SACRED GROVES OF RAJASTHAN
Sacred Groves are found from the western part of Rajasthan to the east of the Aravalli range. These groves are known under various names in Rajasthan as sacred groves (deora, malvan, deorai, rakhat bani, oran, etc.), sacred corridors (deo ghats), temple forests (mandir van) and sacred gardens (baugh).
Brandis, as early as 1887, gave initial information on sacred groves of
Aravallis. He wrote, 'though very few papers have been published on sacredgroves, this does not mean that such areas do not abound in India'.
Commenting
on the sacred groves of Rajasthan, particularly Rajputana and Mewar area, he
wrote that in Pratapgarh and Banswara such groves are common. Here trees of
Anogeissus pendula abound. People do not cut wood for personal use. Only dead
and fallen trees are removed for religious work such as the repair of the
temple or funerals.
Joshi (1995) writing on
the ethnobotany of Rajasthan provided interesting insights on tribal traditions
of maintaining sacred groves.
Deep N.Pandey and his
team in their paper “Sacred Forestry: The Case of Rajasthan, India”, have classified the sacred areas in to sacred groves, sacred corridors,
temple forests, sacred gardens and inhabited groves.
Sacred groves in
Aravallis and Vindhyas were classified into three major groups.
In the first group they
classified groves located near the village and close to a water source. Such
groves are also at the top of small hillocks in Aravallis, where people worship
Bheruji, Bawsi and Mataji. Khanpa Bheruji, Kukawas Bheruji, Badi Roopan Mata
etc. are the example of such sites in Udaipur. In the Vindhyan tract of Kota
Bundi, Baran and Jhalawar such groves abound.
The second group of
groves is dedicated to Lord Mahadeo. Vegetation of the entire watershed is
often protected as groves. Sometimes part of the vegetation in a watershed is
protected. Large trees and a water source are the main characteristics of these
groves. Water sources developed as open and step wells (Bawdi) may be seen at
Ubeshwarji, Kamalnath, Gautmeshwasji,Taneshwarji and Jhameshwarji. Sometimes
both groups can also be found in the same village.
The third type may be as
a single tree. In Kotra forest range several large trees of Ficus benghalensis
are seen. Because of development of aerial and prop roots these trees look like
a grove. The tradition of protecting Peepal, Gular and Bargad trees is not only
found in Rajasthan but also in other states of India. The tradition is also
reported from other Asian and African countries.
In northern parts of
Aravallis various forms of sacred groves are maintained. These are known as
kankar bani, rakhat bani, dev ouranya, vall and dev bani.Large tracts of
tree-bearing land in otherwise desertified western Rajasthan are called Orans.
These Orans are identical to sacred groves in Aravallis and they offer similar
advantages.
One of the finest examples of Oran is Ramdeora in the Jaisalmer
District in Rajasthan. Species in most of the Orans are Prosopis cineraria,
Zizyphus mauritiana and Salvadora sp.In Jaisalmer District most of the Oranssupport Caparris aphylla. Shrubs include Calotropis procera in Jaisalmer and
Zizyphus sp. in Jodhpur Districts.
However, comparatively sacred groves in
Aravallis and Vindhyas are larger in area coverage.
Important Orans in
Sirohi, a semi-desert district in Rajasthan, include Pichheshwar Mahadeo near
Pindwara, Voreshwar Mahadeo in Sheoganj, Sarneshwar Mahadeo near Sirohi (famous
for its step-well), Mochal Mataji in Sheoganj (particularly famous for animals
like Chinkara and Neelgai), Baleshwari Mataji Oran in Pesua village (famous for
a very large Rayan tree) and Varada Hanuman ji which supports several old
Prosopis cineraria trees.
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