Galleries : Undying Tales 2021 : UT 25 - Rusty-spotted Cat
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Prionailurus rubiginosus Status: Vulnerable A Hindu allegory: When Lord Ganesha (an elephantine god of beginnings) was a mischievous youth, he love pranks and to play in the mountains. One day he saw a cat, and thinking it would be entertaining, he crept up to the cat and pulled its tail. As the cat yowled in pain and leapt in the air, Ganesha further poked and teased the creature until it scampered off into the rocky slopes. Ganesha realized then than he had hurt the cat and felt remorse. As he made his way home his mother, Parvati, came to him. He was shocked to find she had scrapes and injuries across her body that mirrored those he had inflicted on the cat. At this, he understood that though his mother was a great protector, creator, and destroyer of life, and though she held the embodied of the universe, she was also one with all of the life in the world, and so when he had hurt the cat, he had hurt her as well. And so Ganesha learned empathy.
Size: 7 x 7 inches Detail closeups:
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