Nanda Maharaja had 900,000 cows. Visvanatha Cakravarti gives this description of the cows of Vrindavana. Krishna knew every cow by name. If any cow was missing Krishna would immediately chase after the missing cow and call her by name. The cows were divided into herds by color, either black, white, red, or yellow. In each color there were 25 further divisions making a total of 100 herds. There were also eight herds of cows that were spotted or speckled or had heads shaped like a mridanga or that had tilak marks on their foreheads. There was a total of 108 different herds of cows. Each of the 108 herds had a herd leader.
For cows, Krishna sits atop a tree and plays flute to keep a check on the number of 9 hundred thousand cows herding with Him. Before returning home, He calls each and every one of the cow by her name – through the sound of His flute. He calls all of them one by one – Chandrika, Dhavali, Ivali..When He playes flute for Chandrika cow, only Chandrika is able to hear her name through the sound of Krishna’s flute. She gets delighted to hear her name being called by Krishna and comes running towards Him. Then He calls Dhavli, Ivali and every other cow in the same way. Thus no cow is left behind.
"Thus when Krishna calls out, 'Hey Dhavali' (the name of a white cow) a whole group of white cows comes forward, and when Krishna calls 'Hamsi, Candani, Ganga, Mukta' and so on, the twenty-four other groups of white cows come. The reddish cows are called 'Aruni, Kunkuma, Sarasvati, etc., the blackish ones 'Shyamala, Dhumala, Yamuna, etc., and the yellowish ones are Pita, Pingala, Haritaki, etc. (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.35.19 purport)
"As described in the Brahma Samhita (surabhi apbipalayantam), Lord Krishna on His planet, Goloka Vrindavana, engages in tending the surabhi cows. These cows are the Lord's pet animals." (Srimad Bhagavatam 8.8.2 purport)
For cows, Krishna sits atop a tree and plays flute to keep a check on the number of 9 hundred thousand cows herding with Him. Before returning home, He calls each and every one of the cow by her name – through the sound of His flute. He calls all of them one by one – Chandrika, Dhavali, Ivali..When He playes flute for Chandrika cow, only Chandrika is able to hear her name through the sound of Krishna’s flute. She gets delighted to hear her name being called by Krishna and comes running towards Him. Then He calls Dhavli, Ivali and every other cow in the same way. Thus no cow is left behind.
"Thus when Krishna calls out, 'Hey Dhavali' (the name of a white cow) a whole group of white cows comes forward, and when Krishna calls 'Hamsi, Candani, Ganga, Mukta' and so on, the twenty-four other groups of white cows come. The reddish cows are called 'Aruni, Kunkuma, Sarasvati, etc., the blackish ones 'Shyamala, Dhumala, Yamuna, etc., and the yellowish ones are Pita, Pingala, Haritaki, etc. (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.35.19 purport)
"As described in the Brahma Samhita (surabhi apbipalayantam), Lord Krishna on His planet, Goloka Vrindavana, engages in tending the surabhi cows. These cows are the Lord's pet animals." (Srimad Bhagavatam 8.8.2 purport)
