{"id":1761,"date":"2014-01-03T10:18:52","date_gmt":"2014-01-03T10:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vedkabhed.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/03\/cows-excreta-as-medicine-insult-to-humanity\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T06:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T06:42:31","slug":"cows-excreta-as-medicine-insult-to-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vedkabhed.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/03\/cows-excreta-as-medicine-insult-to-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Cow\u2019s Excreta as Medicine: Insult to Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Srinivas Kakkilaya<\/a><\/p>\n

The cow is, at the least, an animal domesticated by man for help in agricultural activities.[1]\u00a0 Although the mighty machines now used in farming have made these animals irrelevant in agriculture, valiant attempts are being made, at least in India, to preserve the exalted position of the so called \u2018second mother\u2019 [2] or even \u2018mother of the world\u2019 [3,4].
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\n<\/span> The stringent agitations to protect the \u2018cow-mother\u2019 [4,5] and even riots and murders of dalits for the sake of the cow,[6,7] suggest that the human life is far less important than a dead cow in this part of the world.[7] This extraordinary reverence for the cow has led to the development and marketing of many \u2018products\u2019 made from the secretions and excretions of the cow, with claims that these products may be more \u2018lucrative\u2019 than even the dairy.[8]\n\u2018Cow Products\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The list of \u2018products\u2019 developed from the milk and excreta of the cow is quite long. Panchagavya<\/a><\/em>and cow urine distillate (gau arka<\/a><\/em>) are the most quoted of these preparations.
\nPanchagavy<\/em> is a blend of five (pancha<\/em>) products obtained from the cow (gavya<\/em> = from gau<\/em>) \u2013 the dung, urine, milk, ghee and curd.[9,10] Three preparations of cow\u2019s urine, namely gau-mutra asav<\/em> (fermented preparation), gau-arka<\/em> (or distillate) and Ganavati <\/em>(or tablet) are also used as medicines.[8,11] Two US patents have also been obtained for the gau -arka<\/em> [11] and this fact has been highlighted over and over again.
\nVarious products from the cow have been suggested as a successful remedy against more than hundred diseases, from fever to cancer.[8,11,12] <\/strong>Panchagavya<\/em> is most reverentially used as a \u2018body and soul cleanser\u2019, following the birth or death of a family member. It has also been suggested as a medicine and more profusely as a pesticidal spray for plants and as a soil enriching manure.[10]\n

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Very recently, panchagavya has been suggested as a remedy for chikungunya as well.[13] Cow\u2019s urine has been used in the preparations of hair oil, shampoo, skin cream etc.[8]\u00a0Preparations like soap, nasal powder, body powder, body cream, incense sticks, tooth powder etc. have been prepared from the cow dung and recommended for medical use[8]. Probably to add sanctity to the entire gamut of these \u2018medications\u2019, it has been claimed that Indian pure breed cows have \u2018immunology power\u2019<\/a> from 90% to 98% while the cows of mixed breed have less than 40%.[11]<\/blockquote>\n

The \u2018evidence’:<\/strong>
\nCurious to know about Panchagavya<\/em>, I asked an Ayurveda physician about its utility. She briefed me about all the virtues of the gau mutra<\/em> (cow\u2019s urine), gau maya<\/em> (cow dung) and Panchagavya<\/em>, quoting the Charaka Samhita. But how can we, living in the 21st century,\u00a0 rely on an ancient text to justify the use of these excreta, I wondered. All these have been well studied by Charaka, she told me. May be, but the concept of biochemical molecules (and the modern biochemical analysers) and of microbes (and the means of isolating them) were non-existent during Charaka\u2019s time, I countered. But the cow\u2019s urine hasn\u2019t changed since Charaka\u2019s time, she averred. I was dumbstruck!
\nMost articles on the virtues of cow\u2019s excreta extensively quote from scriptures and the Charaka Samhita. Here are some of these arguments:<\/p>\n

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