Fauna (1): Information on Fauna (Animal Kingdom)

India being a tropical country has many interesting species of fauna. Due to deforestation and an increase in population many species have witnessed extinction. It will be a zoologist's interest to note the species that are extinct now which have been mentioned in Amarakośa Kṣīrasvāmin's commentary is very helpful in identification of the fauna with its explanation on the features of the said fauna along with the habitat and behavioural pattern.

Flora and fauna enjoy a symbiotic relationship since they are interdependant on each other. Though flora is the very life sustenance fauna provides manure, seed dispersal etc.apart from striking a balance between them. Flora gets protected when herbivorous animals are checked by the carnivorous. Kṣīrasvāmin discusses the various species of the animal kingdom with clues for their external features of identification.

Information on Fauna lies scattered throughout Amarakośa It has been discussed in various sections either due to its association or utility. In the first Kāṇḍa, the Pātālabhogi varga deals with snakes and related words; the Vāri varga deals with acquatic beings. The second Kāṇḍa has an exclusive section called the siṃhādi varga mentioning animals and birds in general and their related words. The Kṣatriya varga includes elephants and horses used for military purposes; the Vaiśya varga mentions cows, goat, sheep, camel and donkey which are domesticated for trade purposes, while the Śūdra varga lists cock, dog and hog. The third Kāṇḍa called the Sāmānya Kāṇḍa is not an exception as a source of information on animal kingdom. In the Viśeṣyanighna varga, the origin of living beings is discussed. The Nānārtha varga dealing with homonymns, has denotations for animals and related terms and the Liṅgādisaṅgraha varga also lists out gender-related terms of the fauna.