tiger is also defending. The man is also defending. And man is also have sex life, or the tiger has also sex life. The dog has also sex life. The dog is eating. The man is eating. In these affairs they offer, "Give me this facility, my Lord. I want to eat without everything with any dis..." "All right. You take the body of a hog and you eat stool." This direction. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). So as you want...

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 7.9.27 -- Mayapur, March 5, 1976:

Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He is supplying stool to the hog because he wants to eat it. He wants to eat. He has desire: "Give me facility for eating stool." "Give me favor, facility, to drink fresh blood." "All right, you take the suitable body. You want fresh blood? I'll... You get the tiger's body, the nails and the claws and the teeth. As soon as touches you, immediately all blood sucking." So He has delivered: "All right, take this facility." But what is the advantage of this facility? The facility is... You know. The tigers, they do not get food every day. He has got the facility to suck blood, but... All the implements he has got, but there is no chance. Because every animal knows, "In that part of the forest there is tiger," they do not go, so he starves. He starves. You'll find so many rich men, they have got enough money, but they cannot eat more. They cannot eat more.

General Lectures

Lecture at International Student Society -- Boston, May 3, 1969:

Simply people are engaged for eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That is the modern trend of civilization. Everyone is busy how to eat and how to sleep nicely in big palatial building, nice apartment, very good room, sleeping, the business of sleeping. And economic condition, developing the business of economic condition, means the business of eating. And defending—either you defend with atomic energy or with your nails and claws, the process is defending. That is in the animal life also. And mating, sex intercourse or sense gratification.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Śyāmasundara: But we have developed high powered rifles to kill tigers.

Prabhupāda: Well, that is defense. So the tiger has also defense: claws and nails. So defense will be... When there is fight between man to man, does it mean because man is highly developed and he will not be killed? When there is fight between man to man there is chance of one being killed. So similarly, when there is fight between tiger and you, one being killed, what is your superiority? Simply nonsensical. Simply nonsensical. Therefore our conclusion, "Simply rascal," is perfect. Anyone who has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is simply rascal. That's all.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- February 26, 1973, Jakarta:

Prabhupāda: This human life is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. Otherwise, what is the difference between cats and dogs and human beings? If simply eating, sleeping, and sex life, and defend is the business of human life, then these things are there in the animal life also. They also eat. They also sleep. They have also sex life, and they also defend according to their capacity. We defend with atomic bomb and they defend their own nails and claws. The different spirit is there. So that is not the aim of human life. The aim of human life—this opportunity's given by nature to have a human form of life—is to understand God. Nobody can deny—unless he is a crazy fellow—the existence of God. That is not possible. There must be. I may know it or not know it, it doesn't matter. Therefore religion means to understand God and to awaken your dormant love for God. This is religion.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- June 26, 1975, Los Angeles:

Rādhā-vallabha: ...because a certain animal needs a certain type of facility like long claws or big teeth or a certain amount of legs, they say that automatically in the course of time these things develop.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That we know also.

Rādhā-vallabha: They don't say that it has anything to do with God. They simply say...

Prabhupāda: That is their nonsense rascaldom. Who is arranging this? You cannot do it. You cannot do it. So somebody has arranged like that. It is going on. Somebody has done. You have not done; neither you have power to do it. So that somebody is God.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Syamasundara -- Los Angeles 13 August, 1969:

I think you have already got the design of the throne and the measurements also. It should be 40" x 40", and the height is 57", including the canopy. The front pillars are three on each side, and the whole throne is supported by four lion claws. I shall send you very soon a real photo of the Los Angeles throne, Jagannatha altar and Vyasasana. They have done it very nicely and perfectly. So I wish that in every center similar arrangements may be done.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Sri Govinda -- Bombay 25 December, 1972:

Yes, there must always be competition, that gives life, that cannot be separated from life. Sanatana dharma means the strong will utilize the energy of the weak, the weak must serve the strong, that we see everywhere, is it not? Who can deny? So that competitive spirit makes us strong, otherwise it is a society of weak men only, and what is the good of such society? But if you ask anyone are you weak or strong, he must answer that he is weak—he cannot control even his toothache, what to speak of his death. Therefore, in fact, it is a society of weak men—everyone is weak before Durga Devi or the material energy. If you see sometimes her picture, the foolish materialist is being held by the claws of her tiger-carrier, while she pierces him to death with her trident weapon. She has got ten arms, each with weapon, she is so strong, but we are so weak that simply by piercing with her trident, the three-fold miseries, adhibhautika, adhidaivika, and adhyatmika, the foolish materialists are all defeated! And before Krishna, Durga devi is very weak—Krishna is the controller of Durga. So Krishna is the strongest: sattyam sattvavatam aham, "I am the strength of the strong." Therefore, being weak, it is the eternal occupational duty of the living entity to surrender to Krishna, that's all. In the surrendering to Krishna, if everyone does it, still, the brahmanas will be served by the lower castes, the kings will be served by vaisyas and sudras, the vaisyas will be served by the sudras, and the sudras will serve all higher castes—there is still utilizing the weak by the strong—but feeling themselves always very much weak in comparison to Krishna, the whole society services the Strongest, therefore there will be no envy of the stronger by the weaker class of men. So perfect society, or Vedic society, does not eliminate competition—competition, stronger and weaker, must be there—but it eliminates envy, because everyone is weak before Krishna. Is that clear?