An Environmental Message in Shanti Mantra of Shukla Yajurved in Sanskrit Literature

Dr. Ashish K Shukla

Abstract: Environment is the soul of life hood. There is no alternative for environment. From the time of human evolution mankind is constantly under the grace of nature. Environment exists here before the birth of man on this earth. From the very point when mankind started developing the journey of development is flawlessly ongoing. In this development environment has played a very supportive role. Unfortunately mankind started overlooking the changes role of environment and changes happened to it. Sometimes we have paid the penalty of it that shows that we need reminder of environmental awareness time to time. There is no dearth of writers in literature who uses their skill on environmental awareness. If we talk about Sanskrit literature there are plenty of examples of message giving Shlokas, elaborations, shubhashits, shukts and chapters. Sanskrit Vedaas are considered that they are not written by any human. They are much more than a knowledge bank. Here I have selected a Shanti mantra ?Om Dyauh Shantirantariksham Shantih? from Shukla Yajurved 36.17. It gives the example of greatness of Indian rishies and their environmental knowledge. Selected Shanti mantra is the paragon of environmental writing. We can consider it as a cosmic environmental prayer. This mantra throws light on multiple facets of environment. It starts form cosmic peace and moves on to air, water, land, foliage and gods. The message is that if we want clean and peaceful environment it is our duty to keep the environment clean. Tranquil elements of environment can keep mankind happy and prosperous and this way we can attain mental tranquility. In five lines of this mantra a very important message was given years back and it is at most necessary in current time. The mantra signifies the environmental gospel in which can make the world a better place to live.

Keywords: Environment, Sanskrit Literatures, Environmental imbalance

How to Cite?: Dr. Ashish K Shukla, "An Environmental Message in Shanti Mantra of Shukla Yajurved in Sanskrit Literature", Volume 14 Issue 8, August 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1173-1175, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR25821161314, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR25821161314