Kamadhenu

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For other uses, see Kamadhenu (disambiguation).
"Surabhi" redirects here. For other uses, see Surabhi (disambiguation).

Kamadhenu
The Cow Mother
Goddess of
Vashista
Genealogy
ConsortKashyapa
ChildrenNandini, Dhenu, Harschika and Subhadra

Kamadhenu (

Hindu veneration of cows
, who are regarded as her earthly embodiments.

Hindu scriptures provide diverse accounts of the birth of Kamadhenu. While some narrate that she emerged from

Vashista (both ancient sages), and that kings who tried to steal her from the sage ultimately faced dire consequences for their actions. Kamadhenu plays the important role of providing milk and milk products to be used in her sage-master's oblations; she is also capable of producing fierce warriors to protect him. In addition to dwelling in the sage's hermitage, she is also described as dwelling in Goloka—the realm of the cows—and Patala
, the netherworld.

Etymology

Kamadhenu is often addressed by the proper name Surabhi or Shurbhi, which is also used as a synonym for an ordinary cow.

Matrika ("mother") goddess.[4] Other proper names attributed to Kamadhenu are Sabala ("the spotted one") and Kapila ("the red one").[5]

The epithets "Kamadhenu" (कामधेनु), "Kamaduh" (कामदुह्) and "Kamaduha" (कामदुहा) literally mean the cow "from whom all that is desired is drawn"—"the cow of plenty".[5][6] In the Mahabharata and Devi Bhagavata Purana, in the context of the birth of Bhishma, the cow Nandini is given the epithet Kamadhenu.[7] In other instances, Nandini is described as the cow-daughter of Surabhi-Kamadhenu. The scholar Vettam Mani considers Nandini and Surabhi to be synonyms of Kamadhenu.[2]

Iconography and symbolism

In a poster condemning the consumption of beef, the sacred cow Kamadhenu is depicted as containing various deities within her body.

According to Indologist

the sacred cow, who is regarded as the source of all prosperity in Hinduism.[5] Kamadhenu is regarded as a form of Devi (the Hindu Divine Mother)[8] and is closely related to the fertile Mother Earth (Prithvi), who is often described as a cow in Sanskrit.[5][8] The sacred cow denotes "purity and non-erotic fertility, ... sacrificing and motherly nature, [and] sustenance of human life".[8]

Frederick M. Smith describes Kamadhenu as a "popular and enduring image in Indian art".[9] All the gods are believed to reside in the body of Kamadhenu—the generic cow. Her four legs are the scriptural Vedas; her horns are the triune gods Brahma (tip), Vishnu (middle) and Shiva (base); her eyes are the sun and moon gods, her shoulders the fire-god Agni and the wind-god Vayu and her legs the Himalayas. Kamadhenu is often depicted in this form in poster art.[9][10]

Another representation of Kamadhenu shows her with the body of a white Zebu cow, crowned woman's head, colourful eagle wings and a peacock's tail. According to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this form is influenced by the iconography of the Islamic Buraq, who is portrayed with a horse's body, wings, and a woman's face. Contemporary poster art also portrays Kamadhenu in this form.[9][11]

A cow, identified with Kamadhenu, is often depicted accompanying the god

Panch Bhuta (the five classical elements) in the icon. Dattatreya is sometimes depicted holding the divine cow in one of his hands.[8]

Birth and children

Kamadhenu (left, 2nd from top) depicted in a scene of the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean

The

Saptarishi, the seven great seers.[9] She was ordered by the creator-god Brahma to give milk, and supply it and ghee ("clarified butter") for ritual fire-sacrifices.[10]

The

Satapatha Brahmana also tells a similar tale: Prajapati created Surabhi from his breath.[3] The Udyoga Parva book of the Mahabharata narrates that the creator-god Brahma drank so much amrita that he vomited some of it, from which emerged Surabhi.[2][13]

According to the

Krodhavasha, a daughter of Daksha. Her daughters Rohini and Gandharvi are the mothers of cattle and horses respectively. Still, it is Surabhi who is described as the mother of all cows in the text.[14] However, in the Puranas, such as Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana, Surabhi is described as the daughter of Daksha and the wife of Kashyapa, as well as the mother of cows and buffaloes.[2][15]

The

Harivamsa, an appendix of the Mahabharata, calls Surabhi the mother of amrita, Brahmins, cows, and the Rudras.[17]

Kamadhenu pictured with her calf

The

Bali Pratipada day.[2][18]

Various other scriptural references describe Surabhi as the mother of the Rudras including

Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa mentions that the king Dilipa—an ancestor of god Rama—once passed by Kamadhenu-Surabhi, but failed to pay respects to her, thus incurring the wrath of the divine cow, who cursed the king to be rendered childless. Since Kamadhenu had gone to Patala, the guru of Dilipa, Vasishtha advised the king to serve Nandini, Kamadhenu's daughter, who was in the hermitage. The king and his wife propitiated Nandini, who neutralized her mother's curse and blessed the king to have a son, who was named Raghu.[21]

