Bull cult, prehistoric religious practice that originated in the eastern Aegean Sea and extended from the Indus Valley of Pakistan to the Danube River in eastern Europe. Thebull god’s symbol was the phallus, and in the east the bull often was depicted as the partner of the great goddess of fertility and thereby represented the virile principle of generation and invincible force. Numerous pictorial and plastic representations of the bull have been uncovered, many designed to be worn as a charm or amulet; these representations were probably copies of larger statues constructed in tribal sanctuaries. The bull cult continued into historic times and was particularly important in the Indus Valley and on the Grecian island of Crete. In both places the bull’s “horns of consecration” were an important religious symbol.

Gavaevodata (gav-aēvō.dātā) is the Avestan language name of the primordial bovine of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology, one of Ahura Mazda's six primordial material creations and the mythological progenitor of all beneficent animal life.

The primordial beast is killed in the creation myth, but from its marrow, organs and cithra^{[n 1]} the world is repopulated with animal life. The soul of the primordial bovine – Geush urvan – returned to the world as the soul of livestock.

Although Avestan gav- "cow" is grammatically feminine, the word is also used as a singular for the collective "cattle." In English language translations Gavaevodata is often referred to as a in gender-neutral 'primordial ox'. Other translations refer to Gavaevodata as a bull (cf. Boyce 139). The -aevo.data of the name literally means "created as one" or "solely created" or "uniquely created."

Gavaevodata is only alluded to in the surviving texts of the Avesta, referred to by name in only two hymns. In other instances, for example in Yasht 13.85, the primordial beast is mentioned among the six material creations, but not by name.

In verse 3 of the litany to the moon (Mah Niyayesh 3), Gavaevodata is invoked as (or together with) the "bovine of many species" in the care of the moon Mah, specifically måŋha- gaociθra- "the moon that keeps in it the cithra^{[n 1]} of cattle," which is a stock epithet of Mah (Yasht 7.3, 7.5, 7.6, GBd VIe.2-3, VII.5-6 etc.)

In the 30 hymns to the divinities of the Zoroastrian calendar month, Gavaevodata is again invoked in the verses nominally dedicated to the Moon. In both Siroza1.12 and 2.12, Mah is again referred to as "the Moon containing the cithra of cattle," and Gavaevodata is again referred to as (or in the company of) the "Bovine of many species."

The mythology of the "uniquely created bovine" that is only alluded to in the extant Avesta appears fully developed in the 9th-11th century Middle Persian texts of Zoroastrian tradition. In these texts, Avestan Gavaevodata appears as Middle Persian gaw i ew-dad or ewazdad or ewagdad, and retains the same literal meaning as the Avestan language form.

As also for all other Zoroastrian cosmological beliefs, the primary source of information on the primordial ox is the Bundahishn, a 9th-century text. In this text, the primordial ox is a hermaphrodite, having both milk (Ibd 43.15) and semen (Ibd 94.4). It is "white, bright like the moon, and three measured poles in height" (GbdIa.12). The uniquely created ox lived its life on the river Veh. Daiti (Gbd Ia.12), and on the opposite bank lived Gayomart/d (Avestan Gayo maretan), the mythical first human.

Gawi ewdad's role in the creation myth runs as follows: During the first three-thousand year period, Ahura Mazda's (Ormuzd) fashioned the bovine as His fourth or fifth^{[n 2]} of six primordial material creations. At the beginning of the second three-thousand year period, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) attacked the world, and the Creator responded by placing the primordial plant, bovine, and human in the respective heavenly spheres of the stars, moon and sun (IBd 7). But Ahriman assaulted the sky and Ormuzd fed the bovine "medicinal mang" (mang bēšaz^{[n 3]}) to lessen its suffering (GBd IV.20). The bull immediately became feeble, and then dies.^{[n 4]}

But as it lay dying its chihr^{[n 1]} was rescued and carried to "the moon station."^{[n 5]} In the care of the moon, the chihr^{[n 1]} of the beast was purified and became the male and female pairs of the animals "of many species." After the ox's death, fifty-five kinds of grain and twelve kinds of medicinal plants grew from its marrow (Ibd 10). In another passage (Ibd 93.11, cf an equivalent passage in Zadspram), the Bundahishn speaks of sesame, lentils, leeks, grapes, mustard and marjoram issuing from various other parts of its body. For example, lentils from the liver and mustard from the lungs^{[n 6]} (Ibd 14.1, Gbd XIII.2^{[n 7]}).

