An Indian judge has been mocked after bizarrely claiming during a legal argument about sacred cows that peacocks shed tears to conceive.

At a hearing in Rajasthan, judge Mahesh Chandra Sharma urged India's government to declare the cow - considered sacred in Hindu-majority India - as the national animal since it is 'as pious as a peacock'.

'The peacock is a lifelong celibate. It never has sex with the peahen. The peahen gets pregnant after swallowing the tears of the peacock,' Sharma said on his last day in office before retiring.

Sharma's comments, made in response to an NGO's petition on the condition of state-run cow shelters, sparked a flurry of jokes and comments on social media.

A judge in western India has claimed that peacocks shed tears to conceive, setting off a social media storm in the country (file picture)

'Profoundly ironical, that it was the peacock (not its tears but plumage) that led Darwin to propose the landmark theory of Sexual Selection,' said Anand Ranganathan on Twitter.

Some users posted wildlife footage of peacocks mating to disprove his theory, while several pointed to suggestions on Quora, a user-generated question-and-answer site, that his celibacy claim came from ancient Hindu epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana.

In his 145-page order, Sharma cites Hindu scriptures to bolster his case -- listing the 'miraculous' age-defying qualities of cow dung and urine.

At a hearing in Rajasthan, judge Mahesh Chandra Sharma urged India's government to declare the cow - considered sacred in Hindu-majority India - as the national animal since it is 'as pious as a peacock' (file picture)

'(Mother cow) is the only animal that inhales as well as exhales oxygen,' he said.

'Cow urine has the miraculous property of destroying any kind of germs. It provides strength to mind and heart. It stops ageing,' he said, adding that its horns 'acquire cosmic energy'.

'Houses plastered with cow dung are safe from radio waves.'

Cows have increasingly become a focal point of nationalist discourse in India where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing government has made cattle protection a key theme since coming to power in 2014.

HOW PLUMAGE SIZE MATTERS IN THE PEACOCK MATING RITUAL Peacocks are known for their unusual mating rituals Peacocks are known for their unusual mating rituals - but contrary to the outlandish beliefs of judge Mahesh Chandra Sharma, the birds do still have sex. Mating rituals see males flashing their stunning tail feathers and using their distinctive blue and green colours to advertise their sexual and physical fitness. In late spring peacocks establish their territory before spreading their plumage in a fan shape and strutting back and forth, shaking their feathers to make a rattling sound. Both males and females have the avian reproductive organ known as the cloaca which transfers sperm between partners, according to sciencing.com. Peahens will lay up to six eggs which hatch after about 30 days of incubation. Earlier this year, research by Texas A&M University found the size and width of a peacock's proud plumage attracts the gaze of males who are sizing up their rivals and of females potentially looking for mates. 'We found that they are mostly looking at the lower portion of each other's displays in a similar way that the peahens were assessing the males as mating partners,' said Jessica Yorzinski, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University specializing in evolutionary biology. The study said peacocks spent about a third of their time gazing at the feather displays of their rivals. 'They allocated less than 5 percent of their time during our sample periods gazing at females,' the study said. Both males and females mostly looked at the bottom portion of the displays, likely assessing the width of the trains, which positively correlates with the length of the train, the study said. Yorzinski said that previous research indicated males with longer trains are more successful in establishing territory and gaining mates. 'We found that they are mostly looking at the lower portion of each other's displays in a similar way that the peahens were assessing the males as mating partners,' said Jessica Yorzinski, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University specializing in evolutionary biology. The study said peacocks spent about a third of their time gazing at the feather displays of their rivals. 'They allocated less than 5 percent of their time during our sample periods gazing at females,' the study said. Both males and females mostly looked at the bottom portion of the displays, likely assessing the width of the trains, which positively correlates with the length of the train, the study said. Yorzinski said that previous research indicated males with longer trains are more successful in establishing territory and gaining mates. Advertisement

The government last week prohibited the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter across India, sparking protests in states where beef is eaten.

The slaughter of cows, as well as the possession or consumption of beef, is banned in most but not all Indian states. Some impose up to life imprisonment for infringements.

At least a dozen people, mostly Muslims, have been killed by Hindu mobs in recent years over rumours that they were eating beef, slaughtering cows or smuggling them.