5. Fauna (different types of animals)

In the Harṣacrita, Bāṇabhaṭṭa has also given the description of different types of animals. He mentions them in the descriptions of Vindhyāṭavī and the foot of the Himālaya. To indicate the animals, the writer uses the term śvāpada.

^[1] Of the domestic animals, the following name are noted in the Harṣacrita—

1. kramelaka (camel,p.42),
2. karabha (p.42),
3. sairibha,
4. gaura,
5. mahiṣa (buffallo,p.42,123,124,126),
6. śākkara (oxen,p.123),
7. mṛgarāja (goats,p.126),
8. māludhāna (a type of serpent,p.124),
9. biḍāla (cat, p.124),
10. karabha (camel, p.109),
11. śaśa (rabbit, p.113),
12. śvāna,
13. kauleyaka (dogs, p.110) etc.

The wild animals mentioned in the Harṣacrita are—

1. arati (languor, p.78),
2. sāra (reed,p.130),
3. śarabha (a kind of deer,p.66,74),
4. vanamahiṣa (p.76,130),
5. acchabhalla (bear,p.125),
6. varāha (p.113,126),
7. kṛṣṇasāra (p.127),
8. raṅkava (p.128),
9. camaru (a kind of deer,p.128),
10. gavaya (seems like oxen,p.128),
11. ruru (a kind of deer,p.128),
12. kṛṣṇasāra (spotted antelope, p.64),
13. golāṅgula (an ape with a dark face and a tail like a cow’s or may be a kind of monkey, p.128),
14. hariṇa,
15. mṛga (deer, p.2,23,74),
16. vyāghra,
17. śārdūla (tiger, p.118,74),
18. kapila (p.23),
19. kesari,
20. siṃhī,
21. siṃha (lion,p.74),
22. parjanya (frog, p.92),
23. vādhrīṇasa (rhinoceros, p.113) etc.

The word turaga (p.74), vājin (p.77), haya (p.122) etc. are used by Bāṇabhaṭṭa to refer to the horses. Besides, the prose-writer specially points out the excellent breeding of horse from Kāmboja. He describes that king Harṣa’s royal stable (mandura) was filled with different types of horses from different countries.^[2] Again in his Kādambarī, he gives the elaborate description of the horse Indrāyudha^[3] and the king’s favorite elephant Darpaśāta, which stayed in the king’s royal palace.^[4]

In his gadyakāvyas, different names of the elephant, [such as the following are to be found]—

1. kariṇ (p.71,122),
2. dantin (p.109),
3. gajendra (p.91),
4. kuñjara (p.92)
5. anekapa (p.109),
6. mātaṅga (p.69),
7. hastika (p. 109) etc.

1 Birds:

The prose-writer Bāṇabhaṭṭa uses the words śakuni (p.23), khagā (p.22), etc. to indicate the bird. According to the Amarakoṣa-khage vihaṅgāḥ.^[5] At that time, the birds like Parrot (śuka) and Maina (sārikā) etc. were also trained by making them repeatedly hear the teacher’s reciting of the Vedic mantras. The birds could correctly imitate the recitation of those Vedic mantras. Students could take lessons from trained birds, instead of from teachers, in leisure. Those birds helped the ṛtvijas to give leisure during the time of sacrifices (yāga) also.^[6] Therefore, people were very fond of these two birds to tame them. Again, in the Vindhyāṭavī cuckoo was singing the sweet song on the top of the trees.^[7] The writer describes about different types of the birds and animals, which lived in the royal palace; and queen Yaśomatī brought them up as her own sons and loved them very-much.^[8]

Again, at that time, people believed that some birds as the signs of auspiciousness. The writer mentions in the time of emperor Harṣavardhana’s army expedition, the flight of cāṣa bird to the right of a person on a journey were taken as an omen indicating prosperity.^[9] Some birds, however, indicated the bad omens, such as the cry of the crow was an evil omen.^[10] The Vṛhatsaṃhitā also supports it.^[11] Besides these, many other birds’ name are mentioned by the writer Bāṇabhaṭṭa, which were available in his time.

They are such as—

1. kapota (pigeon,p.70),
2. hārita (pigeon, p.10),
3. śikhaṇḍi,
4. mayura (peacocks, pp.16,127,104),
5. cakravāka (p. 93),
6. kalahaṃsa (p.93),
7. vikira (p.23),
8. ariṣṭa,
9. kāka,
10. vāyasa,
11. kāku (crow,p.78,120,16),
12. kauñca (p.137),
13. cāṭaka (p.127),
14. bhuruṇḍa (p.128),
15. nīlāṇḍaja (p.128),
16. kokila (p.120),
17. jīvañjīvaka (p.117),
18. rājaśuka (a variety of parrots, p.124),
19. vadhūladvā (female sparrows, p.123),
20. baka (cran, p.18),
21. kīra (a parrot uttering words without understanding the meaning, bragging, p.18),
22. gṛdhra (vulture, p.139) etc.

