Let me walk you through some stellar examples from puranas and history of how Hindus have treated cows in particular and life in general
1. King Dilipa: He was one of the forefathers of Lord Rama. His guru sage Vasishta advised Dilipa to serve his cow, Nandini. And as Nandini grazed in the forest, the king would faithfully wait on her.
This one day, a lion captured Nandini. Even as Dilipa reached for his arrows, he found his hand mysteriously paralyzed.
pic source: Amar Chitra Katha →Ancestors of Rama
Pic source: Amar Chitra Katha →Ancestors of Rama
So in the above pic, we see how King Dilipa offers himself to secure the cow.
Pleased with his devotion, Nandini reveals that it was only a test, and removes the illusion she had created.
2. King Shibi - A pigeon is being chased by a hawk. The pigeon reaches out to King Shibi to protect her. The king offers the hawk, the flesh from his body equivalent to the weight of the pigeon.
Pic source: Amar Chitra Katha →Indra and Shibi
As the scales do not tip, king Shibi offers his whole body to the hawk, all to save a pigeon
Pleased with his offer of supreme sacrifice, the pigeon and the hawk reveal themselves as Agni and Indra, who bless Shibi.
3. Rantideva - He is mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatham. His kingdom was afflicted with drought and he had to go hungry for days together. After some 50 days, he got some little rice. And just as he was about to eat it, a man came with his dogs, and asked him for some food. Without hesitation, Rantideva, offered the little rice he had to the dogs
Pic Source: Google images
4. King Paari - Here we see a fine example of how this king could not bear to see a creeper die. He gave his chariot as the support for the creeper to cling on to
Pic Source: Google images
So from these examples in puranas and history, we see the importance given to protecting life in general and cows in particular.
And when the ideas of animal sacrifice crept in some sects, these were vehemently denounced by the acharyas(the great teachers) like Madhvacharya.
Ending with this quote from Chanakya
ātma-mātā guroḥ patnī
brāhmaṇī rāja-patnikā
dhenur dhātrī tathā pṛthvī
saptaitā mātaraḥ smṛtāḥTRANSLATION
"One's own mother, the wife of the guru, the wife of a brāhmaṇa, the wife of a king, the cow, the nurse, and the earth are known as the seven mothers of a man."
You do not need to be follower of Hinduism to accept cow as mother.
We grow up, drinking cow’s milk. And when we milk her dry, we cut her up? Slow claps indeed
The question is akin to asking, would you eat your mother if offered 1 crore?
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