Punyakoti emba govu ... An original story

This is not an original post by me,  my husband came up with this story and I have narrated it in a few words.. With all the bills being passed for cow slaughter et al , I thought it is time to remember the most pious and honest cow Punyakoti and all other cows who are no less innocent and virtuous as her....

Once there lived a butcher and his wife in a small village. The butcher was earning enough to lead a comfortable life. He was unhappy though, since even after 8 years of marriage, he did not have an offspring.

He went to churches,mosques and temples to pray to God, and begged for a child. He promised the Lord that he will maintain humanity and will not hurt any innocent if he begets a child.

God answered his prayers...the Butcher and his wife were blessed with a beautiful baby Boy. But due to some complications,the  Butcher's wife was unable to breastfeed. That kept the butcher worried for his son's health and with no other option he went and purchased a milking Cow with a Calf. 

The Cow, with all it's heart produced more and more milk to feed both the young boy and it's calf to their full. She never seemed to differentiate between the human's child and her own child and showered the babies with love and kindness. Thus the Butcher's Son was saved by the Cow. The Boy grew up along with the cow & her calf and a strong bond was formed between them.

One day when the boy went out to play,the butcher, true to his profession and human greed ,thought that the cow is giving milk to his son...there will be no harm if he killed the calf, it is of no other use to him any way. Also, that would mean his son would get even more milk or he could sell the excess milk for money! With this evil thought, the Butcher took the Calf to his shop and slaughtered it. All night the boy cried loud along with the Cow, and promised the Cow that he will protect her and take care of her always. The Cow selflessly continued giving milk, and treated the boy as her own child. the Cow's love towards the boy increased day by day, she couldn't even eat without him, so was the boy's affection towards this mother who fed him.

A few months passed and the boy needed less milk as he was eating other food too. The cow also started to reduce the milk produce. This got the greedy butcher thinking again.One day when the Boy when to school, he took the Cow to his shop.When the Boy came home running and could not find his Cow around, he ran towards his Mother crying, and inquired her about the Cow. 

The Butcher's wife with painful eyes said, Son your Father has taken your Cow to his Shop. He wants to slaughter and sell it. Hearing this, the boy screamed and instantly ran towards his fathers shop, begging him to stop slaying the cow..but the Butcher mercilessly slaughtered it and left it to die.

The boy saw this gruesome scene and without seeing crossed the road to reach the dying cow...when a speeding bus hit him and he died on the spot. 

Even in death, the boy and the cow were inseparable...

People took the Boy's dead body to the butcher's shop, he burst into tears, and for the first time, his heart cried after seeing blood and he realized the value of a life.

He could not understand what wrong he did to deserve this, he even cursed God....but God knew the answer to the Butcher's question.


A Cow being an Animal showed Humanity, by giving its Milk to save the life of that boy, but the Butcher ignored the good deed done by the Cow and harmed a holy soul which provided selfless service to his family.  

P.S : Folks who studied in Karnataka state syllabus in the 90's would remember Punyakoti's story told as a poem in kannada. A beautiful , touching story about the virtue of honesty .. here is a version of it for your hearing and viewing pleasure - Punyakoti's story . Even a ferocious animal like the tiger is moved by the cow's honesty and gives up it's life for trying to kill the cow..

"Animals with Humanity, and Humans with Animal-ity"