Wikipedia's first sentence called it “sacred”. Today it says “considered sacred in the indian religions of hinduism”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
A sacred cow is a person, institution, idea (often a theory - then: " pet theory ") or ideology that is immune (usually unreasonably so) from criticism or opposition. Dating to 1910 , the term has its origins in Indian custom. To most Hindus in India, cattle are sacred. Those with this belief will not eat beef even at risk of death through starvation. It is illegal in that country to kill a member of the genus Bos . Less commonly, the term holy cow is used.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16181807.
The opening as it stood in 2010 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
In Hinduism, the cow is a symbol of wealth, strength, abundance, selfless giving and a full Earthly life Cattle are considered sacred in various world religions , most notably Hinduism , but also Zoroastrianism and the religions of ancient Egypt and Greece and Ancient Rome .In some regions, especially India , the slaughter of cattle may be prohibited and their meat may be taboo .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 367929092.
The opening as it stood in 2015
In Hinduism, the cow is a symbol of wealth, strength, abundance, selfless giving and a full Earthly life Due to the multiple benefits from cattle, there are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions.In some regions, especially Nepal and some states in India , the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat may be taboo .Cattle are considered sacred in world religions such as Hinduism , Jainism , Zoroastrianism and others.Religions in Ancient Egypt , Ancient Greece , Ancient Palestine and Ancient Rome held similar beliefs.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 669316911.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
A Cow and its calf— a late 7th century sculpture from Uttar Pradesh, India . Due to the multiple benefits from cattle , there are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions . In some regions, especially Nepal and most states of India , the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat may be taboo . Cattle are considered sacred in world religions such as Hinduism , Jainism , Zoroastrianism , and others. Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of ancient Egypt , ancient Greece , ancient Israel , ancient Rome , and ancient Germany .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962876694.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
An Indian cow and its calf— a late 7th century sculpture from Uttar Pradesh, India There are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions . Cattle are considered sacred in Indian religions such as Hinduism , Jainism , and Buddhism , as well as in African paganism . Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of ancient Egypt , ancient Greece , ancient Israel , ancient Rome . In some regions, especially most states of India , the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat may be taboo .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177501157.
The opening as it stood in 2025
An Indian cow and its calf— a late 7th century sculpture from Uttar Pradesh There are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions . Cattle are considered sacred in the Indian religions of Hinduism , Jainism and Buddhism , as well as in some Chinese folk religion and in African paganism . Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of ancient Egypt , ancient Greece , ancient Israel , and ancient Rome . In some regions, especially most states of India , the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat ( beef ) may be taboo .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1295752107. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “sacred”. Today it says “considered sacred in the indian religions of hinduism”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
sacred
Now
considered sacred in the indian religions of hinduism
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
