In the Vedic tradition, a cow is looked upon as Goddess of wealth. Wealth includes spiritual well-being, physical well being, and economic well being. The Vedic view is that safeguarding and protecting a cow will confer all three types of well-being. But unfortunately, as a modern society, we have failed miserably to understand the equation and derailed from this prescription. In this essay, we examine various perspectives regarding the value and importance of cow protection as our dharma.
Religious Perspective
From insects to elephants, every being is sacred in the Vedic tradition. Some animals are accorded the status of being the vehicles of the Hindu deities (ex: bull for Lord Shiva, peacock for Lord Muruga etc). Others, like the cow are associated with divinity. The elephant faced Lord Ganesha, is an important deity looked upon as the remover of obstacles in any human endeavour.
In the Vedic tradition, the cow is the most venerated of all animals.. According to the puranic literature, Kamadhenu (meaning the giver of all desires), the celestial cow, emerged from the churning of the ocean of milk (samudramathanam) by the gods and demons. Kamadhenu was presented to the seven sages, and eventually came underthe custody of Sage Vasiṣṭha, the teacher of Lord Rama. Every body part of a cow symbolizes some venerable aspect as detailed below:
There are various assertions supporting the sacred status of cows in the Hindu religion. A few of them are listed below:
Lord Brahma gave life to priests and cows at the same time so that the priests would recite from the religious scriptures while cows would provide ghee (clarified butter) for offering in rituals.
Lord Krishna, one of the avatarsin Hinduism, appeared as a cowherd, and is often described as “Gopāla” (the one who protects the cows), or “Govinda” (one who is the lord of the cows).
Many other Hindu scriptures identify the cow as the “mother” of all civilization, and its milk nurturing the population. In Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma states that the cow acts as a surrogate mother by providing milk to human beings for lifetime.
Many Purāṇas state that the gift of cow(s) in rituals is the greatest of all gifts.
The Vedas point out all the practical help and benefits that cows give to humans, and thereby, instruct human beingsto protect cows. With the help of cows, mankind is freed from much of the mundane farm life work (ploughing land, procuring dairy for daily intake, preparing fertilizers), and thereby afforded time for spiritual pursuits.
All the yajñas (ritualistic offerings) prescribed in the Vedic tradition are meant for physical or material or spiritual well-being of self and the society. None of the yajñas can be performed without ghee and dried cow dung. It becomes imperative that cows should be protected to carry out these rituals, and in turn, obtain the three fold benefits.
Economic Perspective
Based on economic reasons, the sacredness and protection of cows is very pertinent. . In the Vedic times, cattle represented wealth for the predominantly pastoral communities that were prevalent then. The five key “products” of the cow used in daily life are milk, curds, ghee, butter, urine and dung; Cows provide milk that serves as additional nutrition to adults and children. The by-products of milk such as yogurt, buttermilk, butter and ghee are an integral part of people’s daily diet in India. Cow dung that has been scientifically proven to have antiseptic value , and is used to clean house floors and walls in rural areas. By having a cow in every household, the family’s needs for milk and the resulting byproducts can be easily met without reliance on external sources.
Biogas plants are an eco-friendly affordable technology that helps to safeguard local forest resources by reducing firewood consumption for fuel in rural areas. Biogas can also reduce the consumption of kerosene which is used as fuel in urban and rural areas. Biogas is a method of producing methane gas from organic matter via natural bacterial action. Cow dung serves as the best feed for biogas plants, and the resulting biogas can be used for cooking. The residues can be used as agricultural fertilizer, which also helps in minimizing the use of artificial chemical fertilizers . In India, the total dung production is estimated at 659 tons annually. There are only 22 million family type biogas plants in India utilizing only 22 tons of cow dung annually. By installing more biogas plants and utilizing all the available cow dung, India can be self-sufficient in eco-friendly energy, and this creates economic advantages. To have a continuous supply of cow dung, the protection of cows is imperative.
