How now, ground cow?

VED Vyas happens to mention in the Mahabharata that 2,000 cows were killed daily in the palace of King Rantideva. The skins were piled up in...

VED Vyas happens to mention in the Mahabharata that 2,000 cows were killed daily in the palace of King Rantideva. The skins were piled up in a huge heap outside the royal kitchens. Not unsurprisingly, so much 8216;liquid8217; oozed from this heap that it ran like a river. Ved Vyas called it 8216;8216;charmanvadhi8217;8217; emanating from skin.

The Vanaparva, the Shantiparva and the Dronaparva all mention the killing and eating of cows. Go back further in time to the First Book, the Rig Veda. Instances aplenty in the Eighth Mandala 43:11: Agni is 8216;8216;fed on ox and cow8217;8217; and the famous Tenth Mandala 72: 6: cows killed with swords and axes; 91:14: cows killed for food or the Taittiriya Brahmana a black cow to Purusha, a red cow to Rudra in sacrifice or the Apastambha Sutra lines 14,15, 29, I8217;m told: cows and oxen are sacred: so eat them. One could cite many more examples, especially from the Brahmanas but the sublime snub occurs in the Satapatha Brahmana III:2:21, when someone is foolish enough to ask Rishi Yajnavalkya8212;-stern lawgiver, author of the 8216;Shukla8217; portion of the Yajur Veda-8212;his opinion on the cow. 8216;8216;I like mine to be soft and well-done,8217;8217; says the sage tersely.

The pros and cons of Goraksha are well documented. Animal rights activists have gone blue in the face pointing out the terrible conditions of our abattoirs. While Jains are technically forbidden the killing of even the smallest insect, there are no dietary diktats on beef for whole sections of the Indian population: Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Tribals and Dalits. Remains the 8216;caste Hindu8217;, who is further divided into no-beef-non-vegetarian and pure vegetarian/eggetarian. So what is the basis of the proposed ban on cow-slaughter?

The right of a vegetarian community to be spared the nauseous sight of raw meat is a serious issue

It cannot be wholly 8216;scriptural8217;, because, as the snippets above indicate, what we now call 8216;Hinduism8217; for the sake of descriptive convenience is a praxis that has evolved over millennia. This evolution is integral to Sanatana Dharma. For instance, after an Ashwamedha sacrifice, the Mahishi or Chief Queen, would be required to lie down with the dead horse before they cut it up. It was a symbolic act of fertility. But why should a modern Hindu react with embarrassment to such 8216;evidence8217; on either cows or queens?

Sanatana Dharma is such an ancient religion that Hindus should be proud, rather, that they have kept an honourable link with their ancestors instead of having to denounce them like all the converts to newer belief systems. Hinduism is empowered to discard what it no longer thinks fit for the changing zeitgeist in terms of praxis like certain notorious bits in the Manusmriti, while holding fast to the notion of an All-Pervading Omniscient Divinity that it is allowed to 8216;see8217; through avatars. It calls the fire as witness for its rites of passage like birth, marriage and death. Beyond that, there is no dogma. Indeed, the entire effort of modern Hinduism8212;as reflected in the Constitution8212;has been to uphold bigger ideas from Upanishadic and Ashokan tenets, such as peace, justice and equality between peoples.

Perhaps the reason the vegetarians in our midst are 8216;8216;pro-cow8217;8217; is that they are terrified that without regulations, since beef is the cheapest meat, butcher shops might spring up all over, even next to temples. It would be as upsetting to have pork shops next to a mosque: equal rights cut both ways.

The right of a vegetarian community to be spared the nauseous sight of raw meat is a serious issue, which many non-vegetarians find hard to empathise with, but it is very real and repulsive for strict vegetarians: it must be sensitively dealt with in modern, urban terms. Meanwhile, in the middle of heavy traffic, stands all Gokul. If we don8217;t restrict its wanderings, we will have 8216;8216;charmanvadhi8217;8217; on our roads anyway.