There was a village named Ramgarh at the bottom of a hill. All the animals of the village used to go to the forest on top of the same hill in the morning to eat green grass and return home in the evening.
Like every day a cow named Lakshmi along with other cows went to the forest of the same hill to eat grass. She was so happy eating green grass that she didn’t even know when she reached near a lion’s den.
The lion was sleeping in his cave and he was also hungry for the last two days. As soon as Lakshmi reached the lion’s cave, the lion’s sleep was awakened by the scent of the cow.
The lion slowly came out of the cave and was happy to see the cow outside the cave. The lion thought in his mind that today his hunger of two days would be over. He would eat the fresh meat of this healthy cow and thinking this he let out a loud roar.
Lakshmi gets scared hearing the lion’s roar. When she looks around her, she doesn’t see any other cows far and wide.
When she courageously turned back, she saw a lion standing in front of her. Seeing Lakshmi, the lion roared again and said to Lakshmi, “I was not getting any prey for two days, I was hungry. Maybe that’s why God has sent you to my place to fill my stomach. Today I will satisfy my hunger by eating you.
Lakshmi gets scared after listening to the lion. She tells the lion crying “Let me go, don’t eat me. I have a small child who drinks only my milk and has not yet learned to eat grass.
After listening to Lakshmi, the lion laughs and says, “So should I let the prey in my hands go like this? I will satisfy my hunger for two days by eating you today.
When the lion said this, Lakshmi started crying in front of him and begged him to let me go today. I will milk my calf for the last time today and after loving him a lot, I will come to you tomorrow morning. Then you eat me and fill your hungry stomach.
The lion agrees to Lakshmi’s words and threatens that, “If you do not come tomorrow, I will come to your village, then I will eat both you and your son.”
Lakshmi is happy to hear this from the lion and goes back to the village after giving her promise to the lion. From there she goes straight to her calf. Feeds him milk and loves him a lot. Then the calf tells the whole incident with the lion and says that now he will have to take care of himself. Tomorrow morning she will go to the lion to fulfill her promise.
The calf starts crying after hearing the words of its mother. On the second day in the morning, Lakshmi leaves for the forest and reaches in front of the lion’s cave and says to the lion, “According to my promise, I have come to you. Now you can eat me.”
Hearing the sound of the cow, the lion comes out of its cave and appears in the incarnation of the Lord. He tells Lakshmi, “I was just testing you. You are true to your word. I was very pleased with it. You can now go back to your house and the calf.”
After this they also give that cow the boon of being Gau Mata and from that day onwards all cows start calling them Gau Mata.
learn from the story
We should fulfill our given promise even at the risk of our lives. This shows our strong personality.
