Dharma, rooted in the ageless wisdom of Indian civilisation, is a comprehensive approach to environmental preservation that regards nature as sacred, balances ecological responsibility with development, and centres sustainable living on humanity’s obligation to the planet.
Dr. Aniruddh Subhedar
माता भूमिः पुत्रो अहं पृथिव्याः (Atharvaveda 12.1.12)
“Earth is my mother, I am the son of the Earth,” says the Pṛthvī Sūkta of the Atharvaveda, one of the most moving and profound odes to Mother Earth. Here, Earth is not just an abstract concept. Rather, this philosophical outlook encapsulates all that we see around us.
One of the best-known examples is the Śāntipāṭha of the Yajurveda, often recited in rituals and ceremonies:
ॐ द्यौः शान्तिरन्तरिक्षं शान्तिः पृथिवी शान्तिरापः शान्तिरोषधयः शान्तिः।
वनस्पतयः शान्तिर्विश्वेदेवाः शान्तिर्ब्रह्म शान्तिः सर्वं शान्तिः शान्तिरेव शान्तिः सा मा शान्तिरेधि ॥
Yajurveda 36/17
The hymn invokes peace across the sky, space, earth, water, herbs, trees, divine forces and the supreme consciousness. It is a prayer for total cosmic harmony. It also seeks the pacification of all afflictions, spiritual, physical and divine. Thus, it calls for peace not just for humans and living beings, but even for what is considered non-living.
A similar emotion is expressed in the Vaidika verse:
शं नो अस्तु द्विपदे । शं चतुष्पदे ॥
“May there be peace (and well-being) for our two-legged beings (humans) and may there be peace for our four-legged beings (animals).”
In today’s times of war, chaos and mindless exploitation of natural resources, Bhāratīya philosophy creates a civilisation that lives with nature and is not at war with its surroundings.
Idea of Environment in Bhāratīya Philosophy:
Evidently, in the above verses of the Vedas, nature, whether in its animate or inanimate aspects, is addressed as a sentient and soulful being.
In the Bhāratīya way of thinking, nature is not seen as something ‘other’ than us or not even a ‘thing’ for that matter. Throughout the ancient texts, nature has been referred to and even revered as a conscious entity. Our ancient texts are replete with examples where the non-human aspect of nature not only interacts but plays an active role in human lives.
To give a few examples, in Vaidika texts we find that the sage Kavaṣa Ailūṣa invokes Sarasvatī and she reaches him in the form of a river. In a beautiful story of the Rāmāyaṇa, the śamī tree provides an omen of victory to Rāma before going to war. To this day, the śamī tree is worshipped on Vijayadaśamī and referred to as “रामस्य प्रियवादिनी” (she who speaks pleasingly to Rāma) in the mantra. In the Gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “Amongst trees I am the Aśvattha tree” (Gītā: 10.26).
Nature and environment are an inseparable part of our life and our living tradition. From offering water to the sun (arghya) every morning, to lighting lamps for the Tulasī plant and worshipping sacred trees, we find the non-human world as an intrinsic part of our culture.
This is not a superstitious belief of primitive people. Rather, it was a very profound and spiritual way of finding oneness with nature, realising that we are a part of our environment. Thus, our connection with nature did not need to be stressed upon on one day in the year specifically dedicated to it. Rather, we lived this connection in our daily lives.
Ecological Conservation and Development:
Bhāratīya philosophy is not oblivious to the fact that human civilisation is ever-evolving and that, for the purpose of development, we ultimately need to consume natural resources. Nor does it endorse a passive lifestyle which shuns all progress. As a society, we have to assess how we can judiciously use natural resources.
What Bhāratīya philosophy inculcates in us is not a refusal to use nature, but an attitude of reverence towards every being and entity of nature, even when we have to ‘exploit’ nature in some form for our survival and development.
An example of this is the practice of traditional artisan communities of Bhārata.
Even today, traditional wood sculptors, who need to cut trees for obtaining wood, cut the trees on Amāvasyā. As the belief goes, during that time trees feel less pain. To make a living, a wood sculptor needs to cut a tree, but these traditional wood sculptors first worship the tree before using the axe. Their art has such minute details that they identify the tree’s ‘head’ and while carving the idol of God or any human figurine, or even a door frame, this ‘head’ part of the tree is always kept upwards. What may sound like an unscientific belief to many is a preserved tradition of a whole community.
And this is not some isolated tradition of one community. The same spirit is found directly in the core Vaidika tradition, where darbha grass, an important requirement of rituals, is cut on Amāvasyā only and similar rules and injunctions are to be followed while making various vessels used in Yajñas.
The people who perceive nature in this manner can never develop an outlook where nature is seen as just something to be exploited. While approaching nature, their first instinct can never be of taking advantage at another’s cost. Rather, such a person will have a natural inclination towards ways which make sure nature is harmed as little as possible.
One of the beautiful verses of the Pṛthvī Sūkta mentioned above says:
यत्ते भूमे विखनामि क्षिप्रं तदपि रोहतु ।
मा ते मर्म विमृग्वरि मा ते हृदयमर्पिपम् (Atharvaveda 12.1.35)
“Whatever I dig out of you, O Earth, let it grow back quickly. May I never wound your vital places or reach your heart, O gentle one.”
The whole Pṛthvī Sūkta is a prayer to Earth and expresses our gratitude for everything she gives us, for the oceans, rivers, the cosmic order of seasons, directions, the plants and herbs. Indeed, this 63-verse hymn from the Atharvaveda deserves to be the anthem for environment protection movements.
This is the balance Dharma teaches us. Needs of development cannot be ignored, but neither can we ignore the Earth that sustains that development. Our Dharma teaches us to make its preservation our priority.
An Ancient Warning About Today’s War:
Perhaps the most striking parallel to the environmental destruction our world is facing today is found in the Mahābhārata war. The powerful Brahmāśira weapons of Arjuna and Aśvatthāmā are about to collide when Sage Nārada and Veda Vyāsa appear and persuade both to stop these weapons, as these would cause a “drought for twelve years”. Further, the text explicitly describes how these powerful weapons cause physical damage to the world, shaking the mountains, uprooting trees, drying up water bodies. The entire narrative arc of these chapters of the Mahābhārata’s Sauptika Parva gives a warning about the catastrophic threat such mighty weapons pose to nature, climate, ecosystem, in short, the whole Earth. Even the unborn child of Uttarā was targeted by Aśvatthāmā’s weapon and could be saved only by Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa himself.
It’s natural that today many equate these weapons with modern nuclear weapons and the resulting destruction with ‘Nuclear Winter’.
This poignant story eerily sounds like a prophecy warning about our times. It warns us how uncontrolled might and lust for power can lead us to the brink of extinction. The destruction in the Mahābhārata was averted only because sages like Nārada and Veda Vyāsa and Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa himself, were present. Today, only their wisdom, Dharma established by them, can heal the world.
Today, humanity stands exactly where Arjuna and Aśvatthāmā once stood, holding in its hands destructive forces capable of ending all life. The weapons have changed, but the choice remains the same.
The only thing that stands between our civilisation and its extermination is Dharma, just as Vyāsa and Nārada once stood between the two destructive weapons. This is not only about nuclear weapons. The international wars and even the violent internal disturbances in various countries are all a result of the same destructive outlook towards the world around us. What saves us is the Dharma that teaches: “Earth is my mother, I am the son of the Earth.”
(Author is Director- Strategy & Policy at Suparna Nyasa and a guest columnist with CIHS)
