Biodiversity of India:A Wiki Resource For Indian Biodiversity

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Welcome to Project Brahma!

What is this project about?
Project Brahma is an open-source, community driven project, much like Wikipedia, where anyone - regardless of their religion, ideology, language or geographical location - can contribute their knowledge of India's biodiversity. Our aim is to promote conservation of India's wildlife resources by encouraging community documentation and increasing awareness. Learn more about the need and aims of this project...

The Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is considered the seat of Lord Brahma
What we do...
Project Brahma has both online as well as field components. Currently, we have a framework set up for online activities. We are working on four different aspects of Indian biodiversity (and you are welcome to contribute to any of them!):
  1. Division:Plants
  2. Division:Mammals
  3. Division:Videos
  4. Division:Education
  5. Brahma Notes

While Division:Plants and Division:Mammals involve documentation of different aspects of India's wildlife resources, the latter three divisions are aimed towards increasing awareness and interest in Indian biodiversity. Find out how you can contribute to Project Brahma...

What does the name Brahma mean?
The concept of Brahma in Buddhism refers to an all-encompassing, pervasive, divine force. In Hinduism, Lord Brahma (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मा) is referred to as the creator of the entire universe and all life that inhabits it. The name Brahma is intended to convey the ideas of exhaustiveness of information as we intend to have on this site as well as strong cultural connections of Indian biodiversity. We are not affiliated with any political group nor do we advocate any particular religious ideology. More FAQs...

Check out the following links and get to know Project Brahma better!


Explore our large collection of biodiversity-related videos...
(and you can contribute some too!)

Why conserve India's biodiversity?

These writeups are a part of the Bio Notes section of this website where we have tried to document the myriad connections between India's flora and fauna and its peoples. Through these writeups, we hope to provide a reason, a purpose for the common man to start thinking about biodiversity conservation.

Biodiversity conservation in Uttarakhand
Contributed by: Mohan Rajinikanth

Valley of Flowers

In several Himalayan states like Uttarakhand, ecology is highly synonymous with the religions practiced. In the nine districts in Uttarakhand, there are 168 sacred natural sites including 75 sacred forests, 74 sacred groves, 10 water bodies and 9 pastures. In some cases, entire forest areas are dedicated to deities. Let alone resource exploitation, trespassing into the sacred forests is considered a taboo, punishable by the wrath of the deity. As a result, forest areas flourish untouched. The only occasion these areas are accessed, with minimal invasion, is during annual festivals. Continue reading...

Fig trees in Rome, Greece and in Christianity
Contributed by: Gaurav Moghe

Prophet Isaiah

Figs have been consumed with relish since ancient times, even by the Romans and Greeks. According to an ancient myth, fig was the favorite fruit of Bacchus, the Lord of Carnival and the Lord of Wine. Fig juices were also used in religious ceremonies. In addition, the fig tree is widely employed in Roman symbolic traditions, as the twin founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus - when they were infants, were transported by the River deity Tiberinus in a basket made from roots of the fig tree. The fig tree, in Rome, was considered an emblem of the future prosperity of the race. Continue reading...

Man made radiation and nature's resilience
Contributed by: Mohan Rajinikanth

The 1000-year old cherry tree near Fukushima

In 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history- the Chernobyl disaster- occurred in Ukraine. It was the result of the explosion of a nuclear reactor built to generate electric power. The blast splattered radioactive material across 200,000 square kilometers of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Many plants and animals died quickly from radiation overdose. Pine tree needles withered away, earning an area near the destroyed reactor, the name ‘Red Forest’. More than a third of a million people were evacuated. A 60 mile exclusion zone was created. But with the migration of people, began a spectacular ingress and resurgence of animals and plants. Continue reading...


A total of 65 articles in the database as of this moment. For the complete list, click on any article, then scroll down on the subsequent page


See more such stories in our Bio Notes community page. We encourage you to contribute some too!

Recently added species

An integral component of the Brahma Project is to document scientific, traditional and socio-cultural knowledge about various Indian species and present it in ways that make it interesting and enable its easy extraction. We are currently focused on plant and mammalian species. A total of 664 species currently exist in the database and several of them have some information filled in.
Want to make a new entry? Edit existing entries? Click here

Contact us!

  • Comments, ideas or questions? We would love to hear from you!
Contact us at admin at projectbrahma dot org
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