Eight ancient Shiva temples built before 1350 CE are located in zones with strong potential for water, energy and food productivity, reported The Times of India quoting a study by IIT-Roorkee in collaboration with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Coimbatore) and Uppsala University (Sweden) has found.
According to the researchers, 18.5% of the land area along the Shiva Shakti Aksha Rekha (SSAR) belt, where these temples stand, could produce up to 44 million tonnes of rice annually and has the capacity to generate nearly 597 GW of renewable energy. This offers important insights for India’s sustainability goals.
The eight temples, Kedarnath (Uttarakhand), Kaleshwaram (Telangana), Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), Kalviyur, Rameshwaram, Chidambaram, Kanchipuram, and Thiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu), were located in historically fertile regions with dependable rainfall and rich ecological balance.
Researchers used Geographic Information System (GIS) geospatial analysis to overlay temple locations with topography, forest cover, rainfall, soil health and agriculture datasets. They combined remote sensing and literature surveys to identify natural patterns tied to sustainability.
Published in Humanities & Social Sciences Communications by Nature Portfolio, the study suggested that India’s ancient planning models, deeply interwoven with mythology and ecology, could serve as templates for contemporary development. With India aiming for 500 GW of renewable energy production by 2030, the SSAR belt’s estimated generation potential alone could contribute more than a tenth of this target.
Prof K S Kasiviswanathan, lead author from IIT-Roorkee’s water resources development and management department, told ToI, “All eight temples were constructed considering not just spiritual and social aspects but also resource availability and agricultural fertility. Temple construction reflected scientific understanding of natural resource distribution.”
The study showed that forest cover during that period was about 2.4 times denser than today, resulting in better soil retention and ecological stability. While rainfall magnitudes varied from current levels, their geographic distribution remained largely stable, ensuring reliable farming conditions across centuries.
The temple locations were directly correlated with areas that had access to perennial water sources, fertile land, and potential for hydropower or solar generation.
Kasiviswanathan told ToI, “The science behind these temple sites gives us a blueprint for sustainable planning drawn from our own heritage. These findings are not just archaeological. They are deeply relevant for climate resilience and resource security in modern India.”
The team concluded that temple locations were not only sacred but strategically chosen to align with ecologically productive landscapes.
“This study is a compelling example of how ancient wisdom and modern science can complement each other,” said Prof Kamal Kishore Pant, director of IIT-Roorkee.
With inputs from ToI
According to the researchers, 18.5% of the land area along the Shiva Shakti Aksha Rekha (SSAR) belt, where these temples stand, could produce up to 44 million tonnes of rice annually and has the capacity to generate nearly 597 GW of renewable energy. This offers important insights for India’s sustainability goals.
The eight temples, Kedarnath (Uttarakhand), Kaleshwaram (Telangana), Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), Kalviyur, Rameshwaram, Chidambaram, Kanchipuram, and Thiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu), were located in historically fertile regions with dependable rainfall and rich ecological balance.
Researchers used Geographic Information System (GIS) geospatial analysis to overlay temple locations with topography, forest cover, rainfall, soil health and agriculture datasets. They combined remote sensing and literature surveys to identify natural patterns tied to sustainability.
Published in Humanities & Social Sciences Communications by Nature Portfolio, the study suggested that India’s ancient planning models, deeply interwoven with mythology and ecology, could serve as templates for contemporary development. With India aiming for 500 GW of renewable energy production by 2030, the SSAR belt’s estimated generation potential alone could contribute more than a tenth of this target.
Prof K S Kasiviswanathan, lead author from IIT-Roorkee’s water resources development and management department, told ToI, “All eight temples were constructed considering not just spiritual and social aspects but also resource availability and agricultural fertility. Temple construction reflected scientific understanding of natural resource distribution.”
The study showed that forest cover during that period was about 2.4 times denser than today, resulting in better soil retention and ecological stability. While rainfall magnitudes varied from current levels, their geographic distribution remained largely stable, ensuring reliable farming conditions across centuries.
The temple locations were directly correlated with areas that had access to perennial water sources, fertile land, and potential for hydropower or solar generation.
Kasiviswanathan told ToI, “The science behind these temple sites gives us a blueprint for sustainable planning drawn from our own heritage. These findings are not just archaeological. They are deeply relevant for climate resilience and resource security in modern India.”
The team concluded that temple locations were not only sacred but strategically chosen to align with ecologically productive landscapes.
“This study is a compelling example of how ancient wisdom and modern science can complement each other,” said Prof Kamal Kishore Pant, director of IIT-Roorkee.
With inputs from ToI
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