Goshorun (from Avestan geush urvan), the soul of the primordial bovine, escaped to the star, moon and sun stations where she lamented the destruction of the world. She was not placated until Ormuzd shows her the fravashi of the yet-unborn Zoroaster (whose protection she would receive). Contented with the promise of protection, Goshorun then agreed to be "created back to the world in livestock." (GbdIVa.2ff, Ibd' 46.3ff., Denkard 9).

Parallel:
Prithvi
Purusha

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents.

Bronze figurine of Anat wearing an atef crownwith arm raised (originally holding an axe or club), dated to 1200-1400BC, found in Syria

Anat (/ˈænˌæt/ or /ˈɑːˌnɑːt/) or Anath (/ˈænəθ/; Hebrew and Phoenician ענת, ‘Anāt; Ugaritic ‘nt; Greek Αναθ, Anath; Egyptian Antit, Anit, Anti, or Anant) is a major northwest Semitic goddess.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 ‘Anat in Ugarit
• 2 Anat in Egypt
• 3 Anat in Mesopotamia
• 4 ‘Anat in Israel
• 5 Anat and Athene
• 6 Possible late transfigurations
• 7 As a modern Hebrew first name
• 8 See also
• 9 Notes
• 10 References

‘Anat in Ugarit[edit]

In the Ugaritic Ba‘al/Hadad cycle ‘Anat is a violent war-goddess, a virgin (btlt ‘nt) who is the sister and, according to a much disputed theory, the lover of the great god Ba‘al Hadad. Ba‘al is usually called the son of Dagan and sometimes the son of El, who addresses ‘Anat as "daughter". Either relationship is probably figurative.

‘Anat's titles used again and again are "virgin ‘Anat" and "sister-in-law of the peoples" (or "progenitress of the peoples" or "sister-in-law, widow of the Li’mites").

In a fragmentary passage from Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra), Syria^[1] ‘Anat appears as a fierce, wild and furious warrior in a battle, wading knee-deep in blood, striking off heads, cutting off hands, binding the heads to her torso and the hands in her sash, driving out the old men and townsfolk with her arrows, her heart filled with joy. "Her character in this passage anticipates her subsequent warlike role against the enemies of Baal".^[2]

Cuneiform script, (Louvre Museum) "Then Anat went to El, at the source of the rivers, in the middle of the bed of the two oceans. She bows at the feet of El, she bows and prosternates and pays him respects. She speaks and says: "the very mighty Ba'al is dead. The prince, lord of the earth, has died"" (...) "They fight like heroes. Môt wins, Ba'al wins. They bit each other like snakes. Môt wins, Ba'al wins. They jump like horses. Môt is scared. Ba'al sits on his throne".

’Anat boasts that she has put an end to Yam the darling of El, to the seven-headed serpent, to Arsh the darling of the gods, to Atik 'Quarrelsome' the calf of El, to Ishat 'Fire' the bitch of the gods, and to Zabib 'flame?' the daughter of El. Later, when Ba‘al is believed to be dead, she seeks after Ba‘al "like a cow^[3] for its calf" and finds his body (or supposed body) and buries it with great sacrifices and weeping. ‘Anat then finds Mot, Ba‘al Hadad's supposed slayer and she seizes Mot, splits him with a sword, winnows him with a sieve, burns him with fire, grinds him with millstones and scatters the remnants to the birds.

Text CTA 10 tells how ‘Anat seeks after Ba‘al who is out hunting, finds him, and is told she will bear a steer to him. Following the birth she brings the new calf to Ba‘al on Mount Zephon. But nowhere in these texts is ‘Anat explicitly Ba‘al Hadad's consort. To judge from later traditions ‘Athtart (who also appears in these texts) is more likely to be Ba‘al Hadad's consort. But of course northwest Semitic culture permitted more than one wife and liaisons outside marriage are normal for deities in all pantheons.

In the North Canaanite story of Aqhat,^[4] the protagonist Aqhat son of the judge Danel (Dn'il) is given a wonderful bow and arrows which was created for ‘Anat by the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Khasis but which was given to Danel for his infant son as a gift. When Aqhat grew to be a young man, the goddess ‘Anat tried to buy the bow from Aqhat, offering even immortality, but Aqhat refused all offers, calling her a liar because old age and death are the lot of all men. He then added to this insult by asking 'what would a woman do with a bow?'

