The early Indic (The Vedas, Aranyakas, Upanisads, Puranas and Sutras), Buddhist and Jain texts were a media through which the religious and environmental benefits and thereby the attitudes towards trees were codified in our Ancient India. The notions of caitya-vrksa, bodhi-vrksa, jnana vrksa were some popular alliterations for trees during the Buddhist and Jaina age. A considerable amount of literature has been published regarding tree worship in India giving comprehensive and critical accounts of these sources and their role in shaping attitudes towards plants. There are many references to forests, forest glades, and flower filled clearings in the passages about life in the forests in the Puranas and the epics. Typically these mention flowering creepers, shading trees, singing birds, fragrant flowers, and ponds, often associated with an ashrama or other simple dwelling. They are common in the accounts of the exiles of the principal characters of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and in the accounts of the lives of rishis.
Insights into the Harappan civilization show the divine status conferred upon trees and plants especially the Pipal (Ficus religiosa) and Khair (Acacia catechu). The interpretation of Harappan seals indicate the presence of tree cults in pre-Vedic India, with two forms of tree worship. In one form, the tree/ plant itself is worshipped as a God (e.g. Tulsi), while in the other, the tree/plant is personified as a God or a spirit, and endowed with attributes.
The belief in a Vanadevata, is common across Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina philosophy and evidenced in their texts and folklore. Form, colour, scent and medicinal properties have been some of the principal parameters that have resulted in metaphorical allusions of trees as Divinity.
2.0 VASTUSHASTRA
As an ancient code of building and architectural design, Vastushastra advocates the use of trees as having the qualities of the Five Elements (Pancha Mahabhoota). Direction specific trees and plantations are suggested in Vastu texts to provide solutions on any directional deficiencies or Vastu-dosha. Vastu advocates that trees be grouped on the basis of their water absorption property, soil retention capacity, gases and vapours releasing characteristics, rooting tendencies, thick or thin foliage, size and height, shape and colour of leaves etc. These are broad tenets of Planting Design validated by science today.
Regarding plant material selection, Vastu advocates
Regulating the excessive southern zone temperatures through water – vapour emission processes of trees like Nilgiri (eucalyptus) and Neem (margosa).
Creating a healthy and salubrious atmosphere inside the house through scent and aroma of herbal plants.
Vastu also recommends avoiding trees like Imli (Tamarindus indica), Babool (Acacia Arabica), Bougaenvillea etc due to the presence of thorns. Also milk producing plants are not encouraged. However, notable contradictions are that, some of the plants favorable for specific gods or directions, have thorns, or yield a milky sap.
3.0 THE SACRED GROVE OR THE PANCHAVATI
In the Ramayana, the name PANCHAVATI, alludes to the grove where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana spent a part of their exile, immediately prior to Sita’s abduction by Ravana. Authentic reconstruction of the spatial character based on texts remins elusive and perhaps even speculative, given their creative license. However, specific commonalities such as the five species in the grove, have given considerable influence to the manner of planting near homes.
Other types of designed sacred groves evidenced from mythology and manuscripts, are the DEVA PANCHAYAATANA – (a sacred Grove dedicated to one God like Shiva, Vishnu etc), NAVAGRAHA VANA (garden of the Nine Planets), RAASHI VANA (Garden of the 27 Constellations).
4.0 GARDENS OF ANCIENT INDIA:
Although many treatises exist in various levels of detail, the Vedic/ Ancient Hindu / Ancient Buddhist garden suffers from lack of accurate historic documentation. Descriptions of gardens by travelers suggest that the gardens in existence were primarily places of retreat within a orchard or grove of fruit yielding trees with water features. Typically planted trees that find mention are the mango, asoka, jamun, apart from neem, pipal and banyan. The first known records of an Indian garden, date from the 4th and 3rd century BC built for the Mauryan King Chandragupta at Pataliputra, near modern Patna. Accounts by Greek travelers refer to fish filled tanks of remarkable beauty, tame peacocks and pheasants, cultivated plants and groves of fruit bearing trees and bamboo.
Archeologists have found evidence of gardens near the Universities and Sacred places associated with the life of Gautama Buddha, at Gaya, Sarnath, Sanchi and Nalanda. These gardens were cardinally oriented and contained stone platforms and railed enclosures of shrines with trees. A vignette of this may be interpreted around the Maha Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya.
EPILOGUE:
It can be said that till the advent of Islam in India, two different notions of garden and landscape design existed in the Indian framework, which could be called the formal and the informal notion. The formal is based on the geometry of a building, aligned with the compass directions, and is based on the Mandala and cosmic order, engaging the subconscious and metaphysical realms. The informal is that based on the forest clearing and is based on the simple life of a forest dweller living as part of Nature.
There is a small yet significant body of ongoing Landscape research work in India to attempt and reconstruct Ancient Gardens and associated spaces in places like Khajuraho, Hampi etc. We have a rich repository of Garden History from the Mughal period onward, but that of earlier eras now require an engagement of the mind. Neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia bordering the original Hindustan/ Bharatvarsha hold many clues in enabling this, apart from books and publications.
