No beef in Vedas

This petition is to express our deep anguish at the publication of the book The Myth of the holy cow by Mr. D. N. Jha and demand its immediate withdrawal and an apology.

The book is based on misinterpretation of the Vedas and as a result grievously injures the sentiments of millions of Hindus all over the world. It contains wrong conclusions and the sole aim of the author has been to prove that the Vedic texts endorse eating beef.

Vedas are the foundation of the Hindu culture, as it existed thousands of years ago until this day. The Hindu society maintains the cow as a symbol of motherhood. The milk of a cow fills the need of a hungry infant when mothers milk is insufficient. Its this gratitude for the milk that kids are taught to hold the cow with the same reverence as their own mother. Before taking their daily meals devout Hindus take out a portion of their food as Gau-grass (portion of food for the cow).

Mr. Jhas knowledge of Sanskrit seems to be very narrow and limited as a result he has relied on misinterpretations of Vedic text. Even to an untrained eye the respect for cow is self evident in Indian society of current times. Here is a brief list of Vedic mantras that falsify his assertion about killings of the cow in Vedic times:

Atharva Veda I.16.4
Kill the killer of the cow with the bullet of lead.
Atharva Veda III.30.1
You should impart love to each other as the non-killable cow does for its calf.
RgVeda VII.56.17
Punish the killer of the cow and the man.
RgVeda VIII.101.15
Cow is pure, do not kill it.
RgVeda X.10.87.16
Those who kill the Aghanya, the cow which is not to be killed according to the Vedic edicts, their heads should be chopped off.
Yajur Veda XIII.49
Do not kill the cow.
YajurVeda XXX.18
Award death sentence to the killer of the cow.
RgVeda VI.28.3 states
Enemy may not use any astra i.e. weapon on cows
RgVeda VI.28.4 states
Nobody should take them to butcher house to kill them
Mahabharata- Shantiparva 262.47
Cow is called aghanya and thus non-killable.

We the undersigned have raised this issue on behalf of millions of Hindus and others. We will boycott all products from Verso Books until such time when this book is taken off the shelves and Mr. Jha and Verso Books publish an apology. We will also boycott all distributors, agents or representatives of Verso Books.

Complete article by Mr. B. D. Ukhul refuting Mr. Jhas claims:
http://www.aryasamaj.org/eng_art/A_clouds_over_understanding.htm

Verso books:
http://www.versobooks.com/books/ghij/ij-titles/jha_myth_cow.shtml