“No Cat’s Land”: The Animal World of Kashmir as Seen in the Nīlamata Purāṇa

The Nīlamata purāṇa was a very important text compiled in the early seventh to mid-ninth century, which illustrated the religious life in ancient Kashmir. This text described local religious order that was dominated by Brahmanism. This religious order under the Brahmanism served to maintain the caste system in ancient Kashmir, and also had significant impact on the social and cultural life. Many sacrificial rites on the religious calendar also offered animals as sacrifices, therefore the readers could figure out the natural ecology and animal world from the list of animal sacrifices. The list of these animals also manifested mutual relations among humans, gods, and animals in Kashmir. It seems that horses, cows, and goats were among the most visible animals for sacrificial rites, though other wild animals such as elephants, lions, and tigers were also well known to local people. Elephants and horses were instrumental to the political order too. In the meantime, horses, cows, and goats made crucial contributions to local economic life, yet other domesticated animals and birds were less important. However, the knowledge about animals in Kashmir often evolved with the historical development.