The role of the Cow in Hinduism (outside reading)
4/12
In the article I read it disscussed the importance of the cow for the people in India during the 1000BCE. The cow was very important in the sacrificing rituals, since there was so much emphasis on the cow and the power it held. The cow was very important because of the life style in india. Many people during the founding of hinduism had recently started settling in place and establishing permanent settlements for themselves. This caused them to rely more on animals that were able to be domesticated. The cow was one of the earliest domesticated animals. Furthermore, the cow was able to sustain farmers by allowing them to survive as well as their families.
Farmers depended on them for survival, and the cow provided them with milk, curd, and gee. The cow also provided manuewer for crops. Therefore the cow was and it still seen as a symbol of prosperity. Furthermore during this time the majority of people living in india were vegetarian, since many people were turning over to farming, since it was an easier life style then being a hunter-gatherer. I believe that over time this shifted into a strict rule of not eating meat, since the hindu people and individuals who lived in india relied on the cow significantly.
Comments
Post a Comment