Like Inanna in the Epic of Gilgamesh, ‘Anat complained to El and threatened El himself if he did not allow her to take vengeance on Aqhat. El conceded. ‘Anat launched her attendant Yatpan in hawk form against Aqhat to knock the breath out of him and to steal the bow back. Her plan succeeds, but Aqhat is killed instead of merely beaten and robbed. In her rage against Yatpan, (text is missing here) Yatpan runs away and the bow and arrows fall into the sea. All is lost. ‘Anat mourned for Aqhat and for the curse that this act would bring upon the land and for the loss of the bow. The focus of the story then turns to Paghat, the wise younger sister of Aqhat. She sets off to avenge her brother's death and to restore the land which has been devastated by drought as a direct result of the murder. The story is unfortunately incomplete. It breaks at an extremely dramatic moment when Paghat discovers that the mercenary whom she has hired to help her avenge the death is, in fact, Yatpan, her brother's murderer. The parallels between the story of ‘Anat and her revenge on Mot for the killing of her brother are obvious. In the end, the seasonal myth is played out on the human level.

Gibson (1978) thinks Rahmay ('The Merciful'), co-wife of El with Athirat, is also the goddess ‘Anat, but he fails to take into account the primary source documents. Most Ugaritic scholars point out that the dual names of deities in Ugaritic poetry are an essential part of the verse form, and that two names for the same deity are traditionally mentioned in parallel lines. In the same way, Athirat is called Elath (meaning "The Goddess") in paired couplets. The poetic structure can also be seen in early Hebrew verse forms.

Anat in Egypt[edit]

Calf, Golden

kaf, gol'-d'-n:

I. THE NAME

II. ANCIENT CALF WORSHIP

1. Narrative of Aaron's Golden Calf

2. Jeroboam's Golden Calves

III. ATTITUDE OF ELIJAH TO THE BULL SYMBOLS

IV. ATTITUDE OF AMOS AND HOSEA TO THE BULL SYMBOLS

LITERATURE

I. The Name.

The term `eghel, is the ordinary Hebrew name for a male calf and is as flexible as the English name, applying to any animal from one a year old (Mic 6:6) or perhaps younger (Le 9:3; 12:6) to one three years old (Ge 15:9; compare Jer 34:18-19). It has been thought that the habitual use of this diminutive term for the golden bulls which Aaron and Jeroboam set up--especially as it is twice made feminine (Ho 10:5; 13:2)--was intended to indicate their small size and thus to express contempt for them. This however, though plausible, is by no means certain. It was not their size which made these bulls contemptible in the eyes of the prophets, and besides there were no life-size bulls of molten gold in any surrounding countries so far as known. The reference to female calves that were kissed (Ho 13:2), presumably at Bethel, may refer not to the worship of the bulls, but to their female counterparts, since in all other countries such female deities invariably accompanied the bull gods. Bethel may be especially mentioned because it was the "king's sanctuary" (Am 7:13) or because of the multitude of altars and high places found there (Ho 10:8; compare Ho 8:11; Am 5:26). False worship is also mentioned in connection with Jeroboam's apostasy, at Gilgal and Gilead (Ho 4:15; 12:11; Am 4:4; 5:5), Samaria (Ho 8:6;10:5; 13:2,16); and Beersheba (Am 5:5; 8:14) where no bulls had been set up by Jeroboam so far as stated. That these places receive more condemnation than Dan--which is explicitly mentioned in only one passage (Am 8:14) though it was a chief center of the bull worship (1Ki 12:30)--may be due to the fact that the worship of the female deity was the more popular. This was certainly true in neighboring countries and also in other cities in Palestine, as has recently been proved by the excavations (see below).

