Sources of Sacred Gardens

SACRED ANIMALS SOURCES

Sacred Animals (General)

Crooke, W., “Animal Worship”, Folklore of India, pp. 315-346, Aryan Books International, New Delhi, 1993.
Many animals have been worshipped in India since ancient times. It has been a part of their folklore, myth and beliefs. They believed that the spirit of their ancestors appeared in the form of animals. Animals are worshipped or respected for their qualities, their wisdom and their use to human beings.The origin of animal worship may be traced to many different sources. Many of the animals are regarded as the vahanas (vehicles) of different deities. Worship of animals like horse, tiger, dog, cow, goat, insect and fish is briefly discussed here.

Birdwood, G.C.M., The Art of India, Nanda Book Service, Delhi, 1997.
This is the most authoritative and important reference work on Indian Art. The book contains a wealth of information and is amply illustrated. Part I of the book discussed the sacred animals, plants and trees, places, mountains and rivers.

Dubois, J.A., “Worship Paid To Animals”, Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, London, 1906.
Animal worship is one of the lowest forms of all idolatry worship and is also foundation of all the idolatry religion in India. All living creatures are either useful or harmful to man and hence it was better to worship them.

Israel, S., and Sinclair, T., (eds.), “Animals in Mythology, Art and Folklore”, Indian Wildlife, pp. 28-33, APA Publications (HZ) Ltd., Singapore, 1989.
Seldom has any culture deeply and so consistently associated with animals and trees as that of Hinduism and Buddhism. Religious belief, mythology and folklore combined to invest them with a sanctity that was reiterated throughout the history and endures even today.

Jha, A., “Ecological Prudence of the Lepchas”, Development Alternatives, Vol.8, No.6, p. 5-6 June, 1998.
The Lepchas, tribal communities of Sikkim, have a unique conservation philosophy that preserves rare migratory birds and animals.

Kamat, K., “Animals of Indian Mythology”, The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Vol. LXXXV, No.2, June 1994.
Ancient Indians had recognized the animals right to co-exist with man and therefore they were loved, nurtured and even worshipped. The activities of ancient Indians were woven around animals. Animals have been mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. Today we are neither adopting ancient Indians compassionate attitude, nor scientific approach of the westerners towards these animals and hence we are heading towards a catastrophe.

Ranjitsingh, M.K., “Religious Sentiment and Wildlife”, Beyond the Tiger- Portraits of Asian Wildlife, pp. 193-197, New Delhi, 1997.
Local community’s safeguards wildlife due to their religious sentiments. The practice has a long-term effect on the preservation of some wild animals and birds.

Rao, H.S., “History of our Knowledge of the Indian Fauna Through the Ages”, A Century of Natural History, pp. 54-74, Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay, 1983.
The legends of the tribal people and the undying traditions of the Hindu scriptures abound in references to a great variety of animals. The avataras referred to in the Hindu scriptures are each associated with a common animal. The animal wealth of India during the 3rd and 4th millennia B.C., Vedic period, Sangam literature, and Moghul period upto modern times is briefly discussed here.

Singh, K., “Myth and Reality”, The Tiger Call, pp. 16-19, WWF India, March 1996.
The tiger has played a major role in Indian mythology. The vahana (vehicle) of Shiva Durga and Lord Ayyappa is the tiger. Inspite of such sacredness, the tiger has been ruthlessly massacred and hunted over centuries. Hunting tigers was the symbol of male ego.

Snake

Aiyar, R.K., "South Indian Serpent-lore", Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Vol. XXII, No. 4, pp. 424 - 430, The Mythic Society, Bangalore, 1932.
All classes of Hindus venerate the serpent, and men and women in every part of India worship it.

Bhattacharyya, A., "The Sun and the Serpent lore of Bengal", Firma KLM Private Limited, Calcutta, 1977.
In the first half of the book the author discusses the Sun - god and its myth and legends, festival and dances related to Sun - god and Sun- cult in Literature. In the second half of the book the author discusses about a serpent goddess, the rites of the serpent goddess, serpent legends, serpent proverbs and beliefs, the snake story in folk-entertains and serpent motifs in folk art. The author has described how the two diverse elements of nature, the sun and the serpent, are related in their action and attitude towards mankind.

Fergusson, J.A., "Tree and Serpent Worship", Indological Book House, Delhi, 1971.
This book contains discusses the illustrations of Mythology and Art in 1st and 4th century A.D., from the sculptures of the Buddhist Topes at Sanchi and Amaravati. The Introductory essay deals with the prevalence of Tree and Serpent Worship in the Western World. Part II continues the discussion with reference to Eastern Asia. The Topes are then described and explained.

Krishna, N., “Sanctified, and yet killed”, The Hindu Folio, pp. 40-41, September, 1998.
Snakes are a source of fear and fascination throughout the world. Most ancient civilization revered the mystical qualities of the snake. In India, it has a special place in the culture and civilization. Special festivals for snakes such as Nagapanchami and Ananta chaturdasi are performed.

Nair, R.G., "Snake Worship in India", New Delhi, 1993.
The author discusses the history, legend and the tradition of snake cult in India from the Vedas, Epics and puranas. In the second chapter, the author has concentrated on the serpent worship in Kerala and he discusses the serpent kavu, special puja and festival for snake cult in Kerala and Nagercoil in Tamilnadu. In the third chapter, he discusses the Omnipresence of serpent cult with special mention to tirtha and Naga Shesha and Vasuki temples in Varanasi, Nagpur, Gujarat and the snake goddess Manasa devi in Bengal. In the fourth chapter, he discusses about the festival for the snake god and finally he describes the snake cult in Art.

