In this thread, I will discuss about gardens and how they became sacred.
Gardens are termed Ārāma and Udyāna in Sanskrit. These words give clues about their origin.
This picture from the Saraswati Temple in Bāli beautifully shows the Hindu symbolism of water with the sacred.
Gardens are termed Ārāma and Udyāna in Sanskrit. These words give clues about their origin.
This picture from the Saraswati Temple in Bāli beautifully shows the Hindu symbolism of water with the sacred.
Over the course of the invasions in the past few centuries, the Indian tradition of gardens was almost completely destroyed. Gardens need constant upkeep and maintenance. So they did not survive the period of colonial occupation, unlike other sacred architecture such as temples.
In order to understand the Indian tradition of gardening, we need to travel far behind in time, to when people knew no agriculture but survived as hunter-gatherers.
The first gardens were created as reliable plots of land where food (edible fruit, seeds etc.) can be collected.
The first gardens were created as reliable plots of land where food (edible fruit, seeds etc.) can be collected.
Such primitive gardens were found till recently in Papua New Guinea, where these tribes cultivated Taro. In a tropical rainforest, it rains almost daily and no serious irritation needs to be planned.
But this is not the case in India, where rain falls only during the monsoon.
But this is not the case in India, where rain falls only during the monsoon.
Now we need the first technological innovation : a tool for boring land and channeling water from a river to a neighboring plot of land. That tool is called "Ara" in Sanskrit. This created a reliable supply of water to the land. Thus was created an "Arama" or a garden.
"Uda" or water (cognate to words like "voda" in Russian) can then be channelled into specific pathways to the beds where the plants are kept. This "Yāna" or journey of "Uda" defines the "Udyāna" or a garden. Maintaining canals of water is the second technological innovation.
The land needs to be tilled so that the soil retains water and plants grow evenly. This ploughed land is called "Krshța". The act of ploughing is termed "Krshi". This is the third technological innovation. This was helped by the humped cows and oxen, which were domesticated here.
A well maintained garden was also a source of pleasure and play (kreeda). The pleasure garden was termed "Akreeda". Shades of this word are retained in the Russian word for Garden "Ogoroth" (please excuse my orthography) and Latin word for a field "Agor" (plural "Agri").
Indians were probably thinking of work (krshi) and play (kreeda) together. Both come from a similar root word "kr" from a very ancient time. My guess is that the Latin "Agri" is probably from same root as "Krshi".
After this cultivated gardening took off, people started planning elaborate water-ways for irrigation beyond the immediate vicinity of a river. These water canals are termed "Kulya".
The word for a canal in my mother-tongue Telugu "Kāluva" derives from this Sanskrit word.
The word for a canal in my mother-tongue Telugu "Kāluva" derives from this Sanskrit word.
"Kulya" has the same root as "Kultura" or "culture". A land cultivated by water is highly praised. Thus, the word "culture" came to also denote the finer achievements of human prowess. Thus, we have the word "agriculture" which has two friends in Sanskrit: Kṛshi + Kulya.
Planning these canals require breaking the flow of water. This dividing water is known in Sanskrit as "Bhanga".
This word is connected to the Persian word for a garden "Bagh" as well as the German word for a stream "Bach". Small new settlements started to form around the canals.
This word is connected to the Persian word for a garden "Bagh" as well as the German word for a stream "Bach". Small new settlements started to form around the canals.
As we see, water is the most important element for supporting a civilization.
Technology for controlling the flow of water enabled concentrated settlements of humans. The largest of all human settlements of ancient time, by far, was the Saraswati-Sindhu civilization.
Technology for controlling the flow of water enabled concentrated settlements of humans. The largest of all human settlements of ancient time, by far, was the Saraswati-Sindhu civilization.
In Sanskrit, "Ara" means a cavity as well as an instrument to bore it. "Sara" means "to flow".
The river Saraswati was the patron goddess who supported this civilization. She was depicted with water birds and lotuses.
Her Persian equivalent was Anāhita, here seen with a lotus.
The river Saraswati was the patron goddess who supported this civilization. She was depicted with water birds and lotuses.
Her Persian equivalent was Anāhita, here seen with a lotus.
The word "Sārya" is derived from "Sara" and means a discharge of water.
Similarly, the word "Ārya" is derived from "Ara" and it refers to the irrigated land as well as the people doing it. The word for agriculture in Greek is "Yeoryiya" ( please excuse my orthography).
Similarly, the word "Ārya" is derived from "Ara" and it refers to the irrigated land as well as the people doing it. The word for agriculture in Greek is "Yeoryiya" ( please excuse my orthography).
The words "Ara" and "Ārya" are connected to the words in English such as "arable", "area", "irrigate" etc.
In a previous thread, I discussed how the word "Ārya" is also connected to the words for money ("arjana", "argent"/sliver etc.).
In a previous thread, I discussed how the word "Ārya" is also connected to the words for money ("arjana", "argent"/sliver etc.).
Water is considered sacred due to its central importance in maintaining civilization. Building and maintaining water structures is considered to bring religious merit (Puṇya) in Hinduism.
In this earlier thread, I gave several links on this topic.
In this earlier thread, I gave several links on this topic.
The garden for meditation (Tapovana) and the water supporting it (Teertha) became centres for pilgrimage.
Later, the water structures were decorated with elaborate sculptures. Probably the greatest example from today is the Rani ki Vaav in Gujarat.
