Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 4.61
The Cow’s Importance in Deity Worship
“After the first bathing, further bathings were conducted with pañca-gavya and then with pañcāmṛta. Then the mahā-snāna was performed with ghee and water, which had been brought in one hundred pots.”
What the purport teaches
- After the first bathing came bathings with pañca-gavya and pañcāmṛta. The mahā-snāna followed with ghee and water brought in one hundred pots.
- Pañca-gavya consists of milk, yogurt, ghee, cow urine and cow dung. Their use in bathing the Deity shows how important the cow is.
- Pañcāmṛta consists of five kinds of nectar: yogurt, milk, ghee, honey and sugar. Most of its ingredients come from the cow; sugar and honey make it more palatable.
Try this today
Write down the five ingredients of pañcāmṛta and mark the three that come from the cow.
Ask yourself
How does the cow’s contribution to these preparations deepen your appreciation of its importance?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.