The Bhagavat Puran tells the story of river Yamuna which flowed past Vrindavan, the forest that was the favorite haunt of Krishna and his companions.u00a0One day, Krishna’s elder brother wanted to take a bath and he asked Yamuna to come to him. Yamuna said, “But I cannot break the riverbanks. You must come to me.” Balaram did not heed her words. He simply swung his plough and hooked it on the riverbank and dragged Yamuna, by the hair, to come towards him.

This story can be seen as a metaphor for canal irrigation. Unless the riverbank is broken, water cannot be made to flow into the fields. Violence helps man reorganise nature to his benefit. This is saguna violence, violence that can be seen. Violence associated with agriculture, industrialisation and development is visible violence.