Article | Deep Environmental Thinking In The Poetry Of Kalidas | Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh | Central Chronicle

Article

Deep Environmental Thinking In The Poetry Of Kalidas

     -    Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh

Writer, Author & Social Activist

Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"

 

           There is a wonderful description of human emotions and tendencies in Meghdoot, Raghuvansh, Ritusanharam, Kumarasambhava, the poetry of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidas. In the same way thought displayed towards the environment and its protection in these epics is also unique. While reading the epics of Kalidasa, we often ignore the environmental aspect and concentrate on the main plot. While attention is also paid to other aspects of these epics, we will find that Kalidasa has written about the environment in each of his poems showed great love for. Along with this, attention has also been drawn to the preservation of the environment and the natural sufferings caused by the imbalance of the environment.

 

Kalidas is called the poet of nature. The great poet and dramatist Kalidas has an important place in the field of Sanskrit literature. The eternal beauty of his creations and their peerless greatness earn him the well deserved title of 'Poet of Nature' not only in India but across the world. The entire literature of Kalidas is imbued with the spirit of environmental protection. The complementary form of human life and seasons is described in Ritusamharam. Kalidas has expressed by his love for nature and his awareness towards environmental protection by his poetries.

The renowned poet of Sanskrit literature, great poet Kalidas appears to have special love for nature in his texts.  In the natural  descriptions of his epics, Kalidas has not only revealed the beauty of nature, but also has given a message to the general public not to harm them through his heroes and heroines while showing awareness towards nature conservation. In rendering the characteristics and importance of nature, he has written in 'Ritusamhar', 'Kumarasambhava' and 'Raghuvansh'. While praising the basic elements of nature (water, fire, sun, moon, sky, earth, air) in the form of Ashtamurti Dev, in the invocation of his world-famous play 'Abhigyanshakuntalam', he has also rendered the godliness of nature.

Kalidas begins 'Kumarasambhava' with the natural description of the Himalayas –

Astyuttarasyan dishi devatma Himalayao naam nagadhirajah.

Purvaparau toynidhivgahya sthitah prithivya iw mandandah..

It is described in Kumarasambhava that Parvati went to Gauri Shikhar mountain and built her cottage to do penance to get Shiva as her husband. Then there she first planted the saplings and like her own children, irrigated them daily with water-like milk and kept cultivating them. This Vedadhyayan was an act of his penance routine just like Yagya etc. Similarly, on the occasion of dialogue between Singh and Dilip in the Raghuvansh epic, Singh introduces Dilip to a tree and says that O king! This is the same Deodaru tree which Shiva and Parvati together brought up as their own son. And when the elephant had removed its bark by rubbing it, Parvati felt the same pain as seeing her son Kartikeya injured in a fight with the demons. Kalidas has written that Parvati herself used to take the fallen leaves from the tree as food so that the tree would not have to suffer by plucking the green leaves.

Poet Kalidas's affection for plants is proved by the fact that he says that if a poisonous tree grows by itself, it should not be cut - 'Vishvrikshopi samvardhya Swayam Chettumsampratam'. He further says that this poisonous tree will be beneficial to the living beings instead of harming them. 

In 'Raghuvansh', there is a description of sage wives taking care of deer like their children. On the other hand, Kalidas writes in Kumarasambhava that as a result of the penance of Parvati, even the opposing animals in Tapovan gave up their mutual enmity and they started lovingly living together in Tapovan without enmity. Coming to Tapovan, Brahmachari asks Parvati whether the bud break is happening in a proper way in the vines and trees, isn't there any kind of obstruction? Is the water of the forest fit for your bath? Aren't they contaminated? Describing a summer season of Kalidas, showing the inevitable need of water in the life of animals and the horrors of animal life in its absence, he writes that 'what a fierce summer, the one who receives water points from a dry gorge, the fierce sun of the sun. Hot from the rays and extremely thirsty, the elephants desiring water also forget that the lion will kill them. They are not even afraid of a lion in search of water distraught with thirst.

