By Muslim Mirror Special Correspondent,
New Delhi. The recent ban on beef eating by Maharashtra government has sparked a nation wide controversy and debate on beef slaughtering and eating but we can observe that  Hindu mythology is famous for its diverse art forms and classical literature but the most famous myth is about beef or killing of cows. According to the myth propagated by Hindu nationalists, cows are worshiped in ancient India and it was the invaders, both Muslim and Christian, who brought beef-eating to India. But, facts and religious scriptures prove that it was the Vedic-Hindus who were among the world’s first urban consumers of beef. This was even before Jesus Christ was crucified and 1000 years before Islam was formed.
Below are the quotes from Vedas which prove that Vedic -Hindus were cow eaters.
Manusmriti (Chapter 5 / Verse 30) says, “It is not sinful to eat meat of eatable animals, for Brahma has created both the eaters and the eatables.”
Maharishi Yagyavalkya says in Shatpath Brahmin (3/1/2/21) that, “I eat beef because it is very soft and delicious.”
Apastamb Grihsutram (1/3/10) says, “The cow should be slaughtered on the arrival of a guest, on the occasion of ‘Shraddha’ of ancestors and on the occasion of a marriage.”
Rigveda (10/85/13) declares, “On the occasion of a girl’s marriage oxen and cows are slaughtered.”
Rigveda (6/17/1) states that “Indra used to eat the meat of cow, calf, horse and buffalo.”
Vashistha Dharmasutra (11/34) writes, “If a Brahmin refuses to eat the meat offered to him on the occasion of ‘Shraddha’ or worship, he goes to hell.”
Hinduism’s greatest propagator Swami Vivekanand said thus: “You will be surprised to know that according to ancient Hindu rites and rituals, a man cannot be a good Hindu who does not eat beef”. (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand, vol.3, p. 536).
Adi Shankaracharya’ commentary on Brihdaranyakopanishad 6/4/18 says : ‘Odan’ (rice) mixed with meat is called ‘Mansodan’. On being asked whose meat it should be, he answers ‘Uksha’. ‘Uksha’ is used for an ox, which is capable to produce semen.
· The book ‘The History and Culture of the Indian People’, published by Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Bombay and edited by renowned historian R.C.Majumdar (Vol.2, page 578) says: “this is said in the Mahabharat that King Rantidev used to kill two thousand other animals in addition to two thousand cows daily in order to give their meat in charity”.
Now coming back to ancient Indian history  as back as  Mahabharata, 500 B.C.:
1) King Rantiveda slaughters 2,000 cows a day in his royal kitchens and distributed beef along with grain to apparently grateful Brahmins, the Hindu priests.
2)  Charak Samhita, 100 B.C.: Flesh of cow is prescribed as a medicine for various diseases. It is also prescribed for making soup and advised as a cure for irregular fever, consumption, and emaciation. The fat of the cow is recommended for debility and rheumatism.
3) Taittiriya Brahman , 500 B.C.: Verily the cow is food.
4) Yajnavalkya, one of the most popular Hindu sages: ”Some people do not eat cow meat. I do so, provided it’s tender.”
5)Sacrificial offering for Indra, the rain God and Agni, the fire God, are bulls and cows. (Perhaps that is why we are having less rain, as we stopped sacrificing cows.)
6)Vedas have mentioned 250 animals out of which at least 50 are fit for sacrifice and human consumption.
7) Manusmriti did not prohibit the consumption of beef.
In many states of India, beef consumption is legally banned, because of a false religious myth. This cow worship is not done out of animal love, as the same ‘God’ that exists in cows also exists in cockroaches. By this logic, we should be worshiping insects too. The central focus of cow worship is to show muslims as anti-hindus and to create a universal symbol for upper-caste hindu identification. What is not a myth is that, the so-called holy cow is used for un-holy purposes.

Courtesy : MM