Citation :

Ananya Sharedalal, "The Role of History in the Acceptance of Gomutra: How YouTube's Cow Urine Discourse Is Quietly Rewriting Indian History," International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 115-123, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V13I4P113

Abstract

Although there is not much evidence about the medical properties of gomutra (cow urine), it is widely rumored on Indian YouTube. The study asks why these claims are believed and answers that the belief is conveyed less through chemistry than by a highly selective version of Indian history. The study examines the transcripts of 83 most-viewed YouTube videos on the subject of 'Gomutra', which consist of promoter videos (Ayurvedic channels, wellness influencers, and television news reports) and debunker videos (Science communicators and medical doctors). There are two findings: First, videos referring to Indian history refer only to the Vedic period: 26 videos mention Sanskrit literature, 13 cite the Vedas, and 13 cite rishis and sages, but there are no mentions of the medieval period or the Mughal and colonial period. Secondly, the West does not come into this discourse as a coloniser but as a validator, with American patents, the World Health Organization, export markets, and Western media. Debunkers, in contrast, argue more on a scientific basis and never engage with this historical frame. The paper focuses on the implications of such patterns for the viewers' understanding of medical authority and for the introduction of Ayurvedic material into the NCERT science textbooks per the NEP 2020.

Keywords

Cow Urine, Gomutra, YouTube, Ayurveda, India, Vedic Pe.

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