Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Are cows sacred in Hindu?
Many ancient and medieval Hindu texts debate the rationale for a voluntary stop to cow slaughter and the pursuit of vegetarianism as a part of a general abstention from violence against others and all killing of animals.[13][14] According to Harris, the literature relating to cow veneration became common in 1st millennium CE, and by about 1000 CE vegetarianism, along with a taboo against beef, became a well accepted mainstream Hindu tradition.[5] This practice was inspired by the beliefs in Hinduism that a soul is present in all living beings, life in all its forms is interconnected, and non-violence towards all creatures is the highest ethical value.[5][8] Vegetarianism is a part of the Hindu culture. The god Krishna and his Yadav kinsmen are associated with cows, adding to its endearment.[5][8]
The cow is regarded as a sacred animal in Nepal. Hindus considers the cow as mother, and worship the cow as a form of Goddess. Killing cows is illegal in Nepal. Ram Lakhan Chaudhary was Ex-VDC chief of Gaushala Bazar.
In May 2007, Kanwari villagers stopped a transport truck full of cattle, rescued the cattle (which were on their way to the slaughterhouse), and set the truck on fire. The slaughter of cows is not permitted in the Hindu religion, as the cow is sacred and worshiped by the Hindus as mother (giver of life-nurturing milk).
The Cow head protests was a protest that was held in front of the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Shah Alam, Malaysia on 28 August 2009. The protest was called so because the act of a few participants who brought along a cow head, which they later "stomped on the head and spat on it before leaving the site". The cow is considered a sacred animal to Hindus.
Kamadhenu, the miraculous "cow of plenty" and the "mother of cows" in certain versions of the Hindu mythology, is believed to represent the generic sacred cow, regarded as the source of all prosperity.[19] In the 19th-century, a form of Kamadhenu was depicted in poster-art that depicted all major gods and goddesses in it.[20][21]
Vasubaras marks the beginning of the celebration of Diwali festival. On Vasubaras the Cow with her calf is worshipped. The Cow holds a very sacred place in the Vedic Mythology. She is worshipped and nurtured with utmost respect. Our "Gau Mata" and her Prasad.. Milk, milk products, Curds are an inseparable part of Hindu culture. "Pancha Gavya",Panchamrut are frequently used in all Hindu celebrations. Vasubaras is followed by Dhanteras.
The idiom is based on the popular understanding of the elevated place of cows in Hinduism and appears to have emerged in America in the late 19th century. A literal sacred cow or sacred bull is an actual cow or bull that is treated with sincere respect. A figurative sacred cow is a figure of speech for something considered immune from question or criticism, especially unreasonably so.
The sobriquet comes from the high reverence given by people belonging to these states to cows, which are considered sacred in Hindu religion. Most cases of cow related violence and mob lynchings in India were reported from these states.
According to Indologist Madeleine Biardeau, Kamadhenu or Kamaduh is the generic name of the sacred cow, who is regarded as the source of all prosperity in Hinduism. Kamadhenu is regarded as a form of Devi (the Hindu Divine Mother) and is closely related to the fertile Mother Earth (Prithvi), who is often described as a cow in Sanskrit. The sacred cow denotes "purity and non-erotic fertility, ... sacrificing and motherly nature, [and] sustenance of human life".
"Sacred Cow" is the third episode of the first season of the animated comedy series "Bob's Burgers". "Sacred Cow" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2011.
Goshalas are protective shelters for cows as sacred animals in India. Goshalas focus on treating cows well, because of their religious significance in Hinduism and consequent cultural sensitivity towards their welfare. There is the abode or sanctuary for cows, calves and oxen.
The Indian-origin Brahman cattle breed is named after the Brahmins (Hindu priests), who themselves are named after the Hindu deity Brahma. Hindu Brahmins are vegetarians and consider cows holy and bulls sacred, eating neither.
Kali's image was used in several pamphlets circulated by various "Agorakshanasabh" ("cow protection leagues") and "wandering ascetics" as a protest against the Muslim practice of beef-eating during the British raj. These pamphlets were produced in a time when Hindu-Muslim riots over cow slaughter occurred in several areas of India; including Azamgarh district (1893), when a total of 100 people died in similar conflagrations throughout the empire; Ayodhya (1912–1913); and Shahabad (1917). One such pamphlet entitled "The Present State" showed a cow being slaughtered by a trio of "Muhammadan" butchers. Another portrayed Kali raising a sword above the head of a sacred cow, whose body was illustrated to be a microcosmic paradise in which all the Hindu gods resided. There were many different editions of this version. For instance, one showed a woman labeled "The Hindu" waiting with bowl-in-hand for the cow's calf to finish suckling before she could get milk. A form of Krishna labeled "Darmaraj" ("Ruler of Dharma") stood "behind" the cow and Kali was, again, harassing her with his sword. Still, a different one deleted the woman and calf and instead portrayed Dharmaraj "in front" of the cow pleading "mat maro gay sarv ka jivan hai" ("don't kill the cow, everyone is dependent on it"), while Kali rebuts "he manusyaho! Kaliyugi Mansahari jivom ko dekho" ("mankind, look at the meat-eating souls of the kaligyug").