Later, the water structures were decorated with elaborate sculptures. Probably the greatest example from today is the Rani ki Vaav in Gujarat.
The architecture of the Hindu temple itself is modeled after a garden. Each of these temples is surrounded by many lakes and gardens, although many such lakes and gardens have perished today in India.
The great Angkor Vat temple stands at the heart of an elaborate water garden.
The great Angkor Vat temple stands at the heart of an elaborate water garden.
But the architecture of the Hindu temple garden also survives in the most unlikely of places: Islam.
In the Quran, the highest level of Paradise among the heavenly gardens "Jannat" is termed "Firdaus". This word in Arabic comes from the ancient Persian "Paridaeza".
In the Quran, the highest level of Paradise among the heavenly gardens "Jannat" is termed "Firdaus". This word in Arabic comes from the ancient Persian "Paridaeza".
"Paridaeza" (also the root of the word "paradise") means a garden surrounded by walls. It is cognate to Sanskrit "Paridéśa" or "Paridwāra".
Pari is equivalent to "Peri" in Greek (perimeter). Daeza means walls ("Dwāra", "Darwaza" in Persian). A "paradise" is a walled garden.
Pari is equivalent to "Peri" in Greek (perimeter). Daeza means walls ("Dwāra", "Darwaza" in Persian). A "paradise" is a walled garden.
The Zoroastrians of Persia, following their Indian cousins, represented the human world as a rectangle and the heavens as a circle. (Also seen in a Vedic altar or a Tantric Manḍala).
Using this symbolism, they modeled the ideal garden as 4 canals meeting at a central pool.
Using this symbolism, they modeled the ideal garden as 4 canals meeting at a central pool.
These designs for the garden can still be seen in the architectural ruins of Persepolis. Elaborate aqueducts which were constructed to bring water to these gardens later inspired Greco-Roman aqueducts.
The fame of these Persian gardens later inspired the "Firdaus" of the Quran.
The fame of these Persian gardens later inspired the "Firdaus" of the Quran.
The Quran describes these gardens and the eternal rivers that flow through them in great detail. Islamic garden architecture everywhere is modeled after these descriptions as well as the prior models from the Persepolis.
Here, we see the paradise gardens of Allhambra, Spain.
Here, we see the paradise gardens of Allhambra, Spain.
One of the most elegant gardens in Iran is the Bagh-e-Eram in Shiraz. This ancient word "Eram" connects to the Sanskrit "Ārāma". Maintaining such gardens in a dry landscape required great ingenuity. This talent for crafting water can also be seen in the lake temples of Rajasthan.
This surrounding walls of the Paradise gardens keep out the heat and noise of a human settlement in the tropics. This architecture is seen at the minute scale in the inner courtyards of the Saraswati-Sindhu houses, which have windows to the inside.
quora.com/If-houses-in-t…
quora.com/If-houses-in-t…
This architecture that opens inwards became a central element in later developments in India, not only for houses but also for cities. This model from the Sanskrit text Mānasāra shows the model of a city fortress with several surrounding walls (courtesy @wiavastukala).
One factor that distinguishes Islamic gardens from the Indian tradition are the clear waters, which are kept free from any plants.
In contrast, the Indian pools kept lotuses. These are considered to have purifying properties as well as a sacred symbolism.
pragyata.com/mag/the-infini…
In contrast, the Indian pools kept lotuses. These are considered to have purifying properties as well as a sacred symbolism.
pragyata.com/mag/the-infini…
A water tank in a temple is called "Pushkariṇi" or the one with lotuses. These pools have traveled eastwards from India through Buddhist and Hindu influences. In Japan, they mixed with the native ideas about the sacred mysteries of nature. Here is a temple garden in Kamakura.
Crossing a sacred water channel (Teertha) has high spiritual significance in Hinduism and Buddhism. This idea shaped the beautiful bridges of Japanese gardens. Here is one from Daigoji temple in Kyoto, Japan.
These water gardens have influenced the impressionist art of Monet.
These water gardens have influenced the impressionist art of Monet.
Sacred architecture also has astronomical alignments. Mapping the movements of the stars through sacred architecture was a necessity for agriculture: for tracking the monsoons of India.
The ancient city of Varanasi was entirely created as a sacred garden.
The ancient city of Varanasi was entirely created as a sacred garden.
The heritage of these ancient gardens (Ārāmas) is all but forgotten in India. There is an ancient pilgrimage town called Drākshārāma by the Gōdāvari river in southern India. This name is a corruption of Daksha + Ārāma.
Daksha refers to a Prajāpati, the founder of civilization.
Daksha refers to a Prajāpati, the founder of civilization.
I have always wondered which place had the earliest cultivation of rice in my native region of Andhra Pradesh in India. When did it start? Nobody knows.
But if I have to make a guess, I would place it in the Ārāma of Daksha, where he bored (Ara) water from the Godavari river.
But if I have to make a guess, I would place it in the Ārāma of Daksha, where he bored (Ara) water from the Godavari river.
We have lost connection with an important element of human heritage in India: maintaining sacred gardens. But we have traces of this heritage from many corners of the world. So we can revive it.
It doesn't need a lot of money, but it does need a lot of care. (End of thread)
It doesn't need a lot of money, but it does need a lot of care. (End of thread)
My thread broke. So connecting it here.
