The Animal Voice in the Ramayana: Non Human Agency and Environmental Ethics in Epic

Nature in “Ramayana”, the great Indian Epic, is an active force, a living character teeming with a breed of intelligent animals, flora and fauna. The following paper is a small attempt to delve into a wide range of eco-critical theories found in the concerned Epic with special focus on biocentric worldview as found in Ramayana. Ramayana challenges passivity of animals and lesser beings and argues for the equal emotional role of animals in human narratives. Sacred Epic treats nature as a sacred force that directly plays upon the lives of human beings. Spiritual landscapes mentioned in Ramayana eulogize sacred ecology. Paper is a reflection on Indian way of thinking, its non-Western ecological philosophy; it studies the writing for environment interactions that contribute to environmental balance in ecosystems. Paper allows exploration of ecological consequences that are result of power struggle.