Cows in Ayurveda and Indian culture

August 15th, 2006

Cow holds a special place both in ayurveda and Indian culture. When it comes to ayurveda, the traditional system of Indian medications and treatments primarily uses gobar or cow dung and gomutra or cow urine for their special properties.

According to ayurveda both cow dung and urine are anti-septic. They have anti-bacterial and fungicidal action. Thus a filtrate of the suspension made by thoroughly mixing cow dung and water forms one of the main ingredients of skin ointments, which are useful in serious skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema and gangrene.

Even cow urine is quite effective in treating various skin and gastrointestinal problems. Problems concerning stomach and intestines are gastrointestinal in nature.

A number of cases of the skin conditions that I came across in the various yoga camps in the country were successfully treated with formulations based on cow dung and urine combined with yoga.

“I have been doing yoga and applying ayurvedic formulations for the last six months; the chronic psoriasis patches on most of the places on my body have disappeared,” told a young patient to the participants of one of the biggest yoga camps held outside India, in Leicester, UK. The patient, a doctor herself, had lived with her skin condition for more than two decades.

Both cow dung and urine are also used for their cleansing properties. Cow urine is particularly used to treat severe constipation. A dose of 10-40 ml of cow urine, which is filtered and refined, is given as medication to patients with serious constipation. Cow urine is given to children suffering from worms in their intestines. Hence it has wormicidal properties as well.

Cow dung is used in traditional Indian homes to paint earthen floors for its anti-insect and anti-bacterial qualities. Holy fire lit up during the worship of Indian deities is made from dehydrated cow dung, refined butter made from cow milk and camphor. The fire produced thus is believed to act as an air cleanser. It can drive away the house flies and other common household insects.

More than 70% of India population lives in rural areas. A survey points out that more than 80% of this population uses dehydrated cow dung, with or without wood, to fire their basic cooking burners.

In the tribal district of central India where I have my integrated agricultural project, the local tribals mix fresh cow dung with the ashes from the previous day fire. The mixture is turned into round semisolid portions that are dried up in the sun. This serves as an exclusive source of fuel for cooking in a majority of households in the tribal and poor rural India.

Thus cows in India sustain not only the oldest medical system in the world, they maintain a culture and a religion as well.

Entry Filed under: Ayurveda