Cow Sanctity

Cow Sanctity The cow occupies a special place in Hindu culture. Its importance has been summed up in the following line: 'Go-Girvani-Gada-Gita'; (literally, the cow, sanskrit, the river Gada, the gita, that is, the cow is as important as Sanskrit, as the river Gada, and the Gita. The cow also symbolises compassion. In the Visnupurana, Govinda is praised as 'Go-brahmana-hitaya cha';, meaning 'He who looks after the welfare of Brahmins and cows';. The Parasharasmrti says 'Sarvadevamaya hi gauh';, or 'The cow is superior to all gods';. The cow is imaged as mother and the ox as father in Indian culture. The Rg Veda, for example, refers to 'Gaurme mata rasabhah pita me';, that is, 'the cow is mother and the ox, father';. The cow acquired this status at a time when it was the property and source of living for the people. One';s status was determined then not by land which was available unlimitedly but by the number of cows, which determined the status of a person.

The cow was the mother for man. A cow produces milk as a mother does, and the ox helps the farmer to cultivate his lands and feed his family. Apart from the use of oxen for ploughing and threshing, cow dung is still considered a resource. A mixture of cow dung and earth continues to be used in many rural areas to plaster earthen houses and their courtyards. Whatever is useful is sacred. The ancient Indian scriptures and treatises declared cows sacred as they were useful. Old cows were to be cared for like one';s old parents. The vedas prohibit the killing of cows: 'ma gamagatamaditing vadhina';. Cows are described as astrya, or 'not to be slain';, 20 times in the Rg Veda, 11 times in the Atharva Veda five times in the Yajur Veda and twice in the Sama Veda. 

As the vahana or vehicle of the god Shiva, the ox is also worshipped during the time of Shiva Puja. At dawn on the last day of Paus, the ninth month of the Bangla calendar, oxen are washed and adorned with patterns made with rice powder. They are not washed for three consecutive days. Some Hindus make offerings of a bull calf in the name of Shiva. They then set the calf free and allow it to ramble freely. These bulls are treated with respect and often given vegetables and fruit to eat. 

Cows are associated with prosperity and wealth. A newly purchased cow is welcomed into the home like a new bride. Its legs are washed, and it is greeted with a kula or winnowing fan on which there is a dab of sindur or vermilion and on which have been placed paddy, soft durva grass, sesame seeds and a small brass pot containing a mango twig with leaves. 

While Hindus sanctify and worship cows, Bengali Muslims relish beef and slaughter cows ceremoniously at the time of eid-ul azha. This diametrically opposite attitude led in the past to much ill feeling between Hindus and Muslims. Many of the riots in Bengal during the 19th and early 20th centuries occurred over the issue of cow slaughtering. [Dhyaneshnarayan Chakraborty] [Chakraborty, Dhyaneshnarayan  Professor (retd) of Sanskrit, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata]