Mankind has got common routes, we have originated from one and will merge back into one. Our gods and goddesses were one, so were some animals which we worshipped like snake, cow, and others.
There is something about cow and its progeny, which has earned it a revered place across the cultures of world. In present times, the term ‘holy cow’ has come to be associated with Bharatvarsha, but a look back in history reveals the omnipresence of this bovine goddess.
Mesopotamians venerated bull as a symbol of extraordinary strength and potency in the form of aurochs. Bull was the symbol of Babylonian gods Ann and Sin and Marduk, and cow of goddess Ishtar. The emblem of Assyrian god Nin was a man-bull. Ancient Babylonians and Assyrians made giant winged bulls to guard palaces which housed inscriptions to invoke gods. Persians, too, had colossal winged bulls to guard their palaces. For Semitic Canaanites, bull was the symbol of Baal and cow of Astarte.
Ancient Egyptians worshipped the Hathor cow, and also the Apis bull. Such was the importance of this bull that they would embalm a dead Apis and bury it in a granite coffin. The famous excerpt from Exodus 32:1-32:45, where the people of Israel created a golden calf to worship in Moses’ absence, reveals the revered status of this animal in their traditional history. According to Zoroastrian scriptures, Gavaevodata (uniquely created cow) was one of six material creations of ahura mazda who became the progenitor of all beneficent animal life.
In Celtic cultures, bovine goddess Damona and Boann were worshipped. Norse tradition mentions the primeval cow Audhumbla. Cow was sacred to Hera, the Greek goddess of women and marriage. In ancient China and Japan, bovines were respected and there existed a dietary restriction with beef eating being seen as a taboo.
Bull forms a prominent figure on the seals of Indus Valley, revered as Nandi, the favourite of Lord Shiv. The Rigveda, the oldest scripture in world history, calls cow as aditi and aghnya, that which ought not to be cut into pieces. The Atharvaveda calls her the fountainhead of all bounties (Dhenu sadanam rayeenaam—Atharvaveda 11.1.34). Interestingly, Indian temples have bulls to guard their entrances. The importance of products from a cow in a Vedic yagna cannot be undermined.
Thus, it is safe to say that our ancestors, irrespective of the part of the world we belong to or have come to associate ourselves with, revered the cow and considered it holy. Cow and bull were universal symbols of fertility, strength and abundance, from Egypt to northern Europe to Far East. Holy cow is not specific to a particular religion, but a part of the common heritage of world.
Let’s not forget that according to modern science, a few millennia ago, the world was one big landmass after which the divide happened. It is also well-established that earth was once submerged in water, and cultures across the world concur that there was just one group of survivors from whom mankind emerged—whether we call Manu’s boat or Noah’s Ark, Deucalions Chest or Utnapishtim’s boat, the common origin of mankind is accepted by all. The Vedas echo in all the religions around the world.
Yogi Ashwini is the spiritual head of Dhyan Ashram. Email: dhyan@dhyanfoundation.com