Green Ramayana: Country’s first Ramayana Vatika plants royal symbol of “Raghukul” ahead of Ram temple consecration. | India News
Ramayana Vatika In Uttarakhand has many varieties of plants mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana
Dehradun: Ramayana, most popular epic of India, is best known for its time immemorial story of victory of good over evil. This epic is also a treasure house of information on flora, fauna, geology, geography and every facet of the ancient civilization. Additionally, Valmiki Ramyana has a magnificent description of nature’s glory. Uttarakhand forest department has built the country’s first Ramayana Vatika in Haldwani of Uttarakhand which has numerous plants giving the message of environment along with religious and cultural importance. During his exile, Lord Shri Ram passed through six different types of forests, situated in different parts of India, having unique vegetation. All the plant varieties are displayed in this Ramayana Vatika, closely associated with Lord Rama’s exile story. Bauhinia, a royal symbol of Ram’s clan, is being planted here ahead of Ram temple consecration ceremony.
140 species of the six forests where Ram stayed are preserved here
Ramayana covers a vast area from present day Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Sri Lanka that contains an extensive list of flora and fauna at that time. Ramayana “Aranya-Kand” elaborates 14 years of exile of Lord Ram in the exile. During his exile, Lord Shri Ram passed through six different types of forests. Therefore, this garden has 140 species, mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana, which have been preserved in this garden. These species are mentioned in the section called “Aranya Kand”.
Kovidara, royal symbol of Raghukul, is also planted here
Mentioned in “Ayodhya-Kand” of Ramayana, the Kovidara (Bauhinia Variegata) sapling has also been planted in the garden in view of the consecration ritual of Ram Lalla on January 22 in Ayodhya. This plant is recognized as the royal symbol of Raghukul. The picture of Kovidar with the Sun was depicted in the royal flag of Ayodhya in Ram’s period. In Chitrakoot, Ram’s younger brother Bharat had reached to meet Ram and Bharat was identified by the Kovidara symbol on his flag. Lakshman had recognized the army of Ayodhya after seeing Kovidara from a distance on the flag attached to Bharat’s chariot.
The different forests where Lord Rama stayed
Chitrakoot: During the first phase of Ram’s exile, sage Bharadwaja advised him to settle in Chitrakoot. The forest types of Chitrakoot predominantly consist of tropical dry deciduous plants like mango, Neem, bamboo, Asna, Chironji and amla. This vatika has all these plants.
Dandakaranya: Ram’s next halt was at Dandakaranya (Dand means punishment and Aranya means forest)-an area from Bastar of Chhattisgarh to Odisha and Telangana- where he killed many demons residing there, to get people rid of their tyranny. Many varieties of Sal, Teak, Arjun and Padal are mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana and these plant species are present in the Vatika.
Panchvati: Panchvati is the place from where Sita was abducted by Ravana. Present day Panchvati falls in the Nasik district of Maharashtra. The richness of flora and fauna of Panchvati is described in five Sarga of Valmiki Ramayana which describes the plants like Bel, Banyan, Amla, Ashoka and Kapila.Ramyan Vatika has all these plants.
Kishkindha: This is the place where Ram meets Hanuman and Sugriva who provided invaluable assistance to Ram, in the search of Sita. Present day Kishkindha is located in Bellary district of Karnataka, adjoining Andhra Pradesh border. Plants of Rakta Chandan, Sandalwood, Dhakal and Jackfruit found in this area of Bellary district of Karnataka can be seen in this Vatika.
Ashoka Vatika: Ashoka Vatika is a place where Ravana kept Seeta captive, and Hanuman met her for the first time. Present day Ashoka Vatika is situated around “Hakgala” botanical garden in Sri Lanka. The richness of flora and fauna of Ashoka Vatika is described in two Sarga of Valmiki Ramayana. Saplings of Nagkesar, Champa, Maulshree and Sita Ashoka, found in Sri Lanka, can be seen in the garden.
Dronagiri: When Lakshman was mortally wounded in the battle with Meghnath, Hanuman had rushed to Dronagiri mountain- located in Uttarakhand-in search of Sanjivani. The medicinal species of Dronagiri Sanjivani, Sandhani, Jeevanti are present in the garden.
The forest department team has studied the Valmiki Ramayana to get the information
Chief forest conservator (research) Sanjeev Chaturvedi said, “During the Covid period, our team had started collecting information about the plant species mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana. Later, we started planting them in the Vatika.”
