The Sanskrit word for a cow is ‘gauhu’ — it simply means that which walks. But it is a word that is special to cows, even though all animals walk. Just as bulls helped people move because bullock carts were a means of transportation – this is another reason for the use of the word ‘gauhu’, indicating movement. It is said that if a person gives cows as daana, he can walk to svarga. So here again, movement is involved, and hence the use of the word ‘gauhu’ for the cow. There are many words in Sanskrit for the cow, and each of them has a deep meaning, Velukkudi Krishnan said in a discourse.
Maaheyi is a reference to the calf of a cow. The cow mother is worshipped, and hence the calf gets this name. Arjunee means a white cow. Kapila is the word used to refer to the cow which must be brought near the sanctum sanctorum during Visvaroopa darshan in Vishnu temples. Fresh, unboiled milk is the first offering made to the deity. The bull is the vahana of Lord Siva. Thus the cow is sacred to both Saivites and Vaishnavites.
Vasistha owned a cow called Sabalaa, which could give anything that Vasistha sought from her. Visvamitra wanted this cow, and Vasistha’s refusal to give it to him was the root cause of the disagreements between them. Agni, gold, ghee, the Sun, water and cows are said to be symbols of auspiciousness.
There are many different words for cows mentioned in different Sanskrit texts. Some of the words used for a cow in Sanskrit are — saurabheya, usraa, mahendri, rohini, ijyaa, dhenu, aghnya, bhadraa, kalyani, paavani, gauri, surabhi, anadvaahee, bahula, mahee, sarasvati, usriya, aditi and jagati.
One gets the benefits of performing many yagas through ‘go daana’. The Bhavishya Purana says that going a round a cow once is equivalent to circumambulating the Earth.
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