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VOL. 9, ISSUE 6 (2024)
Study on sacred groves of Udupi district from Karnataka, India
Authors
Sachin Dadaji Kuvar, Sudhakar Narayan Kothari
Abstract
Sacred groves are one of the most valuable of such legacies from the
primitive practices of nature conservation. Scattered, presumably throughout
India are tracts of sacred forest, which have been completely or nearly
completely immune from human interference on grounds of religious beliefs. The
nature of religious cults associated with such sacred groves suggests that the
practices are very ancient, deriving from the hunting gathering stages of the
society. The religious belief associated with the groves seems to primitive
cults, probably dating from the hunting gathering stage. The deity is generally
a mother goddess, though it may also take the form of phallic worship. The
deities are fiery spirits apt to cause serious harm to whoever offends them. Since
any disturbance to the grove was considered an offense to the deity, the groves
were traditionally free of all human interferences. Karnataka harbors nearly
1,500 documented sacred groves, which are most commonly called devarakadus
or devarkans. In smaller groves, tree cutting or other resource
extraction is strictly prohibited, while larger groves often function as
“resource forests,” in which people are allowed to gather products for
sustenance. Hundreds are dedicated to snakes, which protect agricultural crops
by controlling insect and rodent populations. During the present study many
sacred groves from Udupi district from Karnataka State were visited and the
ecosystem, conservation status of plants and vegetation was studied.
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Pages:14-19
How to cite this article:
Sachin Dadaji Kuvar, Sudhakar Narayan Kothari "Study on sacred groves of Udupi district from Karnataka, India". International Journal of Botany Studies, Vol 9, Issue 6, 2024, Pages 14-19
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