Abstract
This chapter will look at some major texts in describing and writing about nature in pre-modern Sanskrit literature such as by Kālidāsa and Bāna . The human–nature interrelationships are constructed through meanings attached to metaphors in Sanskrit poetics and the narrative. Such powerful metaphors construct the imagination of nature from a deeply anthropocentric view of nature. These imaginations also add to issues around conceptualisations of nature as gendered, or as benevolent, or dangerous. The impact of these imaginations that continue to influence our perception of nature today will also be discussed.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
As compared to his poem Rtsm, this poem is probably written by a poetically mature and older Kālidāsa (Kale 1974).
- 3.
This is a common practice in India, and elephants are painted on in variegated colours during festivals and special processions.
- 4.
In a much later part of the story, a hunt by the prince and his army is however described as valorous, not wasteful.
- 5.
The social stereotype image of the “tribal” is often reflected in current times where wilderness activists see these people as trespassing on “nature” and often accuse them of poaching animals. However, the soft exploitation of these areas by so-called legitimate activities such as tourism, building roads, dams and so on is considered to be cultured and permissible.
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Baindur, M. (2015). Nature in Literature: Nature’s Presence and Absence. In: Nature in Indian Philosophy and Cultural Traditions. Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, vol 12. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2358-0_9
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