Subscribe

Subscribe to our Newsletter and get informed about new publication regulary and special discounts for subscribers!

ILSHS > Volume 30 > Forest and Biodiversity Conservation in Ancient...
Forest and Biodiversity Conservation in Ancient Indian Culture: A Review Based on Old Texts and Archaeological Evidences
< Back to Volume

Forest and Biodiversity Conservation in Ancient Indian Culture: A Review Based on Old Texts and Archaeological Evidences

Full Text PDF

Abstract:

In the early periods of human history, environment strongly determined the lives and activities of the people. They were very much close to forest and natural resources as we find in historical documents. Ancient Indian texts like Arthasastra, Sathapatha Bhramanas, Vedas, Manusmrti, Brhat-Samhita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Rajtarangini reflected the concepts of forest ecology and conservation in a sustainable manner. In the Indus valley civilization, several characteristics of the city planning and social structure showed environmental awareness. The presence of leaves, wild animals like peacocks and one-horned deer, tigers, elephants, bulls in the seals and the mud pots can indicate the pattern of biodiversity in those areas. Reduction of forests in that area was due to use of huge amount of timber-wood for burning bricks. So rainfall reduced and soil erosion caused deposition of silt in the Indus River which had choked off Mohenjodaro from the sea, causing a rise in the water table that must have been a prime factor in the destruction of Mohenjodaro. The sacred groves (Tapovana) of India were rich in biodiversity and ecological wealth, which was also mentioned in many ancient Indian documents like Abhigyan Shakuntalam written by Kalidasa. They are small packets of forests dedicated to local deities. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna compares the world to a single banyan tree with unlimited branches in which all the species of animals, humans and demigods wander, which reflects the concept of community ecology. The trees like Banyan and Peepal were often referred in historical background (widely protected in Asia and Africa) are keystone resources. In modern age, there are many policies developing in many countries for forest and biodiversity conservation, but they are all directly or indirectly influenced by the traditional knowledge developed in the ancient India.

Info:

Periodical:
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences (Volume 30)
Pages:
35-46
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.30.35
Citation:
S. Bhattacharya, "Forest and Biodiversity Conservation in Ancient Indian Culture: A Review Based on Old Texts and Archaeological Evidences", International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, Vol. 30, pp. 35-46, 2014
Online since:
June 2014
Authors:
Sayan Bhattacharya
Keywords:
Ancient India, Biodiversity, Environment, Forest, Sustainability
Export:
RIS, BibTeX, Text
Distribution:
Open Access

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References:

Bhattacharya S., Chaudhuri P., Mukhopadhyay A., Journal of Ancient Indian History 24 (2008) 97-106.

Anon, Irrigation in India through the ages. Central Board on Irrigation and Power, New Delhi, India (1965).

Kangle R. P., The Kautilya Arthasastra. Second edition. University of Mumbai, part I and II (1986).

Rangarajan L. N., Kautilya- The Arthasastra. Penguin Classics, India (1992).

Buhlar G., The laws and Manu. In: Max Mullar, F. (Ed. ), The sacred book of the east. Oxford at the Clarindon Press, London (1886).

Padhy S., Dash S., Mohapatra R., Journal of Human Ecology 19(1) (2006) 1-12.

Sensharma P., Indian journal of history of science 33(4) (1998) 267-272.

Majumdar G. P., Botany in Ancient and Medieval India. In: Ray, P., Sen, S.N. (Eds. ), The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol. VI. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, India (1978).

Ray P., Zoology in Ancient and Medieval India. In: Ray, P. Sen, S.N. (Eds. ) The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol. VI. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, India (1978).

Bloomfield M., The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India, from Rig- Veda to Upanishads. Knickerbocker Press, New York, USA (1908).

Pandey D. N., Ethnoforestry: Local Knowledge for Sustainable Forestry and Livelihood Security. Himanshu/AFN, New Delhi, India (1998).

Keith A. B., The Aitareya Aranyaka. (Edited from the Manuscripts with Introduction, Translation, Notes, Indexes, and an Appendix containing the portion hitherto unpublished of the Sankhayana Aranyaka. ) Eastern Book Linkers, Delhi, India (2005).

Witzel M., Katha Aranyaka. (Critical Edition with a Translation into German and an Introduction. ). Harvard Oriental Series, Harvard Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. Harvard University Press, USA (2005).

Gadgil M., Hemam N. S., Reddy B. M., People, refugia and resilience. In: Berkes, F., Folke, C. (Eds. ), Linking Social and Ecological Systems: Management Practices and Social Mechanisms for Building Resilience Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (1998).

Folke C., Ecology and Society 9(3) (2004) 7.

Thapar R., Kenoyer J. M., Deshpande M. M., Ratnagar S., India: Historical Beginnings and the Concept of the Aryan. National Book Trust, New Delhi, India (2007).

Vannucci M., Ecological readings in the Veda. D.K. Print World, New Delhi, India (1994).

Agarwal A., Narain S., Dying wisdom. Rise, fall and potential of India's traditional water harvesting systems. (State of India's Environment - A Citizens' report, No. 4), Centre for Science & Environment (CSE). New Delhi, India (1997).

Majumdar G. P., Botany in Ancient and Medieval India. In: Ray, P., Sen, S.N. (Eds. ), The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol. VI. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, India (1978).

Sircar N. N., Sarkar N., Vrksayurveda of Parasara: A treatise of plant science. Sri Satguru Publication, A devision of Indian Book Centre, New Delhi, India (1996).

Prime R., Hinduism and Ecology: Seeds of Truth. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Limited., Delhi, India (1994).

Pandey D. N., Conservation Biology 17(2) (2003) 633-635.

Berkes F., Kislalioglu M., Folke C., Gadgil M., Ecosystems 1 (1998) 409-415.

Chaudhuri, K.A., Ancient agriculture and forestry in northern India. Asia Publishing House, New Delhi (1977).

Lal B. B., Excavations at Hastinapura and other exploration in the Upper Ganga and Sutlej basins. Ancient India, 10-11, 5-155 (1954-55).

Rangarajan M., Environmental issues in India: A Reader. Pearson Education, New Delhi, India (2007).

Sattar A., Ramayana. Penguin Books, India (2012).

Kaushik A., Kalidas" Abhigyan Shakuntalam. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, India (2010).

Swami A. C., Srimad Bhagavatam. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, India (1976).

Ratnagar, S., Understanding Harappa- civilization in the greater Indus valley. National Book Agency, New Delhi, India (2003).

Dasgupta T., Chattopadhyay R. N., Journal of Human Ecology 16(3) (2004) 197-201. ( Received 01 June 2014; accepted 07 June 2014 ).

Show More Hide
Cited By:
This article has no citations.