"'"Vasishtha said, 'The kine that had been created in a former age
practised the austerest penances for a hundred thousand years with the
desire of attaining to a position of great pre-eminence. Verily, O
scorcher of foes, they said unto themselves,--"We shall, in this world,
become the best of all kinds of Dakshina in sacrifices, and we shall not
be liable to be stained with any fault! By bathing in water mixed with
our dung people shall become sanctified. The deities and men shall use
our dung for the purpose of purifying all creatures mobile and immobile.
They also that will give us away shall attain to those regions of
happiness which will be ours."[376]--The puissant Brahman, appearing unto
them at the conclusion of their austerities, gave them the boons they
sought, saying,--"it shall be as ye wish! Do ye (thus) rescue all the
worlds!"--Crowned with fruition in respect of their wishes, they all rose
up,--those mothers of both the Past and the Future. Every morning, people
should bow with reverence unto kine. As the consequence of this, they are
certain to win prosperity. At the conclusion of their penances O monarch,
kine became the refuge of the world. It is for this that kine are said to
be highly blessed, sacred, and the foremost of all things. It is for this
that kine are said to stay at the very head of all creatures. By giving
away a Kapila cow with a calf resembling herself, yielding a copious
measure of milk, free from every vicious habit, and covered with a piece of
cloth, the giver attains to great honours in the region of Brahma. By
giving away a cow of red complexion, with a calf that resembles herself,
yielding milk, free from every vice, and covered with a piece of cloth,
one attains to great honours in the region of Surya. By giving away a cow
of variegated hue, with a calf similar to herself, yielding milk, free
from every vice, and covered with a piece of cloth, one attains to great
honours in the region of Soma. By giving away a cow of white complexion,
with a calf similar to herself, yielding milk, free from every vice, and
covered with a piece of cloth, one attains to great honours in the region
of Indra. By giving away a cow of dark complexion, with a calf similar to
herself, yielding milk, free from every vice, and covered with a piece of
cloth, one attains to great honours in the region of Agni. By giving away
a cow of the complexion of smoke, with a calf similar to herself,
yielding milk, free from every vice, and covered with a piece of cloth,
one attains to great honours in the region of Yama. By giving away a cow
of the complexion of the foam of water, with a calf and a vessel of white
brass for milking her, and covered with a piece of cloth, one attains to
the region of Varuna. By giving away a cow whose complexion is like that
of the dust blown by the wind, with a calf, and a vessel of white brass
for milking her, and covered with a piece of cloth, one attains to great
honours in the region of the Wind-god. By giving a cow of the complexion
of gold, having eyes of a tawny hue with a calf and a vessel of white
brass for milking her and covered with a piece of cloth, one enjoys the
felicity of the region of Kuvera. By giving away a cow of the complexion
of the smoke of straw, with a calf and a vessel of white brass for
milking her, and covered with a piece of cloth, one attains to great
honours in the region of the Pitris. By giving away a fat cow with the
flesh of its throat hanging down and accompanied by her calf, one attains
with ease to the high region of the Viswedevas. By giving away a Gouri
cow, with calf similar to her, yielding milk, free from every vice, and
covered with a piece of cloth, one attains to the region of the Vasus. By
giving away a cow of the complexion of a white blanket, with a calf and a
vessel of white brass, and covered with a piece of cloth, one attains to
the region of the Sadhyas. By giving away a bull with a high hump and
adorned with every jewel, the giver, O king, attains to the region of the
Maruts. By giving away a bull of blue complexion, that is full-grown in
respect of years and adorned with every ornament, the giver attains to
the regions of the Gandharvas and the Apsaras. By giving away a cow with
the flesh of her throat hanging down, and adorned with every ornament,
the giver, freed from every grief, attains to those regions that belong
to Prajapati himself. That man, O king, who habitually makes gifts of kine,
proceeds, piercing through the clouds, on a car of solar effulgence to
Heaven and shines there in splendour. That man who habitually makes gifts
of kine comes to be regarded as the foremost of his species. When thus
proceeding to Heaven, he is received by a thousand celestial damsels of
beautiful hips and adorned with handsome robes and ornaments. These girls
wait upon him there and minister to his delight. He sleeps there in peace
and is awakened by the musical laughter of those gazelle-eyed damsels,
the sweet notes of their Vinas, the soft strains of their Vallakis, and
the melodious tinkle of their Nupuras.[377] The men who makes gifts of
kine resides in Heaven and is honoured there for as many years as there
are hairs on the bodies of the kine he gives away. Falling off from
Heaven (upon the exhaustion of his merit), such a man takes birth in the
order of humanity and, in fact, in a superior family among men.'"'"