While eminent historians and scholars are attempting to re-construct mythical and mystical places and their landscape settings, the possible outlays for the subject of Landscape Architecture in India includes the formulation of Advanced Studies in Indian Landscapes. Beginnings include identifying the timelines.
Insights into the Harappan civilization show the divine status conferred upon trees and plants especially the Pipal (Ficus religiosa) and Khair (Acacia catechu). The interpretation of Harappan seals indicate the presence of tree cults in pre-Vedic India, with two forms of tree worship. In one form, the tree/ plant itself is worshipped as a God (e.g. Tulsi), while in the other, the tree/plant is personified as a God or a spirit, and endowed with attributes.
The belief in a Vanadevata, is common across Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina philosophy and evidenced in their texts and folklore. Form, colour, scent and medicinal properties have been some of the principal parameters that have resulted in metaphorical allusions of trees as Divinity.
2.0 VASTUSHASTRA
As an ancient code of building and architectural design, Vastushastra advocates the use of trees as having the qualities of the Five Elements (Pancha Mahabhoota). Direction specific trees and plantations are suggested in Vastu texts to provide solutions on any directional deficiencies or Vastu-dosha. Vastu advocates that trees be grouped on the basis of their water absorption property, soil retention capacity, gases and vapours releasing characteristics, rooting tendencies, thick or thin foliage, size and height, shape and colour of leaves etc. These are broad tenets of Planting Design validated by science today.
Regarding plant material selection, Vastu advocates
Regulating the excessive southern zone temperatures through water – vapour emission processes of trees like Nilgiri (eucalyptus) and Neem (margosa).
Creating a healthy and salubrious atmosphere inside the house through scent and aroma of herbal plants.
Vastu also recommends avoiding trees like Imli (Tamarindus indica), Babool (Acacia Arabica), Bougaenvillea etc due to the presence of thorns. Also milk producing plants are not encouraged. However, notable contradictions are that, some of the plants favorable for specific gods or directions, have thorns, or yield a milky sap.
3.0 THE SACRED GROVE OR THE PANCHAVATI
In the Ramayana, the name PANCHAVATI, alludes to the grove where Rama, Sita and Lakshmana spent a part of their exile, immediately prior to Sita’s abduction by Ravana. Authentic reconstruction of the spatial character based on texts remins elusive and perhaps even speculative, given their creative license. However, specific commonalities such as the five species in the grove, have given considerable influence to the manner of planting near homes.
Other types of designed sacred groves evidenced from mythology and manuscripts, are the DEVA PANCHAYAATANA – (a sacred Grove dedicated to one God like Shiva, Vishnu etc), NAVAGRAHA VANA (garden of the Nine Planets), RAASHI VANA (Garden of the 27 Constellations).
4.0 GARDENS OF ANCIENT INDIA:
Although many treatises exist in various levels of detail, the Vedic/ Ancient Hindu / Ancient Buddhist garden suffers from lack of accurate historic documentation. Descriptions of gardens by travelers suggest that the gardens in existence were primarily places of retreat within a orchard or grove of fruit yielding trees with water features. Typically planted trees that find mention are the mango, asoka, jamun, apart from neem, pipal and banyan. The first known records of an Indian garden, date from the 4th and 3rd century BC built for the Mauryan King Chandragupta at Pataliputra, near modern Patna. Accounts by Greek travelers refer to fish filled tanks of remarkable beauty, tame peacocks and pheasants, cultivated plants and groves of fruit bearing trees and bamboo.
Archeologists have found evidence of gardens near the Universities and Sacred places associated with the life of Gautama Buddha, at Gaya, Sarnath, Sanchi and Nalanda. These gardens were cardinally oriented and contained stone platforms and railed enclosures of shrines with trees. A vignette of this may be interpreted around the Maha Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya.
EPILOGUE:
It can be said that till the advent of Islam in India, two different notions of garden and landscape design existed in the Indian framework, which could be called the formal and the informal notion. The formal is based on the geometry of a building, aligned with the compass directions, and is based on the Mandala and cosmic order, engaging the subconscious and metaphysical realms. The informal is that based on the forest clearing and is based on the simple life of a forest dweller living as part of Nature.
There is a small yet significant body of ongoing Landscape research work in India to attempt and reconstruct Ancient Gardens and associated spaces in places like Khajuraho, Hampi etc. We have a rich repository of Garden History from the Mughal period onward, but that of earlier eras now require an engagement of the mind. Neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia bordering the original Hindustan/ Bharatvarsha hold many clues in enabling this, apart from books and publications.
While eminent historians and scholars are attempting to re-construct mythical and mystical places and their landscape settings, the possible outlays for the subject of Landscape Architecture in India includes the formulation of Advanced Studies in Indian Landscapes. Beginnings include identifying the timelines.
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