17.159
prabhu kahe,--vede kahe go-vadha nisedha
ataeva hindu-matra na kare go-vadha
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe—the Lord replied; vede—in the Vedas; kahe—is enjoined; go-vadha—cow-killing; nisedha—prohibition; ataeva—therefore; hindu—Hindu; matra—any; na—does not; kare—execute; go-vadha—cow-killing.
Refuting the Kazi’s statement, the Lord immediately replied, "The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed.
Therefore every Hindu, whoever he may be, avoids indulging 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 Kali 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? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu pointed out that the Kazi’s statement was faulty.
In the Bhagavad-gita (18.44) there is a clear injunction that cows should be protected: krsi-goraksya-vanijyam vaisya-karma svabhava-jam “The duty of vaisyas is to produce agricultural products, trade and give protection to cows.” Therefore it is a false statement that the Vedic scriptures contain injunctions permitting cow-killing.