Sacred Ecology and Healing: Cultural Significance of Medicinal Plants in Indian Societies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53032/tvcr/2026.v8n2.20Keywords:
Sacred Ecology, Medicinal Plants, Indigenous Healthcare, Traditional Knowledge Systems, Holistic HealingAbstract
India possesses one of the world’s richest traditions of plant-based healing, shaped by millennia of interactions among diverse ecosystems, cultural beliefs, and medical knowledge systems. In Indian societies, medicinal plants are not merely therapeutic substances but sacred entities embedded in religion, rituals, folklore, and everyday life. This study examines the concept of sacred ecology in relation to healing practices in India, exploring how medicinal plants function simultaneously as pharmacological resources, cultural symbols, and spiritual mediators. Drawing on examples from classical traditions, folk medicine, and tribal practices, this study analyzes the role of sacred plants in maintaining health, social cohesion, and ecological balance. It argues that these traditions remain highly relevant in contemporary contexts marked by environmental degradation, lifestyle-related diseases, and renewed interest in holistic health.
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