King Lavana, a Magician and a Horse

Sham S. Misri

Once, a magician appears in King Lavana's court and manifests a magnificent horse. The king mounts the horse and disappears for a couple of hours. Upon his return, the king explains that he had passed a lifetime married to a tribal woman, raising children. When his tribal family died in a great famine, he was preparing to immolate himself. When he woke up, the king found himself back in his court, and realized the magician had put a spell on him (III. 104- 109).

Ref: Yoga Vashishta of Valmiki.

Dogs are good for you!

 Dogs are good for you!

The dogs that we now keep as pets are descendants of wolves that entered villages in search of food about 12,000 years ago. Later, people began to use dogs to guard, herd and hunt. Recently Dr. Deborah wells, a senior lecturer at the canine behavior centre of queen’s university, Belfast, found that dog owners have lower cholesterol and blood pressure, fewer minor physical ailments, and are less likely to develop serious medical problems. she says that dogs can directly promote our well being by buffering us from stress, one of the major risk factors associated with ill health. the ownership of a dog can also lead to increase in physical activity and facilitate the development of social contact, which may enhance human health in a more indirect manner. She found that dogs could also act as ’early warning systems for more serious illnesses including epilepsy and cancer.

[the research, published in the health psychology journal];

DAILY telegraph, 22 January 2007.