Water – Through the Windows of Indian Traditions

Abstract

Indian Traditions believe that God always play where water exists. Hindu Temples are recommended at river banks, lakes, Sangams, seashores, etc. Kunds, baolis, Sarovars, Kalyanis are meant to be sacred water bodies which in addition to religious beliefs were used for aesthetics, recreational and harvesting purposes. Old structures were the strong support systems during the times when modern infrastructural marvels had no existence and were more efficient in managing the water resources even at the time. Objective of this article is to study the different facets of water in terms of cultural, religious, aesthetical, recreational and conservational values and the etymology of traditional water resources and their declination and deterioration. Main Objective of the paper is to make the readers learn about the religious beliefs behind water bodies along with our traditional water harvesting systems and find out the ways human kind can contribute to revive the dilapidated state of sacred water bodies.