The 'Rtusamharam' is a collection of six seasons which are different seasons viewed by a lover. Kalidasa’s Rtusamhara is divided into six parts; all the parts are connected to six seasons with 144 stanzas. The poem has six cantos for the six Indian seasons: Grisma (summer), Varsa(rainy), Sarat (autumn), Hemanta (cool), Sisirs (winter), Vasanta (spring). Each season is divided in two months; all seasons are connected to each other as a cycle of nature. This following table is chronological of season, which is divided into six seasons of Indian 12 months in Hindu lunar Calendar.

In Meghdootam, Kalidas has presented almost all the components of the environment – fire, air, water, sky, earth, sun, moon, medicine and vegetation etc. They always help us without any desire to reciprocate, hence they are like gods. In most of its verses, environmental elements have been remembered and the message has been given that one should not act against nature. The most beautiful form of external nature has been depicted in the east cloud. On the one hand there are rivers like Gandhavati, Gambhira, Charmanvati, Reva, Jahnavi, Mandakini, Yamuna, Devganga, Saraswati and on the other hand Alka, Avanti, Vidisha, Kurukshetra and Ujjayini are lofty cities. Somewhere mountains and plateaus like Ramgiri, Amrakut, Devagiri, Nichargiri are visible and somewhere the vast Himalayas, Vindhyas and Kailasa. Somewhere there is the sacred water-filled lake of Ramgiri and somewhere the world-famous Mansarovar, beloved of swans. Hermitage, Mountains, Clouds, Rivers, Waterfalls, Gardens, Dense and shady trees, Creepers, Cane, Kamalnal, Mushroom, Flowers, Chatak, Balaka, Fragrance of soil, Forest of berries, Saffron, Kadamba, Deer, Peacock, Kapot, Gaz , Juhi's bud, rock shelter, reed forest etc. In this way, Kalidas's poetry appears to be conscious about the environment and its protection, we just need to understand it.

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 (06.08.2023)

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Article | Environmental consciousness in Ram Katha | Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh | Central Chronicle

Article

Environmental consciousness in Ram Katha

        -    Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh

Writer, Author & Social Activist

Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"

 

There was an uproar when the movie “Adipurush” was released.  With regard to dialogues, with twists and turns in the plot, with the costumes.  In this way, for many hours, for many days, we discussed and discussed about a particular film.  But are those aspects of Ram Katha readily kept in our discussions, which if we understand, can secure the future of our coming generations?  Ram Katha is not just a story, it is a lifestyle in which the importance of natural elements has been established at every step. 

In the Ram Katha, the mutual importance of each inert-conscious and the balance in it has been put forward in the form of characters.  If we remember the couplets and couplets of Tulsidas's "Ramcharit Manas", then the inter-relationship of man with all inert- consciousness becomes known.  The context of Ahalya made of stone, forest-dwelling humans, monkeys, birds like Jatayu etc. is not just like that, but a message has been given through them to understand the importance of nature. Today, when we talk about promoting environmental consciousness due to the fear of global warming, the message of environmental balance is contained in our Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads and epics.  The Rama story described in "Ramayana" and "Ramcharit Manas" presents the importance of each and every element of the environment.  In fact, Ram Katha is not only a story related to religion and faith, but a wonderful form of environmental consciousness can be seen in it.

In Ram Katha, all the elements of Jiva, Arjava i.e. root and consciousness have been seen from the human point of view.  As Tulsidas has written- "Siyaram may sab jag jani. Karhu pranam aur jug ​​paani.."  Among the devotees of Shri Ram, there are creatures of both animal and bird classes.  Animals such as monkeys, deer, elephants, horses, camels, mules, etc. are mentioned.  Similarly, birds like peacock, chakor, parrot, pigeon, stork, swan, crow, vulture, eagle etc. have an important place. While the description of deer roaming around the foliage and the description of the golden deer shows the presence of wild animals, the incident of the golden deer puts forward the bad effects of deer hunting.

