Re-envisioning (reimagining) Human and Animal Relationships in the Anthropocene: A few Insights from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana

Though there are in number of studies are available in the area of anthropocene, this present study tries to depict a new angle with regard to human animal relationships in the hindu scriptures – the Mahabharata and the Ramayana using the theory of Animal studies and the the discourse of anthropocentricism. The above said two epics steeped in Indian or Hindu cosmology, where human, animal and nature coexist interdependently. An outlook that is sharply different from the human centric dogma in the anthropocene. A few characters from the epics like Hanuman, Jatayu and Garuda and the Nagas represent agency and moral complexity that shows how ancient Indian philosophy acknowledges the consciousness of and spiritual values of nonhumans. The research article shows how the epics anticipate modern debates around species equality, Eco ethics, and coexistence through posthumanist and ecological lenses. The discussion in the article identifies the Indian philosophy presents a sustainable and equitable model of relational ethics that can guide contemporary ecological awareness. This research paper also contends that going back to these epic stories contain significant lessons for re-envisioning human-animal relationship in the Anthropocene by refiguring out the mythological insight with twenty-first-century environmental concept.