Sacred Cow, Holy Bull

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

so valuable for thousands of years in so many cultures that to be caught stealing them was often an offense punished by death (Brahman 1).
The cow was not always sacred in India. Long ago in India�s early history, cattle was used basically for food to feed one�s family. It was also used as trade, like money. In about the year 350 A.D., a law was made called the �Code of Manusmriti�. The law did not specifically order the Indian people not to eat the cow, but it stated that they would be better off not to. After this law, the Indian people took a different attitude about the cow. Shortly after that a new law was made that made it a crime to steal, hurt or kill a cow. Even if the cow was ill, a person would be punished by the government for any such actions (�Cows� 1).
These days the Hindu religion has continued their devotion to the cow. They are still protected by the citizens and most Hindus still refuse to kill them. They still worship and honor the cow as an ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

easily noticed by the big hump on their back right behind their head (�Brahman� 1).
The country of India is home to 900 million people and home to almost 200 million cows. That�s 22 cows per 100 people. However, in the mid 1960s, the human population was 500 million to the cow population of 250 million, which was 50 cows to every 100 people.(Cherry 1, Chowdhury 1).
The Hindus believe in two laws named Ahimsa and Karma. To the Hindu the ground, the rivers, the sky and the sun are sacred. They consider the wife a goddess and the husband a god. They see their home as a shrine. Noninjury is the most important principle of every Hindu. It is referred to as Ahimsa. It requires ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: