Kamdhenu The Wish Cow

Author(s): Gunvant Barvalia
Publisher: Ahimsa Research Foundation

Page 67

WOW
KAMADHENU
LOVING SERVICE TO THE COW ESTABLISHES EVEN AN
ILLITERATE AS A RISHI
We get to see inspiring examples of service rendered to cows by great rulers like King Dilip, Rama and Krishna of ancient India.
Raghuvansha has a wonderful description of King Dilip serving the Nandini Cow. There the King rescues the cow from the clutches of a Lion. In the Jain religion, service to Cows and the Cattle Kingdom has been given a great importance from the very beginning. Several rich shravak-shravikas who were Bhagawan Mahaveer's disciples were endowed with such enormous cattle wealth which is well beyond our imagination. Such places, which could support ten thousand cows at a time, used to be called Vraj or Gokul. Bhagawan Mahaveer's disciples Anand, Kamdev, Chullashatak, Phundakaushik, Suradev, Mahashatak etc., each had several such Gokuls. Pujya Vijayasenji, Pujya Hirvijayji and Pujya Shantidasmuni were well known for their efforts in protecting cows.
Nandini-pita and Shalini-pita of Shravasta each had 40,000 cows. Mahashatak's wife had received 80,000 cows. Bhagawan Buddha's disciple Dhananjay Seth had gifted his daughter so many cows, which occupied a land that was three mile long and nearly 500 feet wide, in her wedding. We can get an indication of what the cattle wealth of India was in the olden days.
<65