Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion - Plant Life in South Asian Traditions - Fabrizio Ferrari

Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion - Plant Life in South Asian Traditions - Fabrizio Ferrari

Index of Botanical Species

Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion - Plant Life in South Asian Traditions - Fabrizio Ferrari

Fabrizio Ferrari
Università degli Studi di Padova
Thomas Dähnhardt [+-]
Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Thomas Dähnhardt is Lecturer in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

Description

Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion: Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures. Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.

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Citation

Ferrari, Fabrizio; Dähnhardt, Thomas. Index of Botanical Species. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion - Plant Life in South Asian Traditions. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 279-284 Jun 2016. ISBN 9781781791202. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=30979. Date accessed: 29 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.30979. Jun 2016

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