Uttarakhand Launches Mahabharata Vatika: A Garden of Epic Plants!

The Uttarakhand forest department has created a special garden called “Mahabharata Vatika” in Haldwani to show the plants mentioned in the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. This garden covers one acre of land and features 37 different plant species that are mentioned throughout the story.

Sanjeev Chaturvedi, the chief conservator of forests, explained that these plants come from 18 different sections of the Mahabharata. Some of the plants in the garden include Khair (Acacia catechu), Bargad (Ficus benghalensis), and Aam (Mangifera indica).

Chaturvedi said the garden was made after a lot of research. He pointed out that the Mahabharata, which is said to have been written by sage Vyasa, contains important knowledge about nature and the environment. For example, it has hymns that talk about the need for trees, water bodies, and wildlife protection.

One of the sections in the Mahabharata is called Vana Parva or “the book of forest.” It emphasizes how important forests are and teaches us about taking care of nature. In the story, the character Bhishma Pitamah shares wisdom about wildlife and plants with Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas.

Chaturvedi mentioned that the Mahabharata teaches us that forests protect tigers and tigers protect forests, showing how they depend on each other. He also shared a lesson where Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that planting trees helps both ancestors and future generations, making tree planting a sacred act.

The garden also links to the cultural significance of certain trees, like the Shami tree (Prosopis cineraria). In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas hid their weapons under this tree during their exile, and on Vijayadashami, they retrieve them and worship the tree.

Along with the Mahabharata Vatika, the forest department has also set up “Ramayana Vatika”, a garden featuring plants from the Ramayana, another great epic. Chaturvedi explained that the Ramayana highlights the different forests that Lord Ram traveled through, making nature an important part of these stories.