Is it the BULL sacred in the India as well?

Question

I mean, the cows are sabred.. but what about the bulls??

Answer 1

Hope that this is not bullying!
To understand India , some basics are required to be clarified. India, owing to its richness in everything, was looted,plundered and ruled by different religions.
India was also an agricultural country , where cows and bulls were used for different activities including agriculture.
In the olden days , there was no law of protection.If cows and bulls are eaten , killed wantonly , their population will decrease and the source of milk(staple diet for vegetarians) and the bread and butter of the countless poor millions , were at stake. As the people over here are religious , so the pundits had cleverly made these animals sacred , so that their population increased to match the increased demand of this fertile plains , where agriculture and births are aplenty.
This is the basic reason behind this concept.
There are other vahanas(pets) of gods , but the sacredness varies , based on their need to the society.

Answer 2

YES. BULL is a Sacred animal in INDIA.
Bull is Called NANDI IN Hindu Mythology.

Nandi/Nandhi, a hindu god, is the bull which Lord Siva rides and the gate keeper of the Shiva according to Hindu mythology. An idol of Nandi facing the main shrine will be seen in every Siva temple . There are also a number of temples dedicated solely to Nandi.

1. Nandi is a A primary god: This can be traced back to Indus Valley Civilization, where dairy farming was the most important occupations, thus explaining the appearance of various artifacts indicating a deity much like Siva. This deity also called as Pasupati is believed to have been worshipped as the keeper of herds. Some purans describe Nandi or Nandikeshvara as bull faced human body and that resembles Siva, but with four hands, two hands holding the Parasu (the axe) and Mruga (the antelope) and the other two hands joined together in the Anjali(obeisance).

2. Carrier of Shiva: It seems he was later converted into the present day Siva, with the bull Nandi as his primary vehicle. The Idol of Siva will be placed on an Idol of Nandi during festival processions.

3. Gate keeper of Siva's place: The close association of Shiva and Nandi explains the presence of a statue of Nandi at the gate of the Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum) of every mandir dedicated to Siva. It also explains why the
word "Nandi" in the Tamil language is used as a metaphor for a person blocking the way. In Sanskrit, a bull is called "Rrishnba", which has another connotation - that of righteousness or Dharma. It is important to seek the blessings of Nandi before proceeding to worship Lord Siva.

4. Chief in Shiva's army: Some Puranas mention that Nandi lead the Siva Ganas, Siva's attendants.

5. A Guru of Saivism: In addition to being his mount, Nandi is Shiva's foremost disciple. In the Natha/Siddhar tradition, Nandi is the one of the primal gurus. He was the guru to Siddhar Thirumulanathar, Patanjalinathar and others.

Answer 3

Bulls are also concidred sacred. Bulls are known as Rishaba in Sanskrit and it is the Vehicle (Vahan) of Lord Shiva. Nandi also a form of Bull is worshipped as a Leader in Lord Shivas army and is thought of as a good musician, often seen playing the Mridangam. It is especially worshipped on the Thirteenth day after a Full moon or a New moon.

Answer 4

Good question. Actually, the whole 'breed' is sacred, which includes the bulls, but since the breed is called 'cows' generally, they tend to be 'forgotten' in the way we talk about them. These are of the same 'genus' as the beef cows we eat in the U.S. but are a 'separate breed' from our Angus and Herefords and others. Still, if we wanted to take our 'U.S. cow breeds' with us to India, they would be considered 'sacred' too ... including the 'bulls.'

Answer 5

Yes, all life is sacred. But some animals are worshiped. Such as the monkey, cow and cobra. The Hindu God Lord Shiva rides a bull named Nandi. Just as Lord Krishna is pictured with a cow, Lord Shiva is pictured with a bull. There is a stone bull outside of Lord Shiva's temples. The bull is named Nandi. I think it is in Mysore, India; where there is a large black stone form of Lord Shiva's bull. Thanks for the question.

Answer 6

Ox are beast of burden. They pull cart and from time to time may suffer a lash or two.

Bull are sold as baby and may end up pampered and become breeder or get neutered for beast of burden or fattened and end up on a dinner plate, as beef dish. Like in any country.

Now a bull call Nandy bull is trained for show and they are pampered and they do certain tricks, perform road shows and do predictions.......and by and large are worshipped.

Most house hold in the remote village would have one caw, it will be their priced possession.

This caw gives milk for the whole family, and extra milk is sold or made in to milk products and sold or cosumed. It provides extra income from ofspring that get sold, they become members of the family (life span or 40 years or so when few years ago average age was only 30 years in India, then the average age was 40 years and to day it may in 60 range). So a caw becomes part of the family and a very usefull pat.

So they are all worshipped.

Answer 7

Alberto probably needs an explanation about this Indian practise, as could be understood from the way in which the question has been framed.

Yes Albeto. Every living being, if they can speak will say that their existence is sacred to themselves. We advise our kids to be kind to animals. In the same way, a religion too as a parent, expects kindness to all creations, and , professes it in a religious way, so that it addresses to every one rude and noble, uneducated and educated, nonintellectuals and intellectuals equality and the practise attracts an importance. Ultimately the objective is care and concern about other living beings. This is a simple practise that should go into the society as a whole., whether Indian or non Indian.

Answer 8

You might say BULL is an appropriate term. As NONE of man's religions are 100% accurate.
Our spirits have the ability to bond with any material thing and experience what it is like.
Look at the atoms our world is made of. There is a lot of SPACE in between the particles.
We have memories of experiencing these things. Which unfortunately has corrupted the truth of reincarnation. Noone's spirit HAS to come back and live in an animal or bug. Unless they are so spiritually weak as to think they do!

Answer 9

My friend, Cows, demi-gods, idols, temples, rituals all together make just 10% of hinduism

You westners just ask questions and mock, on this 10 %... and are silent about the rest 90%... i.e. hindu philosophy

Has any one of you ever asked about Vedanta, Sankhya, Tantra, Shakta philosophies of hinduism...

Has any one asked about Gita, Upanishadas and Vedas ?

No because you people are not yet evolved to read and understand these things.

If Jesus is removed christianity is nothing and if Mohd is removed islam is nothing

Hinduism remains a deep philosophy even if you remove, COWS, BULLS IDOLs even Krishna shiva,, Hanuman.... remove all and Hinduism remains intact

I Really wish someone asks a good question not childish things of cows, and bulls

May God bless you

Answer 10

If you are asking about it has the same sacredness like a cow? No It's not.. Cows for Hindus are not used in Working through agricutral lands, don't carry wieghts, are not eaten, and so on, while same doesn't apply to bulls. They use them in carriage, riding, hard work regarding agricultral lands.