Ellsworth American., 1883-12-06
Riot at Delhi.
QUARREL ABOUT SACRED cow.
THr uINnoo REGARD FOR THE GODDESS
oF ARUSnANCT."

London Telegraph
riot that recently occurred at Delhi. be
tween III, lIindoo and Mohammcdan residents
~ that famous city strikes A strange note in
tic usual routine of days news. In the
midst ~ the usual intelligence OF accident and
crime. political mplcation> and social events.
the telegraph informs u that our fellow sub
icyi- ia the old World capital % the Moguls
have been fighting about COW. The No
h4,nmcdan, have been celebrating their Fed
festival. and parties OF them, a usual had
combined for the purchase Of animals for the
evening" feast. Dne Of the kline thus OBJ
tanned. however. wa> claimed by the Hindoo-
= a dependent of 3 temple devoted 10 their
god. and therefore Itself sacred. Moreover.
they gave 4 certain degree of evidence 10 prove
the sincerity of their statement by offering 70
buy back the cow for the sum of hundred
pounds probably twenty times the value of
ihc animal. Nevertheless the Mohammcdan>
refused to part with il. and persisted in drag
King the cow of to The >laughieT-hou>e. The
Hindoo> thereon attempted rescue, and the
result was q serious atlray. which wa, only
quellcd hy the appearance Of the chief Euro
pean, officials and strong force 81 police. 4
few wears aro the same cause Of quarrel might
have suhicc,l 10 raise general iumut. or even
10 kindic in the city - blaze, both literally and
mctaphorically In all India probably no
single act could be pcrpeiraied more likely to
lead At once TO hood>hcI and disaster than IN
insult 10y Mohammcdan> 10 the sacred presence
ii a temple cow.
No animal in all the range OF zoolatry has
ever arrived at such diguiiic- a. the IIindoo
COW. I'll, monkey j. sufficiently sacred. and
il goe> hard with the novice who. unconscious
~ biz -acric-,. shoots thc village pcacock>.
In ether countries, a. in The case ~ the do
ami hahpon. bull and ram. crocodile. hawk. and
hi uf ancient Egypt. Or the eagle ami crow.
SNAKE. wolf. shark and pike Of the modern
clan-:niua worship. many birds and beasts.
reptiles and fishes. have attracted TO themselves
the homage Of nations. But, putting them all
together. whether in fur. feather or scales.
they do not collectively outweigh the -tupend-
ou> sanctiiy with which Brahmani,in has In
vested the COW.
The bull shares in some degree i'll partner.
honor,. and in the more exclusively Hindoo
towns sacred cattle Of both sexes lounge the
streets. No place i forbidden TO them. and
they are free TO every stall Wherever they
choose 10 feed. there they at liberty 10 cat
and wherever they choose to lie down that
place j. theirs. The swee,meat seller NAV
bride the sacred beast with a lump Of sugar
stuff 10 pass on to the next stall. or the grain
seller may exchange a chaity OF cheaper grain
for tlia; into which The fa>tidious beast has
plunged IL black muzzle. Yet they are never
struck and seldom reproached, except with
qualifying phrases OF respect. in which the
merchant deprecatc> his lour-egscd visitors
displea>ure or apologies for hi refusal Of
more Yiands on the score Of his own poverty
The COW. and not the bull. however. j. prc-em-
inently the object OF worship.
When Branma. the Al-Father took upon
himself the beneficent function OF creation he
first made gods and then the holy men, and the
COW and the Brahman We're produced by
tho same act Of creative power. So Brahman-
ism and the cow are inseparable, and the ami
NAL, the twin. a. it were, OF the holy twice
BORN takes rank above many castes Of men,
To save the lie Of COW, 10 do il a service. TO
tu ~ III slChlltss. 10 Tthtr IL Al all Times. are
almost advantageous IN the hereafter as IL
the same acts had been done toward Brah-
man. To Kill 4 COW. 10 wound il. or TO insult
il. j. reckoned. in the full austerity OF Brah-
manism. more heinou> offence than similar
wrongs inflicted upon the lowest castes OF hu-
man beings. The mere act Of eating ..ghee''-
clarified butter-condones many sins, while the
consumption of 1.-The five products Of the COW
cleanses from all pollution.
Everything that could be seen In nature and
nearly everything that could be guessed at.
found symbolical representation in the same
idea Of the eow-''the mother Of the Gods"
goddess Of abundance" ''chersher OF man."
80 TO this day we find it in Hindoo zoolatry a.
the supreme expression OF the kindliness OF
the powers Of nature 10 man. and authentic
proof of the goodness Of the gods Though
all the herds that other peoples worshiped
have gone from the earth with the credulities
upon which they pastured. the bull OF SILVA
and the COW of Brahma have still their altars
in thousand temples. and arrogate the
central dignity in a religion which has 2OO. .OOO,-
600 believers. TO this day Hindoos devoutlv
believe in kamadhuk. the ..Cow Of Plenty"
which yields in Heaven, from her exuberant
ud'iers, every gift and blessing which the spir-