Sunday 18 October 2015

The Myth Of Holy Cow

*Ashwamedha, Rajsuya, Vajpeya yagnas needed sacrifice of cow/ox/bull.
*Rigveda says- God Agni loved flesh of horses, bulls, oxen, cow, rams.
*It also adds- a bull sacrificed for Indra, a dappled cow to Maruts and a copper coloured cow to Ashwins.
*It also says cow is fit for guests as feast.
*Taittiriya Brahmna unambitiously refers to sacrificial killing of cow which is verily food.
*Gruhasutras attest to the use of bull or cow in domestic rituals like simannayana(during fourth month of pregnancy), upanayana.
*Upanishada recommends to eat a stew of veal (meat of young cow) or beef with rice and ghee to have a learned son with long life.
*Shraddha required slaughter of cow and bulls.
*Yajnavalkya insists on eating tender flesh of cow.
*King Asoka's own list of animals exempt from slaughter does not include cow.
*Source - D N Jha's "The Myth of Holy Cow."

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