When Sita is abducted by Ravana, Shri Ram is distraught and asks every natural element for the address of Sita. While lamenting Shri Ram says that O Janaki, the mine of virtues!  O Sita, holy in form, modesty, vows and rules!  Where are you?  Lakshmanji explains to him in many ways, yet Shri Ram asks the vines and trees that where is Sita?  Shri Ram asks the animals and birds that hey birds!  Hey animals!  Hey bumblebees!  Have you seen Mrignayani Sita anywhere?  Khanjan, Parrot, Pigeon, Deer, Fish, Group of Bumblebees, Pravin Koel You tell me have you seen Sita?

Crow and Garuda have been given a special place in Ram Katha.  These two representatives of wild and urban birds are similar.  The importance of birds in the form of Kagmushundi, Jatayu, Sampati and Garuda has been depicted.  Kagbhusundi is the character who narrated Ram Katha to the bird king Garuda to clear his doubts.Jatayu even put his life at stake to rescue Sita from Ravana.  This is also a context proving the importance of birds in human life.  When Ravana was abducting Sita and taking her to Lanka, Jatayu tried to rescue Sita from Ravana.  Enraged by this, Ravana cut off his wings so that he fell to the ground.  When Rama and Lakshmana reached there searching for Sita, they came to know the complete details of Sita's abduction only from Jatayu.  Remember that Jatayu was of the vulture species.  That is, Ram Katha tells us that the bird which we look down upon by calling it a bird that eats the flesh of dead animals, is also beneficial for human life.  If seen from a scientific point of view, the vulture is a high-quality cleaner.

The story of Ahilya in Ram Katha reveals the importance of stone as an inert element. If the story of Ahilya is seen from a scientific point of view, then the process of finding organic components is found in the formation of inorganic components of the earth.  When giant trees fall and get buried in the ground, they turn into stone in millions and millions of years.  Ahilya was also the first living woman who was cursed and turned into a rock.  After getting the touch of Shriram's feet, she became alive again.  Just as sprouts sprout from rocks after getting environmental adaptability.

 The reservoirs like wells, rivers, lakes and sea etc. which have been mentioned in Ram Katha are all full of water, there is no sign of water shortage in any of them.  The environment of these reservoirs is clean and full of aquatic animals.  That is, water conservation was an integral part of lifestyle in Tretayuga.  No one had to bear the brunt of water scarcity.  There is a picturesque upana in Ram Katha in which Sita first sees Shri Ram.  Such a garden where there is a lake, there is also a lotus, the birds are saying yesterday and the bumblebees are humming.

 Forest production is rapidly decreasing today.  When the forests are decreasing, then from where will the forest produce be more?  The expansion of cities has also caused immense damage to the environment.  But in Ram Katha, along with cities, villages and forest dwellers are also equally described.

Today we are spreading our settlements by drying the sea shores.  This is an encroachment on sea water and land.  In this context, it is necessary to remember the incident when Shri Ram praises the sea for three days but the sea does not give way to cross.  Then Shri Ram gets angry on the ocean under the control of human incarnation and puts an arrow on the bow to dry it up.  Then the ocean appears and tells Shri Ram that you are almighty, you can dry me in a moment if you want but drying is not my nature.  Therefore, you will not be successful in this.  Then Shri Ram says to the sea that you suggest a solution. On this, the sea tells the way to float the rocks of Ramnaam in water.  Acting on which, the army of monkeys and bears make "Ramsetu" by writing the name of Shri Ram on the rocks.  That is, Ram Katha says that whether it is sea or river, the path of development should be found without harming the nature.

There is no mention of environmental imbalance or damage to the environment at any place in Ram Katha.  When Lakshman gets ready to set fire to the water with his arrow out of anger, there also the water gods remind us to protect the water creatures and the water creatures are not harmed.  Therefore, if the environmental essence of Ram Katha is imbibed, then the obstacles coming in the way of protection of the environment can be easily removed and environmental consciousness can be communicated to the general public very easily.

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 (23.07.2023)

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