In the Ramayana, Surabhi is described to be distressed by the treatment of her sons—the oxen—in fields. Her tears are considered a bad omen for the gods by Indra, the god-king of heaven.[14] The Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata also narrates a similar instance: Surabhi cries about the plight of her son—a bullock, who is overworked and beaten by his peasant-master. Indra, moved by Surabhi's tears, rains to stop the ploughing of the tormented bullock.[22]

Wealth and protector of the Brahmins

Kamadhenu is often associated with the Brahmins (the priesthood class, especially sages), whose wealth she symbolises. Cow's milk and its derivatives such as ghee (clarified butter) are integral parts of Vedic fire sacrifices, which are conducted by Brahmin priests; thus she is sometimes also referred to as Homadhenu—the cow from whom oblations are drawn. Moreover, the cow also offers the Brahmins—who are prohibited to fight—protection against abusive kings who try to harm them. As a goddess, she becomes a warrior, creating armies to protect her master and herself.[5]

Jamadagni's cow

Parshurama slaying Kartavirya Arjuna as Kamadhenu and her calf flee

A legend narrates that the sacred cow Kamadhenu resided with sage Jamadagni. The earliest version of the legend, which appears in the epic Mahabharata, narrates that the thousand-armed Haihaya king, Kartavirya Arjuna, destroyed Jamadagni's hermitage and captured the calf of Kamadhenu. To retrieve the calf, Jamadagni's son Parashurama slew the king, whose sons in turn killed Jamadagni. Parashurama then destroyed the kshatriya ("warrior") race 21 times and his father is resurrected by divine grace.[23] Similar accounts of the abduction of the celestial cow or her calf, the killing of Jamadagni by Kartavirya Arjuna, and the revenge of Parashurama resulting in the death of Kartavirya Arjuna, exist in other texts. The Bhagavata Purana mentions that the king abducted Kamadhenu as well as her calf and Parashurama defeated the king and returned the kine to his father.[23] The Padma Purana mentions that when Kartavirya Arjuna tried to capture her, Kamadhenu, by her own power, defeated him and his army and flew off to heaven; the enraged king then killed Jamadagni.[23]

In the Brahmanda Purana, Kamadhenu creates a great city by her power to accommodate Kartavirya Arjuna's army, when they visit Jamadagni's hermitage. On returning to his kingdom, Kartavirya Arjuna's minister, Chandragupta, persuades him to capture the divine cow. The minister returns to the hermitage and tries to convince the sage to give away the cow, but to no avail, so he tries to snatch Kamadhenu with force. In the ensuing fight, the sage is killed, but Kamadhenu escapes to the sky and Chandragupta takes her calf with him instead.[23] The Brahmanda Purana narrates this Kamadhenu Sushila was given to Jamadagni by the Kamadhenu-Surabhi, who governs in Goloka.[2]

The Brahma Vaivarta Purana narrates that the celestial cow – called Kapila here – produces various weapons and an army to aid Jamadagni defeat the king's army, who had come to seize her. When the king himself challenged Jamadagni for battle, Kapila instructed her master in martial arts. Jamadagni led the army created by Kapila and defeated the king and his army several times; each time sparing the life of the king. Finally, with the aid of a divine spear granted to him by the god Dattatreya, the king killed Jamadagni.[23]

Vasishtha's cow

The

Yavana lineage. From her mouth emerged the Kambojas, from her udder Barvaras, from her hind Yavanas and Shakas, and from pores on her skin, Haritas, Kiratas and other foreign warriors. Together, the army of Sabala killed Vishvamitra's army and all his sons. This event led to a great rivalry between Vasishtha and Vishvamitra, who renounced his kingdom and became a great sage to defeat Vasishtha.[24]

Abodes

Kamadhenu-Surabhi's residence varies depending on different scriptures. The Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata tells how she was given the ownership of Goloka, the cow-heaven located above the three worlds (heaven, earth and netherworld): the daughter of Daksha, Surabhi went to Mount Kailash and worshipped Brahma for 10,000 years. The pleased god conferred goddess-hood on the cow and decreed that all people would worship her and her children – cows. He also gave her a world called Goloka, while her daughters would reside on earth among humans.[2][3][25]

In one instance in the Ramayana, Surabhi is described to live in the city of Varuna – the lord of the oceans – which is situated below the earth in Patala (the netherworld). Her flowing sweet milk is said to form Kshiroda or the Kshira Sagara, the cosmic milk ocean.[14] In the Udyoga Parva book of the Mahabharata, this milk is said to be of six flavours and has the essence of all the best things of the earth.[13][26] The Udyoga Parva specifies that Surabhi inhabits the lowest realm of Patala, known as Rasatala, and has four daughters – the Dikpalis – the guardian cow goddesses of the heavenly quarters: Saurabhi in the east, Harhsika in the south, Subhadra in the west, and Dhenu in the north.[3][13]