II. Ancient Calf Worship.

The origin of animal worship is hidden in obscurity, but reverence for the bull and cow is found widespread among the most ancient historic cults. Even in the prehistoric age the influence of the bull symbol was so powerful that it gave its name to one of the most important signs of the Zodiac, and from early historic times the horns of the bull were the familiar emblem of the rays of the sun, and solar gods were very commonly represented as bull-gods (Jensen, Kosmologie, 62-90; Winckler, Altorientalische Forschungen, 1901-5, passim; Jeremias, Das Alter der bah. Astronomie, 1909, passim). The Egyptians, close neighbors of the Hebrews, in all eras from that of the Exodus onward, worshipped living bulls at Memphis (not Mendes, as EB) and Hellopolls as incarnations of Ptah and Ra, while one of the most elaborate rituals was connected with the life-size image of the Hathor-cow (Naville, Deir el Bahari, Part I (1907), 163-67), while the sun was revered as the "valiant bull" and the reigning Pharaoh as "Bull of Bulls." But far more important in this connection is the fact that "calf" worship was almost if not quite universal among all the ancient Semitic peoples. If the immediate ancestors of Abraham did not revere this deity, they were certainly quite unlike their relatives, the Babylonians, among whom, according to all tradition, they lived before they migrated to Palestine (Ge 11:28,30; Josephus, Ant, I, vi, Ge 5:1-32), for the Babylonians revered the bull as the symbol of their greatest gods, Ann and Sin and Marduk--the ideograph of a young bullock forming a part of the latter's name--while Hadadrimmon, an important Amorite deity, whose attributes remarkably resemble those of Yahweh (see Ward,AJSL ,XXV , 175-85; Clay, Amurru (1909), 87-89), is pictured standing on the back of a bull. In Phoenicia also the bull was a sacred animal, as well as in northern Syria where it ranked as one of the chief Hittite deities its images receiving devout worship (see further, Sayce, Encyclopedia of Rel. and Ethics, under the word "Bull"). Among all these peoples the cow goddess was given at least equal honor. In Babylonia the goddess Ishtar has the cow for her symbol on very ancient seal cylinders, and when this nude or half-nude goddess appears in Palestine she often stands on a bull or cow (see William Hayes Ward, Cylinders and Other Ancient Oriental Seals), and under slightly different forms this same goddess is revered in Arabia, Moab, Phoenicia, Syria and elsewhere, while among the Semitic Canaanites the bull was the symbol of Baal, and the cow of Astarte (see particularly Barton, Hebraica,IX , 133-63; X, 1-74, and Semitic Origins, chapter vii; Driver, "Astarte" inDB ). Recent excavations in Palestine have shown that during all eras no heathen worship was as popular as that of Astarte in her various forms (see S. A. Cook, Rel. of Ancient Palestine, 1909). That she once is found wearing ram's horns (PEFS (1903), 227) only reveals her nature more clearly as the goddess of fertility. Her relation to the sacred fish at Carnion in Gilead and to the doves of Ascalon, as well as to female prostitution and to Nature's "resurrection" and fruitage, had been previously well known, as also her relation to the moon which governs the seasons. Is there any rational motif which can account for this widespread "calf" worship? Is it conceivable that this cult could so powerfully influence such intelligent and rather spiritually-minded nations as the Egyptians and Babylonians if it were wholly irrational and contained no spiritual content? And is there no rational explanation behind this constant fusion of the deity which controls the breeding of cattle with the deity which controls vegetation? How did the bull come to represent the "corn spirit," so that the running of a bull through the corn (the most destructive act) came to presage good crops; and how did the rending of a bull, spilling his life blood on the soil, increase fertility? (See Fraser, Golden Bough,II , 291-93, 344.) The one real controlling motif of all these various representations and functions of the "calf" god may be found in the ancient awe, especially among the Semites, for the Mystery of

 In the artistry of primitive religions the gods were depicted with definite characteristics that set them apart as deities.  Hindu gods were distinguished by their sky-blue skins and multiple appendages.  Egyptian gods were animal-headed, and they grasped the ankh, or crux ansata, symbolic of immortality.  Medieval artists distinguished Christ and the saints by means of halos.*  As for ancient Near Eastern deities, they were characteristically horned.  From the time of Sumer down to the eclipse of the Ugaritic pantheon, the heads of divinities bore the horns of either bulls or rams.

