The Tortoise Mystery: Can we live for 300 years?

The holy book of Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita and the Tamil ethics book, Tirukkural, both use the tortoise as an example of self control. Among the vertebrates that live on land, the tortoise is the longest living animal. Records speak of tortoises living for over 250 years. Unconfirmed reports say that they live for up to 350 years. But lower organisms in the sea like sponges and clams live for over 400 years.

Why did Lord Krishna and the Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar (author of Tirukkural) use the tortoise as an example? What is the message they wanted to convey through this example or simile?

Here is the sloka from the Gita:

“When, like the tortoise which withdraws its limbs on all sides, he (a sage) withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes steady” (Chapter 2-58)

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