Adopt a Cow

गावो मम पुरस्ताद् गावो मम पृष्ठतः । गावो मम पार्श्वतो भान्तु गवां मध्ये वसाम्यहम् ॥

“May cows stand before me, behind me, beside me. Among the cows, I shall always dwell.”

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva

Surabhi — the celestial wish-fulfilling cow, daughter of Daksha, mother of all cows — emerged at the churning of the milk-ocean as the giver of every desire and every nourishment. Kāmadhenu is her form. The mantra above is recited at the gosala door because to dwell among cows is to dwell among devatās; their breath is the cooling fragrance of the heavens, their footprint a tīrtha, their gaze a quiet blessing on the household.

गोषु मे मातृषु मातरः सर्वाः च जीवाः ॥

“All beings reside as mothers in the cow's body.”

Skanda & Padma Purāṇa tradition

The Purāṇic tradition holds that the thirty-three koṭi devatās dwell in the body of the cow. The horns are the seat of Brahmā and Viṣṇu, the dewlap of Indra, the eyes of Sūrya and Candra, the hooves of the four Vedas, the hump of Rudra. To feed a cow is to perform yajña to all the gods at once. To strike a cow is to strike all the gods at once. This single conviction is the root of go-rakṣā in our civilization.

धेनूनामस्मि कामधुक्

“Among cows, I am Kāmadhenu.”

Bhagavad Gītā 10.28

Krishna's identity is inseparable from the cow. He is Govinda — the protector of cows. He is Gopāla — the cowherd. The Veṇu-Gopāla form lives among the herds of Vraja, and the cows lift their heads at the sound of his flute. In Bhagavad Gītā 10.28 he declares that of all cows, he is Kāmadhenu herself. To love a cow, then, is to love Krishna; to protect a cow is to receive his protection.