          When the Hebrews invaded Canaan they lived for centuries alongside native worshipers of the mighty bull god, Baal.  And as time passed, it was inevitable that Yahweh should come to resemble His chief antagonist in the minds of the people.  This melding of faiths was accurately described by the novelist James Michener:

In fact, when the average citizen...prostrated himself before Yahweh he could scarcely have explained which god he was worshiping, for El had passed into Baal and he into El-Shaddaiy and all into Yahweh...**

          It was explicitly stated in the Book of Numbers that God (Elohim) had “the horns of the wild ox” (24:8 RSV).***  And His throne was guarded by human-headed bulls called cherubim.  In fact, bulls were set up as golden images of Yahweh in the two rival temples of the ten northern tribes of Israel (1 Ki. 12:28-29).  And while it is true that this was scandalous in the eyes of the southern Judæans, who made no molten images of God, it is beyond question that they also carried this bull-god conception in their minds.

*The halo, aureola, or nimbus was developed from the Hellenic convention of placing a sunburst crown on the statues of deities - as with the spiked crown of the Statue of Liberty.

**The Source by James A. Michener, Random House, 1965, p. 205

***The “wild ox” intended here is, in fact, the primeval beast known as the aurochs, a giant-sized, untamed bison that was deemed more dangerous than a lion in ancient times.

          This situation was well described in a novel by Gladys Schmitt:

A household image stood upon a pedestal opposite the bed - Yahweh in the shape of an angry bull rearing in rage against a host of unseen enemies, hewn roughly and in visionary fury from porous reddish stone.  (David) gazed in wonderment at the image.  Such things were forbidden in Judah, nor was it considered any excuse for them that they were beautiful or reverend with age.

And suddenly he felt the presence of the God of hosts, the great body of the Warrior, covered with dragon scales and blowing the hot breath of the bull.  The God of Battles was with him, panting for blood.*

          No greater zealot for Yahweh’s integrity can be found in the Old Testament than the prophet Amos.  And yet, all the evidence shows that Amos tolerated the worship of his God in the form of a golden bull.**  This rough Judæan preacher burst into the rival temple at Bethel and railed against everything evil in the northern kingdom, but he never directly attacked the cult of bull worship.  The following allusions show that the bull image must have been acceptable to Amos.

...in the house*** of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.  Yet I (Yahweh) destroyed the Amorite before them...                                 (2:8b-9a)

Even though you offer me (Yahweh as the golden Bull) your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them (because of your unjust treatment of the poor - not because of the bull image).                     (5:22)

I saw Yahweh standing beside the altar...         (9:1)****

          The golden calf of the Exodus has been thought by some to have represented the Egyptian god Ptah incarnate in the sacred bull, Apis.  But the Zondervan Bible Dictionary takes another view:

*David The King by Gladys Schmitt, Dial Press, 1946, pp. 96, 263

**Actually, Yahweh as a Bull is no more offensive than Christ as a Lamb or the Holy Spirit as a Dove.

***Note that the “house” was the temple that enshrined the golden bull.

****Note that the Deity is seen standing beside His bull statue.

   Aaron made a golden image of a male calf in order that the people might worship Jehovah under this form (Exod. 32:4).  It is very unlikely that the Golden Calf was a representation of an Egyptian deity.  The feast held in connection with this worship was “a feast of Jehovah” (Exod. 32:5).

   After the division of the kingdom, Jeroboam set up two golden calves in his kingdom, one at Bethel and one at Dan (1 Ki. 12:29) because he feared that his people might desert him if they continued to worship in Jerusalem.  He was not trying to make heathenism the state religion, for the bull images were undoubtedly supposed to represent Jehovah.  In time, these images, at first recognized as symbols, came to be regarded as common idols (1 Kings 12:30, Hosea 12:11).

          The historian Will Durant has elaborated further:

As they first entered the historic scene the Jews were nomad Bedouins who feared the djinns of the air, and worshiped rocks, cattle, sheep, and the spirits of caves and hills.  The cult of the bull, the sheep, and the lamb was not neglected; Moses could never quite win his flock from the adoration of the Golden Calf, for the Egyptian worship of the bull was still fresh in their memories, and Yahweh was for a long time symbolized in that ferocious vegetarian.*

          The Bible scholar Harry Emerson Fosdick has also explained:

...even in the central temple at Jerusalem...grew up the worship of Yahweh under the likeness of bulls, such as Jeroboam set up at Dan and Bethel.  The story of Aaron and the golden calf in all probability was written in this later age to help understand the polluting identification of Yahweh’s worship with the adoration of bulls.**

*Our Oriental Heritage by Will Durant, Simon and Schuster, 1954, p. 309.