Noble, P., “Worship on Naga”, The India Magazine, pp. 52-63, August, 1984.
Snakes played an important role in the mythology and folklore of Malayalees. Symbolic stones or Naga idols are their shrines. In Kerala several kaavus are dedicated to snakes, called Pampin kaavu.

Padmanabhan, S., “A Temple Which Unifies the Four Cults”, Kisan World, Vol.19, No.12, pp. 33-35, 1992.
Nagaraja temple at Nagarcoil of Kanyakumari district in Tamilnadu unifies the four streams of religion: Saivism, Vishnavism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Ponnu, R., "Cobra Cult in South India", Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Vol. LXXIV, No. 1, pp. 22 - 30, The Mythic Society, Bangalore, 1983.
The snake cult occupied a prominent place in the life of the people of several countries. Snakes occupied a conspicuous niche in the Hindu pantheon. Snakes are of universal occurrence and importance in the Hindu mythology. The cobra cult was more popular in Tamilnadu, than any other part of India.

Sivapriyananda, “Serpents in Indian Imagination”, The Indian Magazine, pp. 18-27, July, 1992.
Snake cult in India has an unbroken continuity that goes back to 3000 B.C. Snakes are associated with Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythology.

Subaramaniya Pillai, G., "Tree Worship and Its Ophiolatry", Annamalai University, 1948.
This is a pioneer work in tree and serpent worship. He scanned entire range of Tamil literature and gains an insight into the inner significance of the manifold rites and ceremonies that have grown round the tree and the serpent. The author has traced the origin of Sivalinga from the worship of Kanthu, the stump, Kanthali, a stone, was to be installed in its place and worshipped and he has discussed the importance of Kaval-maram, that is, of trees, which it was the duty of monarchs to foster and protect. He also discussed the serpent worship and its origin. The anthills under sacred trees are not demolished and thus they become the convenient abode of snakes. These reptiles eat the offerings sprinkled at the foot of trees. This plausibly engenders the belief that gods in the shape of serpents reside under the trees and appropriate the offerings proffered to them. It is significant to note that god Shiva is the Lord of demons snakes and plants.

“Snake Worship in Konkan”, Light House, Vol. 2, No.2, p. 6, 2002.
Avas and Naagaon are two places in the Konkan, where snake worship is carried out.

Peacock

Nair, P.T., "Peacock Worship in India and Abroad", Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Vol. LXV, No. 1, pp. 1 - 15, The Mythic Society, Bangalore, 1974.
Peacock an original inhabitant of South India is worshipped all over Asia. The worship of the peacock as the vehicle of god Subramania or Muruga and goddess Saraswati is deep rooted in India. Today the bird is part and parcel of all major religions of the world.

Sarma, S.M.V., "Our National Bird: The Peacock - Its Myths and Legends", Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Vol. LXI, No. 1-4,pp. 38 - 53,The Mythic Society, Bangalore, 1970.
Many poets from Bharatavarsa to Valmiki and others have sung about the peacock. The peacock was in the ancient myths of India looked upon as the vehicle of the goddess Sarasvati.

Other Sacred Animals

Bedi, R., "Mating and Habitat - Auspicious Animal", Elephant - Lord of the Jungle, pp. 8 - 15, National Book Trust, New Delhi, 1969.
In Ancient India the elephant was held in high esteem. The shastras forbade the killing of an elephant. Till date we worship Ganesha, the elephant headed deity. People throughout the world revere elephants.

Thapar, V., “The Cult of the Tiger”, Sanctuary, Vol. XV, No. 1, pp. 14-25, 1995.
Hindus have worshiped tigers from very ancient times. Tiger images and legends occur throughout Hindu-dominated areas. Tiger hunting was a popular sport during olden days. Today the home of tigers have been ravaged and destroyed completely.

Marimuthu, G., “The Sacred Flying Fox of India – A Few Privileged Colonies of flying foxes are protected by time-honoured Tradition”, Bat Conservation International, Vol.6, No. 2, pp 10-11, 1988.
The Indian flying foxes (Pteropus giganteus) are considered sacred at 4 places near Madurai in Tamilnadu, a state of southern India. These bats are believed to get protection from the deities associated with the roosting sites at these 4 sites. Hence, due to the fear of deities, local people do not allow hunting of the Indian flying foxes.

Moses, S.T., "Turtle Lore", Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Vol. XXXIX, No. 2, pp. 117 - 128, The Mythic Society, Bangalore, 1948.
The tortoise has always been a part of the Hindu mythology and folklore. Hindus believe that the earth is supported by an elephant, which in turn stands on the back of the tortoise.

Ponnu, R., "Hanuman Cult in South India", Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Vol. LXXXI, No. 1- 2, pp. 107 - 125, The Mythic Society, Bangalore, 1990.
Worship of animals is more comprehensible in India. The origin of Hanuman cult is not clear. It is believed that monkey cult was originally associated with sun worship. Hanuman cult is one of the popular cults in South India. Hanuman cult gives a status of reverence to the whole race, and is in his honour, the monkeys are generally looked upon sacred.

Sundas, A., “Sacred Black Bucks are a curse in Mehasana”, The New Indian Express, February 24, 1999.
The Blackbuck is considered to be sacred and protected by the villagers of Mehsana in Kadi Taluka of Rajasthan. The animal comes under the category of vulnerable (Schedule I of red list of IUCN).

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