[Advaita-l] 1966

[Venkata sriram P]

Namaste,
 
bhArata dEsa is also called “gO-vrata dEsa” as it was the only
nation that worshipped cows as parA-shakti.  
 
Among different breed of cows, it is the kriShNa & kapila
varNa cows that are supposed to be auspicious.  
 
These kriShNa varNa cows were very much found in
abundance in Andhra dEsa and the language spoken
there ie., “telugu” is also derived from the presence of
kriShNa varna cows in abundance.  
 
“sarasAH tilavat gAvO yatra santi sahasrasaH sa dEsa 
tilagu rnAma”
 
In the above verse, the word “tila” implies tila seeds
which are black in colour.  
 
So, the area where “tilavat gAvO” ie., black cows
are found in abundance, such an area was called “tilagu” 
dEsa ie., tila-gu.  Tila = kriShNa / gu = cows.
 
So, tilagu got corrupted as “telugu” eventually and
this stuck as the andhra bhAsha.
 
Even the word “hin” & “du” refers to the culture of 
gO-vrata & gO-pUja.  So, we can say that gO-pUja
was an integral part of our sanAtana dharma.
 
In Rg veda (1-164-28), the mantra says :
 
“hin”kurvantIva supatni vasUnAM vatsamicchanti manasAbhyAgAt
“du”hAmashvibhyAM payO aghnEyaM sA vardhatAM mahatE saubhagAya
 
The cow is invoked by ishwarya-kAmuka as parAshakti and prayed
for growth of one’s progeny.  The above verse indicates the 
importance of gO-vrata.  
 
Regs,
Sriram