Sacred Cows: Veneration and Mythology in Eastern Cultures

Cows have played a significant role in the history of humankind, both as a food source and as

working animals, and cattle are a symbol of wealth on many continents.

So, while they’re valued, cattle are viewed as possessions, which generally strips sentient beings of any rights and considerations.

Only in Eastern culture were and are cows’ values recognized and respected, giving rise to the sacred cow.

We’ll take a look at the history, lore, and myths surrounding sacred cows.

Sacred Cows in Eastern Culture

The origins of the sacred cow can be traced to ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts.

Both religions actively encouraged the worship of cows and forbade cattle slaughter, resulting in many followers adopting a vegetarian diet.

Hinduism and Buddhism both drive a core ethical value of doing no harm and non-violence, which contributed in part to the veneration of cows.

However, cattle’s role in human survival was another contributing factor.

Cow’s milk provides high-quality, protein-rich sustenance that’s versatile and readily available.

The physical strength of cattle could be harnessed in agriculture to pull plows and carts, and their dried dung was an invaluable source of fuel for cooking.

Progressively, cows came to represent Mother Earth and all the goodness and nourishment she offers to all beings.

As a result, cows became more sacred, moved into the realms of temple rituals, and were associated with gods and goddesses. There were various roles for them in ritual, and cow urine was believed to hold purifying powers.

Myths and Lore

One of the supreme gods in Hinduism, Krishna, god of protection, tenderness, love, and compassion, was a cowherd as a child, and he’s referred to as the “child who protects cows.”

Depictions of Krishna frequently include cows.

The earth goddess, Prithvi, presents in the form of a cow. In myth, several deities milked Prithvi to benefit humans, starting with Phrithu, the first sovereign. He milked her to grow crops to save humankind from a famine.

Another sacred cow is Kamadhenu, known as the “mother of cows” and the “cow of plenty.” She’s viewed as the original sacred cow and the source of all prosperity. Her mythical birth is unclear, though. Some Hindu texts claim she emerged from churning waters of the cosmic ocean, and others that she was born to the creator god, Daksha.

Other gods and goddesses associated with sacred cows are Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune and wealth; Indra, king of heaven and gods; and Shiva, god of destruction, the arts, and time, whose steed is Nadi, a bull.

On the whole, Hindu goddesses and feminine deities are represented by sacred cows through fertility, childbirth, and nurturing.

On the other hand, Buddhists don’t have myth and lore around sacred cows. Their ethics and values are taken from the leadership of the Buddha and the five ethical precepts of Buddhism, one of which is to refrain from killing any living beings.

In some sects of Buddhism, cattle are regarded as the reincarnation of humankind, making them an integral part of the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Therefore, showing kindness and protecting cattle is good karma.

Sacred Cows in Other Cultures

While ancient cultures certainly used depictions of cattle, few gave them sacred status.

Ancient Egyptians attributed aggression, strength, and virility to bulls. They projected those traits through deities such as Min, god of fertility and the harvest and Montu, god of war.

Sacred bulls were also chosen to live out their lives in temples as they were believed to be the reincarnation of divinity. Examples are the Mnevis bull, closely associated with the sun god, Re-Atum, and the Buchis bull, believed to be the incarnation of the war god, Montu. The most important sacred bull was the Apis bull, the assumed manifestation of the creator god and maker of things, Path.

Mehet-Weret was a cow goddess who gave birth to the sun and represented pre-creation primal waters. The sky was also occasionally represented in the form of a cow in ancient Egypt. Cows were interrelated with fertility and motherhood. Various goddesses were sometimes portrayed as celestial cows, including Nut, Hathor, and Neith.

Celtic mythology had Damons, also called Boann by the Irish Celts, as the goddess of cattle. In Irish Celtic mythology, Boann was one aspect of the great Celtic feminine divinity. Her name translates to the “one who acquires cows,” linking her to wealth and prosperity.

In ancient Greek mythology, Helios, the sun god, had seven herds of oxen in a pasture in Thrinacia, believed to be modern-day Sicily.

Norse mythology brings us Auðumbla, a primeval cow born from ice at the dawn of time. She fostered and suckled Ymir, the first human and forbearer of the Frost Giants. Auðumbla also licked Búri, Odinh’s grandfather, out of the ice.

Wrapping it up…

Sadly, cattle were mainly viewed as possessions in most ancient societies, a source of food or beasts of burden – not sacred cows.

Apart from slaughter, they were used in agriculture to pull plows and other implements, pack animals, and draw wagons.

Today, aside from countries in Asia, the beef and dairy industries are renowned for their cruelty and mistreatment of their “produce” to achieve mass production targets. Voracious appetites for beef and dairy products feed an endless stream of slaughterhouses where beautiful, sensitive, sentient beings are treated with indifference in the name of commerce and greed.