Thread
Cows are sacred in Hinduism because they are the ideal food and source of materials. Not eating cows because they're sacred is a relatively recent psyop.
Most Hindus in India would probably call their own scriptures fake news with how many references there are to beef consumption.
Replies (2)
It's all a conspiracy by "Big Goat" 👀
I’m not sure coordinated psyops were underway 1500 years ago in India.🤷
👇From Chat GPT
Here is the historically accepted progression:
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1. Early Vedic period (c. 1500–1000 BCE): cows were valued, not forbidden
In the earliest Vedic texts:
• Cows were economically central (milk, butter/ghee, dung for fuel, traction).
• Animal sacrifice did occur, and cattle may occasionally have been eaten, especially in ritual or elite contexts.
• Even then, cows were already symbolically important and associated with wealth and status.
Key point: cows were respected, but not absolutely protected.
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2. Later Vedic → Upanishadic period (c. 1000–500 BCE): shift toward non-violence
Major philosophical changes occurred:
• Growing emphasis on ahimsa (non-violence).
• Ritual sacrifice began to be questioned and symbolised rather than literal.
• Cows increasingly framed as providers rather than consumables.
This period marks the moral turning point.
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3. Influence of Jainism and Buddhism (c. 600–200 BCE)
Two major movements strongly reinforced cow protection:
• Jainism: radical non-violence; killing animals strictly prohibited.
• Buddhism: rejection of ritual animal sacrifice and emphasis on compassion.
Hindu thinkers responded by:
• Absorbing ahimsa into mainstream Hindu ethics.
• Distancing Hindu identity from sacrificial killing.
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4. Classical Hinduism (c. 200 BCE–500 CE): cow becomes sacred
By this period:
• Texts like the Dharmashastras explicitly condemn cow slaughter.
• The cow is framed as “Gau Mata” (Mother Cow).
• Killing a cow is equated with severe moral pollution or sin.
At the same time:
• Dairy (milk, curd, ghee) becomes central to ritual and diet.
• Protecting cows is linked to social order (dharma).
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5. Medieval period (c. 1000–1700 CE): identity marker
During Islamic rule in parts of India:
• Beef consumption by Muslim communities contrasted with Hindu taboos.
• Cow protection became a clear religious boundary marker.
• Hindu rulers often enacted bans on cow slaughter in their territories.
The taboo became socially absolute for most Hindu communities.
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6. Colonial & modern period (1700s–present): politicisation
Under British rule and later:
• Cow protection movements became tied to Hindu nationalism.
• Post-independence India enshrined cow protection in many state laws.
• Today, avoidance of beef is both a religious practice and a cultural-political symbol.