Apart from Goloka and Patala, Kamadhenu is also described as residing in the hermitages of the sages Jamadagni and Vasishtha. The scholar Mani explains the contradicting stories of Kamadhenu's birth and presence in the processions of many gods and sages by stating that while there could be more than one Kamadhenu, all of them are incarnations of the original Kamadhenu, the mother of cows.[2]

The Bhagavad Gita, a discourse by the god Krishna in the Mahabharata, twice refers to Kamadhenu as Kamaduh.[27] In verse 3.10, Krishna makes a reference to Kamaduh while conveying that for doing one's duty, one would get the milk of one's desires. In verse 10.28, when Krishna declares to the source of the universe, he proclaims that among cows, he is Kamaduh.[28]

In the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata, the god

lingam (symbol of Shiva)—emerged before them. The decided that whoever among them was able to discover the end of this pillar would be deemed superior. Brahma flew towards the skies to try to find the northern end of the pillar, but failed. So, Brahma forced Surabhi (in some versions, Surabhi instead suggested that Brahma should lie) to falsely testify to Vishnu that Brahma had seen the top of the lingam; Shiva punished Surabhi for her dishonesty by declaring hat her bovine offspring would consume unholy substances. This tale appears in the Skanda Purana.[30]

Worship

Some temples and houses have images of Kamadhenu, which are worshipped.

Monier-Williams's words: "It is rather the living animal [the cow] which is the perpetual object of adoration".[31] Cows are often fed outside temples and worshipped regularly on all Fridays and on special occasions. Every cow to "a pious Hindu" is regarded as an avatar (earthly embodiment) of the divine Kamadhenu.[33]

See also
  • Cattle in religion
  • Nandi (bull)

Notes

  1. ^ Sanskrit Heritage Dictionary - सुरभि surabhi (in French)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mani pp. 379–81
  3. ^
    Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics
    . Vol. 4. pp. 225–6.
  4. ^ Monier-Williams, Monier (2008) [1899]. "Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary". Universität zu Köln. p. 1232.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-226-06456-7
    .
  6. ^ Monier-Williams, Monier (2008) [1899]. "Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary". Universität zu Köln. p. 272.
  7. ^ Vijñanananda, Swami (1921–1922). "The S'rîmad Devî Bhâgawatam: Book 2: Chapter 3". Sacred texts archive. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7914-3695-0
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-0-231-13748-5
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-81-8056-373-7
    .
  11. ^ "Kamadhenu, The Wish-Granting Cow". Philadelphia Museum of Art. 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  12. ^ Ganguli, Kisari Mohan (1883–1896). "SECTION LXXVII". The Mahabharata: Book 13: Anusasana Parva. Sacred texts archive.
  13. ^ a b c Ganguli, Kisari Mohan (1883–1896). "SECTION CII". The Mahabharata: Book 5: Udyoga Parva. Sacred texts archive.
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-81-208-0078-6
    .
  15. ^ Aadhar, Anand. "Bhagavata Purana: Canto 6: Chapter 6: The Progeny of the Daughters of Daksha". Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  16. ISBN 978-81-307-0533-0
    .
  17. ^ Hopkins p. 173
  18. ^ Vijñanananda, Swami (1921–1922). "The S'rîmad Devî Bhâgawatam: On the anecdote of Surabhi". Sacred texts archive. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  19. ISBN 978-0-89281-354-4
    .
  20. ISBN 978-0-226-84663-7
    .
  21. ISBN 978-81-208-0861-4
    .
  22. ISBN 978-0-226-84664-4
    .
  23. ^
    ISBN 978-81-7017-316-8
    .
  24. ISBN 978-0-88706-862-1
    .
  25. ^ Ganguli, Kisari Mohan (1883–1896). "SECTION LXXXIII". The Mahabharata: Book 13: Anusasana Parva. Sacred texts archive.
  26. ^ Hopkins pp. 16, 119
  27. ISBN 978-0-520-33086-3
    .
  28. ^ Radhakrishan, S. (1977). "Verses 3.10, 10.28". The Bhagavadgita. Blackie & Son (India) Ltd. pp. 135, 264.
  29. ^ Ganguli, Kisari Mohan. "SECTION XVII". The Mahabharata: Book 13: Anusasana Parva archive.
  30. ISBN 978-1-85984-424-3
    .
  31. ^ a b c Monier-Williams, Monier (1887). Brahmanism and Hinduism:Religious Thought and Life in India. London Murray.
  32. ISBN 978-0-226-89483-6
    .
  33. ^ Rao, T.A. Gopinatha (1916). Elements of Hindu iconography. Vol. 1: Part I. Madras: Law Printing House. p. 13.

References

  • Media related to Kamadhenu at Wikimedia Commons
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