THE GENTLE COW
by Nihal Mathur
Page Three

Usefulness of the cow forms the subject matter of an essay every child in India gets to write in primary school. The children are told that even in dying, the cow gives us its hide which is prized for its softness. Besides the leather, the cow also gives its horns and bones and other parts of the body like intestines which have various uses. However, there are other benefits of the cow which are beyond the purvey of scientific scrutiny. Sages tell us that no matter how advanced instrumentation may become, man will never be able to unravel the subtlety of the cow's qualities which are sung in the scriptures.

It isn't surprising that the cow is then actually worshipped. Big and small, there are many festivals all over India which are dedicated to the worship of the cow but none is as important as the Gopashtami celebrated with great fanfare especially in rural India. Besides the festivals there are also fairs all over the Indian countryside where along with milch cows, colorful cow jewelry and clothing is also sold. I watched a farmer at Nagaur fair (in Rajasthan) buy a pair of silver horn jewelry for his cow with as much care and affection as was probably reserved for his wife!

But the romance of the cow is at dusk or what Indians call the hour of Gaudhuli--literally "cow dust." There is a mystique in the tinkling of cow bells as herds return from the days foraging, kicking up a clouds of dust just when the sun is going down. This is a special time, considered auspicious especially for marriages. So intimate is the cow's association with the lives of Hindus that in all the rites of passage of life, almost from conception to cremation, the cow is connected to ceremony and ritual.

Perhaps the most significant tribute to the cow is paid duringhavanor the formal fire ritual conducted by a priest. No havanis said to be complete without the presence of panchgavyaor the five gifts of the cow, namely milk, yoghurt, ghee, gohar,and gau mutra. In the Hindu world view, to give cow clarity or gau daanis considered the highest act of piety.

Continued on page 4