Almost everything Indian may be traced back to the Mahabharata or Ramayana - if not further still-and both these great epics show the national Hindu feeling of close harmony with nature and love for all created things. There are constant references in these poems to flowers and gardens, and a garden or forest grove forms the background in nearly every scene. As a rule these landscape pictures are somewhat vague and shadowy, but a description in the Mahabharata, translated by Professor Joret in his book, Les Plantes dans l'antiquite et au moyen age, of the pleasure-grounds surrounding Kandavaprastha, the capital of the Pandavas, is more definite. The gardens were 'ornamented in all seasons with flowers and fruits.' Among the various trees and plants mentioned are the mango, asoka, champaka, nag-champa, sal tree, palmyra tree, skrew pine, bignonia, coral tree, and oleander. All kinds of birds frequented the gardens, which 're-echoed to the cry of the peacock and the song of the kokila'-Indian cuckoo. 'The walls of the pavilions shone like mirrors. There were numerous arbours covered by creepers, charming artificial hillocks, lakes filled to the brim with clear water, fish ponds carpeted with lotus and water lilies, and ponds, covered by delicate aquatic plants, on which swam red geese, ducks, and swans.'
