I was originally used as a war trumpet. Kings and warriors declared war open blowing my trumpet on the battle field and closed war at sunset with my trumpet again.

I am identified with the deities. Seers believe that I am blown to invoke Lord Shiva and there is a special connection between us which is evident from the similarity in our names.

I am Shankara.

I am associated with Lord Shiva.

I am associated with Lord Vishnu.

I am the abode of Goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth and consort of Vishnu and because I emerge from the water, I am also regarded as a symbol of female fertility and associated with serpents.

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For centuries the human race has survived on my dairy products.  For centuries, the kitchen fires have burned with my offerings.

I have toiled, tilled and ploughed the farmer’s fields. I have dragged and pulled his vendor’s carts.

I have spread my dung on the village homes so that they kept warm.

I am fuel.

I am fertilizer.

For centuries my urine has been consumed in religious rituals and also used for medicinal purposes. The much talked about panchagavya is a mixture of my five products: my milk, my curds, my ghee, my urine and my dung.

I am disinfectant.

I am also the beast of burden.

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The first time, the human abused me and traded me; nature revolted and souls of higher attainment renounced the world.

Over a period of time, the human race lost interest in me and stopped reacting to my pain. I never thought it would happen but they turned cruel and insensitive.

With each passing year as the greed increased, the human lost his soul and quietly and shamelessly transformed from a sage into a beast.

In the Kalyug, he traded me, slaughtered me, and degraded me from a goddess to a commodity.

He forgot my essence, my identity…He forgot I was Kamadhenu, mother of cows.

He forgot the Vedas describing me as sacred…Somebody who cannot be harmed and killed.

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There are so many tales…So many legends…

I am Kamadhenu, symbol of the earth.

I represent life.

I am worshipped, garlanded on festivals. I am largely depicted as white cow with a female head and breasts.

Some say I am the daughter of Lord Daksha, some believe I am the wife of sage Kashyapa.

Some say I was in the possession of Sage Jamadagni  and the enemy kings tried to steal me from him.

In the epic Ramayana, it is said that I was given as dowry to Goddess Sita when she married Lord Rama and I travelled with my siblings to her new home in Ayodhya.

In the Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitama declared me as the mother of the world.

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I am amongst the earliest animals on the planet….

I have witnessed what the Hindus describe Satyug as the golden age when India symbolised prosperity and abundance. I have experienced peace, divinity, and worship and this is because all the gods and the goddesses reside within me.

Legend says I emerged from the ocean of milk at the time of the Samudramanthana, churning of the ocean, by the gods and demons.

Legend says I was presented to the seven sages, and in the course of time, came into the custody of Sage Vashishta.

Legend also states that Lord Brahma created the cow and the priest at the same time so that both could aid each other in worship. The priests could recite scriptures while the cow would be productive in her offerings of clarified butter during the rituals.

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Among the cows I am Asmi

Lord Krishna reveals that among cows

He is manifested as Kamadhuk or Kamadhenu

The original wish-fulfilling cows

Also known as the Surabhi cows

It is said that I stood on my four feet in Satyug

Three feet in Tretayug

Two feet during the Dwaparyug

And only one leg during Kalyug.

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I am worshipped for different reasons. A widow worships me for salvation. The young girl prays to me for a good husband. Couples pray for children and the elderly worship me to attain Heaven after death.

By hearing or recalling the Tulsi hymn, a son will be born to the sonless woman, a wife will be obtained by the wifeless man, health will be restored to a diseased person, freedom will be given to a prisoner, fearlessness will be bestowed upon the terrified, and salvation will be granted to the sinners.

Whoever worships me with my eight names acquires the merit of performing an Ashvamedha sacrifice…

I collect in many groups, and therefore I am called Vrinda.

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There is an interesting story about my past. When I left my physical body and assumed a celestial form, I was transported to Vaikuntha. There, I resided in the heart of Lord Vishnu, close to Goddess Lakshmi, one of the Lord’s wives. The Lord duly honoured me, elevating me to the rank of his spouse and I felt very nurtured and blessed.

Goddess Saraswati however was not pleased with the importance Lord Vishnu accorded me and made her displeasure apparent.  Offended by her behaviour, I disappeared from the Heavenly abode.  Lord Vishnu, not finding me in Heaven went desperately searching for me everywhere till he was exhausted and stopped in a forest to rest for a while.

At a little distance he spotted a pond and decided to bathe and offer his prayers. Next, he meditated on me with extreme devotion. So intense were his prayers, that I could no more curb my longing for him and lured out of the bushes, fell at my Lord’s feet. He clasped me to his breast and carried me with him to Goddess Saraswati. He reconciled our differences and in the presence of all he declared that henceforth he will carry me with him forever, on his head and at his feet there will be Tulsi forever.

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