The holy spaces of various religions, such as Hinduism, Islam, Jainism and Sikhism, comprise a
variety of features of the physical environment in Burhanpur. Places with distinctive natural features
associated with human events were developed as pilgrim centers with the association of religious
saints and religious activities. Examples include Ichhadevi hill with the temple, Ghats (stepped
riverfront of the River Tapti), and the Kabir Panthi near Nagjhiri (Kabir Panthi is a center of learning
for the followers of the religious saint Kabir). The sacred landscape unit of the Ichha Devi temple and
Zainabad (a royal hunting preserve) are completely forgotten cultural landscape elements that support
various species of plants and animals in the Burhanpur cultural landscape. The concept of planting in
these gardens not only was based on aesthetics, but also had another benefits such as providing
fruits/food for human, animal, medical and commercial consumption. The nature-culture interaction
(especially Barela tribal traditions) also produced traditional knowledge of rare varieties of medicinal
and herbal plants (Ayurveda and Unani medicine) and biodiversity. Within this context, local
communities (such as the Bohras, Jains, Behnas, cotton-cleaners, Cutchis, and other Barela tribes)
developed ethics, including meaning and belief systems, commonly referred to as indigenous
knowledge systems.