Copper plate inscriptions dating back to the 6th century CE have been unearthed in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Titled Prithivi-Siddhanta, these plates articulate an early Vedic Philosophy of Terrestrial Custodianship. The inscriptions detail the moral obligations of landholders and rulers to protect the "vitality of the soil," viewing the earth not as a resource but as a living philosophical entity with inherent rights.
The Prithivi-Siddhanta outlines specific rituals of atonement for the extraction of minerals and the felling of trees, framing environmental protection as a form of "Dharma-Dana" or spiritual charity. This find underscores the deep-seated ecological ethics present in ancient Sanatan Dharma, which preceded modern environmentalism by over a millennium.