Why are Cows Sacred in Hinduism?

In India, the cow is considered a sacred animal in the Hindu religion. She is revered, honoured and respected and we all consider Cow as Mother. The Indian culture gives a special place to the mother cow.  The cow takes very little from us and gives us more. Thus, the cow has a prominent place in the life of human beings. Our entire life is dependent on the cow. 

Hindus consider the cow as their mother and the reason is the birth-giving mother gives milk to its child only for one or two years, but the mother cow gives milk throughout her life. 

As per the Vedas or Purana, Cows are the mother of the universe.  All-important Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Saraswathi, Parvati, Lakshmi, etc. reside inside the body of the cow.  Due to this, Cows are sacred & auspicious. Read about WHY DO WE CELEBRATE RAKSHA BANDHAN?

There are several reasons supporting cows as the sacred animal for Hindu Religion.

•  In the old times, cows had an important role in the yajna. Yajna is the ritual performed by the priests to make God Happy and in Yajna, Brahmins offered the ahuti to the Gods. Yajna is the born of action and the happening of rain possible after doing yajna. Food is produced from rain and the existence of life is possible due to the food only. 

The Yajna depend upon the cows as the havishya (food which is used as an offering to the Gods) offered to God is produced through agriculture with the help of cow species.  

The Brahmanas also purify themselves before the yajna by taking the mixture of cow milk, cow curd, cow ghee, cow urine, and cow dung, etc. It destroys all the sins and the place of yajna is also purified by spreading urine & dungs of Cow.

•  Lord Krishna, one of the most revered Hindu God was a cowherd. He was the protector & friend of Cows. It is one of the prime reasons to consider the cow as a sacred animal in Hinduism and feeding a cow in India is therefore considered auspicious for the devotees of Lord Krishna.

•  The next reason for considering the cow as a sacred animal in Hinduism is the high-value products that we are getting from cows. We are getting Milk from Mother Cow and there are several ways to use that milk. It can be transformed into yoghurt, ghee, and buttermilk. Not only the milk but also the Cow Dung and the Cow Urine are useful as well. The cow dung is used as fertilizer for crops and fuel for cooking food. The cow urine is very useful for medical purposes and has anti-cancer, antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antioxidant properties.

But the situation is not the same at the current time.  The human has become selfish and for the benefit of himself, he starts the torturing of cows.

Several examples of torturing Cows are as follows

•  Have you ever seen the Indian dairy custom phookan that is illegal by law but is practised on thousands of cows daily? A stick is poked into her uterus that causes severe pain in the belief that this stress will lead to a gush of more milk in the udder.

•  In some farms, farmers give injections to the cows or buffaloes so that they will produce much more milk than they would naturally.

•  When cows' milk production decreases after a few years, the mother cows are killed and their flesh & skin is sold.

•  Cows roam here & there to search for foods and the search for food ends when the cow reaches any land filled with garbage.  Cows eat plastic, metal and several other injurious materials lying in the dump yard. It is one of the prime factors for the death of Cows.

•  We have found cattle being branded by the owners so they can identify them. After finishing the milking, the dairy owners allow the cattle to roam on the streets, where they eat garbage and come under the wheels of vehicles.

•  Oxytocin is given to ease labour in women and when given to cows, it affects their uterus. It does not make the total output more but just makes the milk gush out faster. “Basically, the cows go through labour pains twice a day.

Conclusion

The cows are the cause of everlasting nourishment and the foundation of prosperity. So, we should protect her and work for the welfare of the cows.

Thanks for reading our post. Whatever we wrote in this post is our personal opinion. If we hurt the feelings of anyone, please forgive us. 

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