প্রভু কহে,—বেদে কহে গোবধ নিষেধ অতএব হিন্দুমাত্র না করে গোবধ
प्रभु कहे,—वेदे कहे गोवध निषेध अतएव हिन्दुमात्र ना करे गोवध
prabhu kahe,—vede kahe go-vadha niṣedha ataeva hindu-mātra nā kare go-vadha
Synonyms
prabhu kahe—the Lord replied; vede—in the Vedas; kahe—is enjoined; go-vadha—cow killing; niṣedha—prohibition; ataeva—therefore; hindu—Hindu; mātra—any; nā—does not; kare—execute; go-vadha—cow killing..
Translation
Refuting the Kazi's statement, the Lord immediately replied, "The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Therefore any Hindu, whoever he may be, does not indulge in cow killing.
Purport
In the Vedic scriptures there are concessions for meat-eaters. It is said that if one wants to eat meat, he should kill a goat before the goddess Kālī and then eat its meat. Meat-eaters are not allowed to purchase meat or flesh from a market or slaughterhouse. There are no sanctions for maintaining regular slaughterhouses to satisfy the tongues of meat-eaters. As far as cow killing is concerned, it is completely forbidden. Since the cow is considered a mother, how could the Vedas allow cow killing? Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu pointed out that the Kazi's statement was faulty. In Bhagavad-gītā there is a clear injunction that cows should be protected. Kṛṣi-gorakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam: "The duty of vaiśyas is to produce agricultural products, trade and give protection to cows." (Bg. 18.44) Therefore it is a false statement that the Vedic scriptures contain injunctions permitting cow killing.