The Hill legend tells how Siva once manifested himself in his fiery form, and Vishnu and Brahma went in various directions to see how far the light extended. On their return Vishnu declared that he had been unable to find out how far the light prevailed; but Brahma said that he had gone beyond its limits. Vishnu then called on Kâmadhenû, the celestial cow, to bear testimony, and she corroborated Brahma with her tongue, but she shook her tail by way of denying the statement. So Vishnu cursed her that her mouth should be impure, but that her tail should be held holy for ever.[89]
Modern Cow-worship.
There are numerous instances of modern cow-worship. The Jâts and Gûjars adore her under the title of Gâû Mâtâ, “Mother cow.” The cattle are decorated and supplied with special food on the Gopashtamî or Gokulashtamî festival, which is held in connection with the Krishna cultus. In Nepâl there is a Newâri festival, known as the Gâê Jâtra, or cow feast, when all persons who have lost relations during the year ought to disguise themselves as cows and dance round the palace of the king.[90] In many of the Central Indian States, about the time of the Diwâlî, the Maun Charâûn, or silent tending of cattle, is performed. The celebrants rise at daybreak, wash and bathe, anoint their bodies with oil, and hang garlands of flowers round their necks. All this time they remain silent and communicate their wants by signs. When all is ready they go to the pasture in procession in perfect silence. Each of them holds a peacock’s feather over his shoulder to scare demons. They remain in silence with the cattle for an hour or two, and then return home. This is followed by an entertainment of wrestling among the Ahîrs or cowherds. When night has come, a gun is fired, and the Mahârâja breaks his fast and speaks. The rite is said to be in commemoration of Krishna feeding the cows in the pastures of the land of Braj.[91]
During an eclipse, the cow, if in calf, is rubbed on the horns and belly with red ochre to repel the evil influence, and prevent the calf being born blemished. Cattle are not worked on the Amâvas or Ides of the month. There are many devices, such as burning tiger’s flesh, and similar prophylactics, in the cow-house to drive away the demon of disease. So, on New Year’s Day the Highlander used to fumigate his cattle shed with the smoke of juniper.[92] Cow hair is regarded as an amulet against disease and danger, in the same way as the hair of the yak was valued by the people of Central Asia in the time of Marco Polo.[93] An ox with a fleshy excrescence on his eye is regarded as sacred, and is known as Nadiya or Nandi, “the happy one,” the title of the bull of Siva. He is not used for agriculture, but given to a Jogi, who covers him with cowry shells, and carries him about on begging excursions. One of the most unpleasant sights at the great bathing fairs, such as those of Prayâg or Hardwâr, is the malformed cows and oxen which beggars of this class carry about and exhibit. The Gonds kill a cow at a funeral, and hang the tail on the grave as a sign that the ceremonies have been duly performed.[94] The Kurkus sprinkle the blood of a cow on the grave, and believe that if this be not done the spirit of the departed refuses to rest, and returns upon earth to haunt the survivors.[95] The Vrishotsarga practised by Hindus on the eleventh day after death, when a bull calf is branded and let loose in the name of deceased, is apparently an attempt to shift on the animal the burden of the sins of the dead man, if it be not a survival of an actual sacrifice.
Feeling against Cow-killing.
Of the unhappy agitation against cow-killing, which has been in recent years such a serious problem to the British Government in Northern India, nothing further can be said here. To the orthodox Hindu, killing a cow, even accidentally, is a serious matter, and involves the feeding of Brâhmans and the performance of pilgrimages. In the Hills a special ritual is prescribed in the event of a plough ox being killed by accident.[96] The idea that misfortune follows the killing of a cow is common. It used to be said that storms arose on the Pîr Panjâl Pass in Kashmîr if a cow was killed.[97]
General Sleeman gives a case at Sâgar, where an epidemic was attributed to the practice of cattle slaughter, and a popular movement arose for its suppression.[98] Sindhia offered Sir John Malcolm in 1802 an additional cession of territory if he would introduce an article into the Treaty with the British Government prohibiting the slaughter of cows within the territory he had been already compelled to abandon. The Emperor Akbar ordered that cattle should not be killed during the Pachûsar, or twelve sacred days observed by the Jainas; Sir John Malcolm gives a copy of the original Firmân.[99] Cow-killing is to this day prohibited in orthodox Hindu States, like Nepâl.