2 Insects:

[The following are referred in the Harṣacarita]—

1. Pataṅga (a moth flies against the flame of a lamp,p.102),
2. mākṣika,
3. madhukara,
4. aliñjara (bees,p.48,123,122),
5. bhramara (p.71,124),
6. jhilikā (P.22),
7. kṛmi (a despicable creature,p.121) etc.

3 Reptiles:

[The following are also mentioned in the Harṣacarita]—

1. Ajagara (snake, p.125),
2. gaudhera (young lizard, p.128),
3. kamaṭḥa (tortoise, p.141),
4. bhujaṅga (snake, p.36),
5. ahīramaṇī (a serpent with two heads, p.125),
6. makarikā (crocodile, p.3),
7. parjanya (p.92) etc.

The study of the Harṣacarita of Bāṇabhaṭṭa reveals the fact that India was then covered with long belts of forests. The word aṭavī^[12] has been used to indicate the long belt of forest. The forest was covered with cackling of the birds, as in the seasons of spring (vasanta).^[13] Also many rare species were found in the reserves and some were living with the people in the 7^th century A.D. People gave the same respect to all the things of their surrounding atmosphere. The writer gives the description of Daṇḍakāraṇya in his Kādambarī that Sīta, the wife of Rāma brought up a deer as like as her own son^[14] and, even today, the old deer of the forest reminds the twang of Rāma’s bow.^[15] Again, he mentions that people planted trees and brought them up as their own son. In this context, the writer describes that Lopāmudrā, the wife of Agastya, planted trees in the Daṇḍakāraṇya and showered water on them with her own hands.^[16]

Moreover, at that time people planted various types of plants in their home-gardens (gṛhavātikā, kedārikā).^[17] From the above discussion, it may be inferred that people knew that the plantation had got many positive aspects for our surrounding environment and it would help not only on individual, but the society and ecosystem at large measure.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Kādambarī,p.123

[2]:

bhupālavallabhaisturaṅgairāracitāṃ mandurāṃ vilokayan, Harṣacarita II.p.29

[3]:

Kādambarī, p.129-131

[4]:

gatvā ca taṃ pradeśaṃ….. durādeva darpaśātamapaśyat, Harṣacarita,II.p.31

[5]:

Amarakoṣa, p.II.5, 32

[6]:

śukasārikāvyadhyayanādiyamānopādhyāyaviśrāntisukhāni, Harṣacarita,I.p.21

[7]:

kalakokilakulakavalitakalikodgamāḥ, Ibid.,VIII.p.127

[8]:

[a] bhrātaḥ pañjaraśuka, yathā na vismarati māma…, Ibid.,V.p.83
[b] sārike, svapne naḥ samāgamaḥ…, Ibid.
[c] ….kasya samapayāmi gṛhamayūrakam, Ibid.
[d] amba, sutaballālanīyamidaṃ haṃsamithunaṃ…, Ibid.
[e] mātṛbatsale……gṛhahariṇike…, Ibid.
[f] …kim kimiti pṛcchamāneva …..bhavanahaṃsībhiḥ, Ibid.,V.p.82
[g] …..samupadiśyamāna…gṛhasārasībhiḥ…, Ibid.

[9]:

…cañcanto maricayaścāṣarāśaya iva suśakunasampādanāya celuḥ, Ibid.,VII.p.111

[10]:

…dāruṇi dāruṇaṃ rarāṇa vāyasaḥ, Ibid.,V.p.75

[11]:

Vṛhatasaṃhitā,95.19

[12]:

[a] tanayā iva aṭavījātā vindhyasya, Harṣacarita,VIII.p.127
[b] aparimitavahulapatrasaṃścayāpi saptaparṇabhūṣitā…….puṣpavatyapi pavitrā vindhyāṭavī nāma, Kādambarī, p.40

[13]:

prakaṭitavividhavihaga…….vasanta ivopavanaiḥ kriyamānakolāhalaḥ, Harṣacarita,IV.p.71

[14]:

jānakīsaṃbardhitā jīrṇamṛgāḥ…, Kādambarī,p.43

[15]:

adhunāpi yatra….cāpaghoṣasya smaranto …. jīrṇamṛgāḥ, Ibid.

[16]:

tasyāṃ daṇḍakāraṇyaḥntapāti…….mahāmuneragastyasya bhāryayā lopāmudrayā svayaṃ…….karapuṭasalilasekasaṃvardhitaiḥ …..pādapaiḥ…, Ibid.,p.41-42

[17]:

[a] …….urubūkavacāvaṅgakasurasasūraṇaśigrugranthiparṇagavedhukāgarmudgulmagahanagṛhavātikaiḥ, Ibid.,VII.p.124
[b]....sekasukumārasomakedārikāharitāyamānapraghanāni, Ibid.,II.p.21