Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research ISSN: 2278-4853 Vol. 11, Issue 5, May 2022 SJIF 2022 = 8.179 A peer reviewed journal https://tarj.in 1 ANCIENT INDIAN CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT: A HISTORICAL SCRUTINY Dr. Archana Verma* *Associate Professor, Department of History, Hindu College, University of Delhi, Delhi, INDIA With Inputs from Student Researchers, Interdisciplinary Innovation Project Antarleen Sinha, Anusha Nagar, Vibhuti Pathak, Muskan Abbasi, Sayandeep Das, Email id: arbverma@yahoo.co.in DOI: 10.5958/2278-4853.2022.00077.5 ABSTRACT Mankind has always tried to comprehend different natural occurrences and environmental features which surround them as free gifts of nature be it mountains, rivers, rainfall and vegetation. Since ancient times, these gifts of nature allowed human beings to expand their activities and develop from being primitive hunter-gatherers to pastoral nomads and then to settled agriculturists. However, the seers and thinkers of the ancient times understood the fact that while gifts of nature could be found and used aplenty, attempts to exploit nature beyond the boundaries of stability would lead to the nature’s wrath. Thus, the idea of utilizing nature with due consideration to maintaining its integrity, along with other inhabitants of the environment, was the ancient Indian perception of sustainable living which was rooted in environmental consciousness. KEYWORDS: Ancient India, Environment, Paryavarana, Panchbhutas, Conservation, Vedas, Upanishad, Kautilya’sArthashastra, Ashokan Edicts, Prayag Prashasti, Hathigumpha Inscription, Kalidasa. INTRODUCTION The historical analysis of mankind‟s interaction with the environment in India‟s ancient past is of great importance and potential. It is understood that ancient Indians inquired about different ways in which the nature affected them and also recorded different aspects of the environment which human beings had to protect for their own well-being. Ancient India has a lot to offer as examples in terms of precedents for environmental conservation which tend to inspire the tone, and increase the efficiency, of sustainable living in modern times. This realization suggests that the ideation of providing for a healthy world to live in germinated in ancient times, along with a keen observation of the ecological surroundings that the nature can be as unforgiving as it can be nourishing. Being conscious of this basic principle, it was important to conserve the sensitive but beneficial ties that humans enjoyed with their environment, lest the destruction of the Mother Nature result in the abolition of human beings themselves.