In 2010, a Malaysian court sentenced a Malay to just a week in jail and only fined 11 others for a brandishing a cow’s head during a protest against the construction of a Hindu temple. Critics said the light sentences would further strain race relations between the majority Malay Muslims, who make up the majority, and minority Hindu Indians, Chinese as well as Christians of various races who complain of discrimination. The 12 were from a group who had marched in August 2009 with the bloodied head of a cow, to protest a plan to build a Hindu temple in their mainly Muslim neighbourhood. Hindus, who consider the cow to be a sacred animal, were offended and angered. Such bad practices by the courts also further fuelled the racial polarisation.articles:
Hindus who do eat meat, often distinguish all other meat from cow meat (beef). The respect for cow is part of Hindu belief, and most Hindus avoid meat sourced from cow as cows are treated as a motherly giving animal considered as another member of the family. Some Nepalese Hindu sects sacrificed buffalo at the Gadhimai festival, but consider cows different from buffalo or other red meat sources.However, the Sacrifice of buffalo was banned by the Gadhimai Temple Trust in 2015.
The Cow head protests were held in front of the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Shah Alam, Malaysia on 28 August 2009. The protest was called so because the act of a few participants who brought along a cow head, which they later desecrated. The cow is considered a sacred animal to Hindus.
The cow is regarded as a sacred animal in Nepal. Hindus considers the cow as mother, and worship the cow as a form of Goddess. Killing cows is illegal in Nepal. Ram Lakhan Chaudhary was Ex-VDC chief of Gaushala Bazar.
Cow slaughter was banned by Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire in Punjab. Many butcher houses were banned and restrictions were put on the slaughter of cow and sale of beef in the Sikh Empire, as following the traditions, cow was as sacred to the Sikhs as to the Hindus. During the Sikh reign, cow slaughter was a capital offence, for which perpetrators were even executed.
India as a developing country, many of its rural area economies depend upon cattle farming, hence they have been revered in the society. From Vedic period, the role of cattle, especially cows, as a source of milk, and dairy products, and their relative importance in transport services and farming like ploughing, row planting, ridging, and weeding made people to revere the importance of cow in their daily lives, and this rose with the advent of Jainism and Gupta period. In medieval India, Maharaja Ranjit Singh issued proclamation on stopping cow slaughter as it is a sentimental issue. Lack of secular tolerance and caste politics has also given birth to Hindu right-wing vigilante cow protection groups. Conflicts over cow slaughter often have sparked religious riots that have led to loss of human life and in an 1893 riot alone, more than 100 people were killed for the cause. A. N. Bose in "Social and Rural Economy of Northern India" says any taboo or the cow worship itself is a relatively recent development in India. The sacred white Cow is considered as the abode of crores of 33 type Hindu Deities. Products of Cow's milk like curd, butter, cheese, milk sweets are sold commercially and used in religious rituals. 
Sacred cow is an idiom, a figurative reference to sacred cows in some religions. This idiom is thought to originate in American English, although similar or even identical idioms occur in many other languages.
Go-puja is done on this day. Devotees visit the gosala, bathe and clean the cows and the gosala. Cows are decorated with cloth and jewellery before offering special ritual by the devotees. Special fodders are fed for good health and special drive is organized for its preservation. On this day, Sri Krishna puja and cow Puja is performed along with pradakshina to acquire blessing for a good and happier life. Devotees also pay special respect to cows for its utilities in daily life. Cows provide milk that helps in fulfilling the nutritional requirement of the people like a mother. This is why cows are held sacred and worshipped in Hindu religion as a mother. The glories of the cow and her protection are discussed by senior devotees. All of them feed the cows and take part in a feast near the gosala.
Vultures in India live in communities and are generally very dependent on human activities. The Hindu religion, which represents 80% of the country's population, is particularly favorable to vultures. Cows are considered sacred by majority of Hindus, so cow meat is generally not consumed. This results in the cow's corpse being left to be fed on by vultures. Of the estimated 500 million cattle in India, only 4% were destined for consumption by humans as meat. Vultures constituted the natural animal disposal system, processing carcasses and nearly 15,000 vultures have been observed at the carcass depositories in capital New Delhi.
The actual tradition was started when a guru of a local Mandir in Bareilly decided to pour blessed rosewater over a sacred cow. The cow was deemed sacred as it had provided milk for a baby whose mother had died of malaria. According to the stories passed down generations, the cow began to float. It cried the Goddess of beauty's rāga. The guru kissed the cow on the top of the head, and later went on to live to the age of 130 as he was blessed. The tradition today is thousands of Hindus every two years commuting to the chosen town, typically by foot. A heard of female cattle walk on a circular field of flowers, which has a diameter of approximately 3 miles. They walk through the Falgu river, in Gaya, the river is often diluted with many litres of rosewater, in remembrance of Shringa-Sthan Gauri, the Guru who witnessed the sacred cow who was named Brahman, after the child she had fed.
For example, in this religion, the cow is very sacred. In the 9th chapter of the "Vendidad" of the "Avesta", the purificatory power of cow urine is dilated upon. It is declared to be a panacea for all bodily and moral evils. It is drunk as well as applied externally as is done by Hindus also. Urine of the bull, called "nirang" is brought to the house of an orthodox Parsi every morning and is (like cow milk) applied to the face, hands and feet.
In later Hindutva-influenced versions, Suhaldev is characterized as a cow protector, patron of saints and benefactor of Hindus. In one of these versions, Salar Masud plans to place a herd of cows in front of his army, so that Suhaldev could not attack him (since cows are sacred to Hindus). Suahldev comes to know about this plan, and cuts the cows loose on the night before the battle.