Sacred Ecology and Environmental Consciousness in Kalidasa’s Bhijnanashakuntalam

Abstract

This study explores the ecocritical dimensions of Abhijnanashakuntalam by focusing on the idea of sacred ecology and environmental consciousness embedded within the forest hermitage. While the play has traditionally been interpreted through aesthetic, romantic, and dramaturgical frameworks, its ecological vision has not been adequately explored within contemporary environmental humanities scholarship. The study addresses this gap by arguing that Kalidasa transforms nature from a poetic backdrop into an ethical and living presence that regulates human behaviour, emotional balance, and social order. Through close textual reading, the paper analyses representations of forests, rivers, animals, seasons, and ascetic life to examine how ecological consciousness is woven into the dramatic structure of the text. The argument also engages with the concept of forest hermitage ecology to demonstrate how the play resists anthropocentric attitudes and imagines a relational bond between humans and the non-human world. The study finds that Abhijnanashakuntalam presents an early ecological worldview in which ethical living depends upon harmony with nature. The forest emerges not merely as a setting but as a moral and ecological centre shaping human identity and responsibility. What emerges from this study is the recognition that classical Sanskrit literature contains sophisticated ecological insights that remain relevant to present environmental crises. It suggests the need to reposition Indian classical texts within global ecocritical discourse to develop culturally rooted models of environmental ethics and sustainability.