It is also significant that Vasudeva inquired about the welfare of Nanda Maharaja’s animals. The animals, and especially the cows, were protected exactly in the manner of one’s children. Vasudeva was a ksatriya, and Nanda Maharaja was a vaisya. It is the duty of the ksatriya to give protection to the citizens of mankind, and it is the duty of the vaisya to give protection to the cows. The cows are as important as the citizens. Just as the human citizens should be given all kinds of protection, so the cows also should be given full protection. -Krsna Book, Volume 1, Chapter 5