Stories of Jivavarta: Poison and Antidote

In this moving parable from the ancient land of Jivavarta, author Shon Mehta explores the universal experience of being harmed and the powerful moral choice that follows. Is our response to pain a cycle of revenge, or a mission of healing?

A visual journey through Jivavarta: Two friends, two choices.

In the ancient land of Jivavarta, there lived two friends. One day, they both got poisoned. Fortunately, they recovered.

After recovery, one of the friends started poisoning others, in the hope he would kill whoever had poisoned him. The other friend started distributing antidote to others, so that they would recover in case they get poisoned.

In this world, we all get poisoned or harmed some way, and it is up to us how we react—do we want to seek revenge and harm others, or show compassion and help them.

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Sayings of Jivavarta

“Harm is inevitable, but what you carry afterward is a choice.” — Shon Mehta

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Lexicon of Jivavarta

Poison and Antidote — The hurt we receive can either become a poison that spreads bitterness or an antidote that spreads compassion.

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Key Philosophical Concepts Represented

• Moral Agency vs. Reactivity: The agent recognizes that while harm is an external inevitability, the internal response is a sovereign choice. One can either become a "reflection" of the harm received (Reactivity) or a "remedy" for the environment (Agency), thereby breaking the cycle of causality through conscious ethical intervention.

• Wishful Thinking (Epistemic Voluntarism): Belief is adopted because it is desired, not because it is true. Truth is subordinated to hope or comforting illusion.

  
  

  Jivavarta is a fictional land created by Shon Mehta, where epic tales of power, survival, and social upheaval unfold, as seen in her novels The Timingila and Lair of the Monster, along with many other stories and parables set in this richly imagined world.

This story was originally published in 2020. You can view the original archival version here.