**A Guide To Understanding The Bible by Harry Emerson Fosdick, Harper ChapelBooks, 1965, p. 16

          In keeping with this idea, one may compare the two rival accounts of the Decalogue given in Exodus, chapters 20 and 34.  The Exodus 20 version, from Israel, denounced “other gods” and “graven (stone) images.”  But the Judæan version in Exodus 34 was explicitly directed against “molten gods,” doubtless in reference to the metalic bulls of Bethel and Dan.

          The archæologist William F. Albright confirmed this view.

...the erection of a “golden calf” at Dan...refers to an attempted return by the Israelites of Moses’ time to the ancient practice of representing the chief divinity in the form of a storm-god standing on a young bull...though we do not know whether or not the figure of the god standing on the young bull was supposed to be visible or invisible.  The latter was true later.  In view of the archaism of Exodus 32 and Jeroboam’s obvious intention, over 350 years later, to restore pre-Solomonic faith and practice rather than to create a new paganism, it is much safer to assume that the Israelites did not erect a visible image (of Yahweh atop the bull) at either Bethel or Dan.*

          Now, it should be noted that whenever a god was shown standing on a bull as his totem animal, he often incorporated the horns and tail of the animal with his his otherwise human features.  Thus, he remained himself a bull god.  In fact, the chief god of Babylon, who was identified with both the bull and the dragon, carried the meaningful name Marduk, which signified “Young Sun Bull.”

          Finally, bull gods were always associated with cow goddesses as their consorts.  And thus, Baal’s mistress was the bovine deity Anath.  So, it is significant that when the old god of Canaan, Baal, was dethroned by a new King of heaven, Yahweh, it was natural to some of the Hebrews that Yahweh should acquire the harem of the vanquished.

*Yahweh And The Gods Of Canaan by William Foxwell Albright, Doubleday, 1968, p. 197

          Evidence for this wife-stealing in heaven comes from documents attributed to a Jewish military garrison at Elephantine in Egypt.  These old records, written about 500 B.C. bear witness to the fact that the soldiers had built for themselves a temple for their God, Yahu (Yahweh), and for the goddess Anath-yahu.  Thus, they had married Yahweh to Baal’s former wife, the cow goddess of Canaan!

Cattle are considered sacred in world religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and others. Earlier religions in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Israel and Ancient Rome held similar beliefs.

Due to the multiple benefits from cattle, there are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions. In some regions, especially Nepal and some states in India, the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat may be taboo.

In Hinduism[edit]

Origins[edit]

Bull bas relief in Mamallapuram

Well-loved cow, Delhi

The cow has been a symbol of wealth since ancient days. However, they were neither inviolable nor revered in the same way they are today.^[1][2]

The cow was possibly revered because Hindus relied heavily on it for dairy products and for tilling the fields, and on cow dung as a source of fuel and fertilizer. Thus, the cow’s status as a 'caretaker' led to identifying it as an almost maternal figure (hence the termgau mata). In the olden days cattle being limited to select few fortunate folks, the cows enjoyed the status that gold or money enjoys today. In addition, it has been suggested by author and orator Terence McKenna that religious reverence for the cow is a result of early humankind's association of psilocybin mushroom with it, this association having developed as a result of the discovery of said mushrooms in the animal's excrement.^[3]

Hinduism is based on the concept of omnipresence of the Divine and the presence of a soul in all creatures, including bovines. Thus, by that definition, killing any animal would be a sin: One would be obstructing the natural cycle of birth and death of that creature, and the creature would have to be reborn in that same form because of its unnatural death. Krishna, one of the incarnations of god in Hindu mythology (Avatar), tended cows. The cow and bull represent the symbol of Dharma. Reverence for cows and bulls is in the major texts of the Vedic religion.^[4]

In South India and some parts of Sri Lanka, a cattle festival is celebrated. It is called as Mattu Pongal.

Sanskrit term[edit]

The most common word for cow is go, cognate with the English cow and Latin bos, all from Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) cognates *gwous. The Sanskrit word for cattle is paśu, from PIE *peḱu-. Other terms are dhenu cow and uks ox.

Milk cows are also called aghnya "that which may not be slaughtered".^[5] Depending on the interpretation of terminology used for a cow, the cow may have been protected.

The cow in the Hindu scriptures[edit]

Rig Veda