More Gośālās (Cow Sanctuaries) should be built and money must be invested in proper running and maintenance of these sanctuaries. Appropriate economic models of the dairy projects should be developed with the aim to obtain revenue from the sale of milk and other products from these cow sanctuaries. The revenue obtained from the sales can be again used for the protection of cows. This will demonstrate the importance of cow protection not only for religious purposes but for economic prosperity as well .
Health Perspective
Using the five products namely milk, curds, ghee, cow urine and cow dung, a very effective body cleansing medicine known as Pañcagavyam is made. Regular consumption of Pañcagavyam helps in removal of toxins from the body and further strengthens the immune system. Cow milk is the next best thing to breast milk for a newborn. Cow milk nourishes the body tissues and improves intelligence and strength. Curd from cow’s milk is an effective medicine for controlling diarrhoea and in reducing the irritability of the bladder. Cow ghee improves digestive fire, intelligence, memory, skin softness and eye strength. Cow urine provides effective remedy for various skin diseases, digestion issues and urinary infection. Cow dung provides increased resistance to illnesses and also has antiseptic properties. Use of cow dung is very effective in respiratory ailments and strengthening of muscles. From all the above benefits, it is very clear that we also have a tangible benefit (physical well being) by protecting cows. All the health benefits of cow products discussed in this section should ideally be enjoyed provided that the cattle are being raised and treated in an ethical and humane way. If not, efforts should be made to derive the health benefits (that dairy products give) from non-dairy products. It is also encouraging to note that there are functioning gośālās in India that follow a strict ethical and humane treatment to cattle. These gośālās also ensure availability of various dairy products to ordinary citizens at a reasonable price.
The Hindu religion strongly values the ideals of compassion and non-violence. To a Hindu, the cow symbolizes all other creatures. The cow represents life, and the sustenance of life. Unfortunately, ~500 cows and calves are slaughtered every minute all around the world [increasing at an alarming rate]. At this rate of slaughter, it is limiting to just be content by being a vegetarian. Instead, we should take proactive steps to ensure that we work towards minimizing or eliminating the slaughter of cows.
GoDanam – total Cost Rs. 60,000/-
(Cost includes price of the cow and fodder for the cow for 1 year)
Godanam: At our GoShala, GoDanam is done in the most vedic way. The Goshala committee explains the importance of GoDanam, arranges the parayanam (recital) of relevant hymns and Sankalapam for the GoDanam. Many devotees have been benefited by offering GoDanam.
Gosala will arrange Cow and Calf for Godanam. We DON’T accept cows from outside. Only cows arranged by the Goshala are accepted. Donor will donate that cow and calf at our Gosala along with one year fodder (included in the seva cost).
Pratyaksha GoDanam or Paroksha GoDanam can be performed as per donor’s convenience.
Paroksha GoDanam: If Donor is unable to visit Gosala for GoDanam, on behalf of donor, Gosala will arrange to do the ‘Sankalpam’ and GoDanam on the day chosen by the donor.
Pratyaksha GoDanam: By visiting our Gosala, donor can perform GoDanam. Gosala will arrange Cow and Calf along with required pooja Samagri.
Donor is requested to adhere to the below instructions.
Dress code: Only vedic traditional attire. For men the dress code is dhoti with uttariyam. For women the preferred dress code is saree or any other traditional dress.
After the GoDanam, Prasadam will be given to the devotees who perform the Pooja.
Donations for Goseva can be remitted to the below metioned Devasthanam Account. Donors are requested to confirm the remittance details along with Donor Details through email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
N.B. This facility is only for transactions in Indian Currency (INR).
Devasthanam Remittance Details:
Account Name | Sri Sri Jagadguru Sankaracharya Mahasamstanam, Sri Sarada Peetham, Sringeri |
Bank Name | Indian Overseas Bank, Guntur |
Account Number | 002801000014100 |
IFSC Code | IOBA 0000028 |
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