342
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
[Ādi-lilā, Ch. 17]
for all time; it is not, as some rascals say, that in the Vedic age she was a mother but she is not in this age. If  śāstra  is an authority, the cow is a mother always; she was a mother in the Vedic age, and she is a mother in this age also.
If one acts according to the injunctions of  śāstra , he is freed from the reactions of sinful activity. For example, the propensities for eating flesh, drinking wine and enjoying sex life are all natural to the conditioned soul. The path of such enjoyment is called  pravṛtti-mārga . The  śāstra  says,  pravṛttir eṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalām : one should not be carried away by the propensities of defective conditioned life; one should be guided by the principles of the  śāstras . A child's propensity is to play all day long, but it is the injunction of the  śāstras  that the parents should take care to educate him. The  śāstras  are there just to guide the activities of human society. But because people do not refer to the instructions of  śāstras , which are free from defects and imperfections, they are therefore misguided by so-called educated teachers and leaders who are full of the deficiencies of conditioned life.
TEXT 158
তোমার বেদেতে আছে গোবধের বাণী ।
অতএব গোবধ করে বড় বড় মুনি ॥ ১৫৮ ॥
tomāra vedete āche go-vadhera vāṇī ataeva go-vadha kare baḍa baḍa muni
SYNONYMS
tomāra vedete —in Your Vedic literatures;  āche —there is;  go-vadhera —for cow killing;  vāṇī —injunction;  ataeva —therefore;  go-vadha —cow killing;  kare —does;  baḍa baḍa —very, very great;  muni —sages.
TRANSLATION
As a learned scholar, the Kazi challenged Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “In Your Vedic scriptures there is an injunction for killing a cow. On the strength of this injunction, great sages performed sacrifices involving cow killing.”
TEXT 159
প্রভু কহে,—বেদে কহে গোবধ নিষেধ ।
অতএব হিন্দুমাত্র না করে গোবধ ॥ ১৫৯ ॥
prabhu kahe,—vede kahe go-vadha niṣedha ataeva hindu-mātra nā kare go-vadha
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe —the Lord replied;  vede —in the  Vedas ;  kahe —is enjoined;  go-vadha —cow killing;  niṣedha —prohibition;  ataeva —therefore;  hindu —Hindu;  mātra —any;  nā —does not;  kare —execute;  go-vadha —cow killing.