Scientific name

Lepus nigricollis

Common name

Black-naped hare

Hindi

Khargosh

Sanskrit 

Shashah

Distribution

Throughout India

Religious association

It is believed that the hare occupies a permanent place in the moon, which gives it the name Shashodhara. The hare is sacred to Buddhists in many ways. In a Jataka story about the Buddha’s lives, the Buddha was a hare who jumped into the fire to satisfy the hunger of a Brahmin. The animal is a cultural hero who teaches medicine, dance and the arts of life.