Text 161]
Pastimes of the Lord in His Youth
343
TRANSLATION
Refuting the Kazi's statement, the Lord immediately replied, "The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Therefore any Hindu, whoever he may be, does not indulge in cow killing."
PURPORT
In the Vedic scriptures there are concessions for meat-eaters. It is said that if one wants to eat meat, he should kill a goat before the goddess Kālī and then eat its meat. Meat-eaters are not allowed to purchase meat or flesh from a market or slaughterhouse. There are no sanctions for maintaining regular slaughterhouses to satisfy the tongues of meat-eaters. As far as cow killing is concerned, it is completely forbidden. Since the cow is considered a mother, how could the  Vedas  allow cow killing? Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu pointed out that the Kazi's statement was faulty. In  Bhagavad-gītā  there is a clear injunction that cows should be protected.  Kṛṣi-gorakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam : "The duty of  vaiśyas  is to produce agricultural products, trade and give protection to cows." (Bg. 18.44) Therefore it is a false statement that the Vedic scriptures contain injunctions permitting cow killing.
TEXT 160
জিম্নাইতে পারে যদি, তবে মারে প্রাণী । বেদ-পুরাণে আছে হেন আজা-বাণী ॥ ১৬০ ॥
jiyāite pāre yadi, tabe māre prāṇī veda-purāṇe āche hena ājñā-vāṇī
SYNONYMS
jiyāite —to rejuvenate;  pāre —one is able;  yadi —if;  tabe —then;  māre —can kill;  prāṇī —living being;  veda-purāṇe —in the  Vedas  and  Purāṇas ;  āche —there are;  hena —such;  ājñā-vāṇī —orders and injunctions.
TRANSLATION
"In the Vedas and Purāṇas there are injunctions declaring that if one can revive a living being, he can kill it for experimental purposes."
TEXT 161
অতএব জরদগব মারে মুনিগণ । বেদমন্ত্রে সিদ্ধ করে তাহার জীবন ॥ ১৬১ ॥
ataeva jarad-gava māre muni-gaṇa veda-mantre siddha kare tāhāra jīvana