Dakshina (Sanskrit dakṣiṇā, the feminine of dakṣiṇa "south, southern", but also "right-hand side, able, dexterous, clever") in the historical Vedic religion is the term for the recompense paid by the sacrificer for the services of a priest, originally consisting of a cow (according to Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra 15, Lāṭyāyana Śrautasūtra 8.1.2). The term itself is derived from this, the feminine dakṣiṇā being a term for a cow able to galve and give milk (a prolific cow, milch-cow) in the Rigveda.