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Two black Brahma cows wander around the lake at Pushkar, with birds flying above, India.
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Two black Brahma cows wander around the lake at Pushkar, with birds flying above. By the early centuries AD, the cow was designated as the appropriate gift to the brahmans (high-caste priests) and it was soon said that to kill a cow is equal to killing a brahman. The importance of the pastoral element in the Krishna stories, particularly from the 10th century onward, further reinforced the sanctity of the cow.
