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sacred cow

The English idiom sacred cow was coined with ref-

erence to the veneration of cows that is common

in India, but it reflects a degree of misunderstand-

ing. Hindus do venerate and respect cows, but

they do not regularly worship them; nor do they

consider them in the category of icons or sacred

objects. Bulls do have some sanctity, as a bull is

the iconic vehicle of Lord SHIVA.

The weight of academic evidence shows that

in VEDIC times (c. 1500–800 B.C.E.) bulls and

barren cows were sacrificed by BRAHMINS, who

then ate the animals. Other Indians also regularly

ate beef. It was the Jains, and to some extent the

Buddhists, who impressed Indian tradition with

the notion of AHIMSA, the avoidance of harm to

any being. Only gradually did society, led by the

orthodox Brahmins, embrace VEGETARIANISM as the

ideal diet and abandon the eating of meat almost

completely.

The only Hindus who still regularly eat beef

are the Dalit (UNTOUCHABLE) carrion gatherers. As

ahimsa became the ideal the cow began to assume

an iconic role and could not be killed. Since

ancient times cow’s milk has been a food staple;

cow’s milk and clarified butter are still used in

ritual worship.

S

A sadhu and a sacred cow dressed for a festival in

Mathura, Uttar Pradesh (Gustasp Irani)