The cow is called dhenu, or giver of all bounties, in the Vedas. Ayurvedic texts detail the healing properties of the various products it gives us — milk, ghee, gaumutra, and govar. The term govar literally translates as ‘the boon of the cow,’ and it is indeed a boon.
Govar in Rituals
Uplas made of govar are essential ingredients of yagyas and homas to interact with the devlok. It is said ‘Gomaye Vasate Lakshmi,’ meaning Goddess Lakshmi resides in govar.
Govar in Agriculture
Govar for Environment
Biogas obtained from cow dung offers an effective solution to environmental problems revolving around fossil fuels. One cow can produce enough manure in one day to generate 3 KW hours of electricity, whereas only 2.4 KW hours are needed to power a 100 W light bulb per day (State Energy Conservation Office, 2009).
Govar for Your Skin and Health
Cow dung stores all the vital nutrients and minerals. Dry cow dung is a great scrub to get rid of dead skin and improve blood circulation. The dung is generally dried for over a week, then blended at a very high temperature to kill all harmful bacteria and germs. The final product, dung powder, is mixed with a variety of ingredients to make medicines and toiletries. Panchgavya, a concoction of govar, gaumutra, milk, curd, and ghee, possesses medicinal properties against many disorders.
Govar Against Disease
Numerous studies have been conducted on the effects of govar against disease and pathogens. It showed a positive response in the suppression of mycelial growth of plant pathogenic fungi like Fusarium solani, F. oxysporum, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Basak and Lee, 2002). Similarly, according to Mary et al. (1986), cow dung extract spray was effective for controlling bacterial blight disease of rice and was as effective as penicillin, paushamycin, and streptomycin.
Cow dung as organic manure increases the vigor of plants and reduces the incidence of root rots in cotton (1889). Therefore, the proper and sustainable application of cow dung can enhance not only the productivity of yield but also minimize the chances of disease.
Govar for Disinfecting Water
In an interesting study on ‘Purification of Water by Using Cow Dung Ash’, civil engineering students from DY Patil College of Engineering concluded that the addition of cow dung ash led to improvements in quality parameters such as pH, MPN index number, etc. Govar ash is an eco-friendly and low-cost adsorbent for disinfection purposes.
Govar Protects Against Toxins
Thousands died in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984 due to the emission of toxic gases. At the same time, Prof. SL Kushwaha started agnihotra yagya using govar uplas, desi ghee, and rice. Just after 20 minutes of the yagya, the surroundings became devoid of pollutants (Saxena et al., 2018b). The Kushwaha family, along with two other families, survived the ill-effects of toxic release (Gupta, 2011).
In rural areas, most houses are embalmed with dried govar due to its antibacterial effects. The smoke from burning govar uplas is known to ward off insects and mosquitoes.
Not just in India, govar has been found beneficial by communities across the globe. In Central Africa, Maasai villages burn cow dung to repel mosquitoes. In colder regions, cow dung is used to line the walls of houses as a cheap thermal insulator. In Rwanda, it finds application in an art form called imigongo where walls, pottery, and canvas are painted using cow dung mixed with ash.
