Page 3 - Young Intach Jan-March 2022.indd

VOL. 19 No. 1

Tree Tales DID YOU KNOW?

A number of sacred trees and groves such as Amravan The spirits which reside inside
(Mango Grove), Ashoka, Pipal, Sal, Lumbini Van, Jatavana, trees are called Yakshas and
etc. have been mentioned in ancient literature. Yakshis. These spirits protect
their worshippers.
PARVATI’S CURSE

Parvati was enraged when Agni, the God of Fire, entered
the room of Lord Shiva and Parvati without permission. SPIRIT OF THE SAL
She cursed all the devas to appear on earth in the form
of trees. The devas begged Parvati to revoke her curse In the Jataka tale ‘The Spirit That Lived in a Tree’
as they were afraid the demons would get stronger. So there once was a King of Banaras who ordered his
Parvati instead made the devas reside partly inside trees. woodcutters to cut down a sacred sal tree growing in
Therefore, the Gods Vishnu entered the pipal, Shiva the his garden. Hearing this, the woodcutters and villagers
banyan and Lakshmi the neem tree. Each god had their prayed to the tree, asking not to be punished for the
own tree. King’s decision. After listening to their prayer the
Spirit of the sal tree went to the King and said, "For
SACRED VRINDAVAN years I have stood, and all worshipped me. I beg you
to spare me." Unfortunately, the King was not moved
Lord Krishna lived in a village surrounded by forests full so the Tree-Spirit requested to be cut down gently,
of trees and told his friends to worship the beautiful to prevent his crashing down in one go which would
trees that lived for the benefi t of others. His fl ute was damage the other trees. The King was moved by such
made of the sacred bamboo, which he played in the a sacrifi ce and then changed his mind.
vrinda or tulsi forest on the banks of the Yamuna River.

ACTIVITY: SOUR

SAVIOURS BRAVE BAIGAS

"If a poisoned person drink The Baigas, a dwindling tribe in
the water in which lemon the remote jungles of Ranjara in
fi bres have been boiled, Madhya Pradesh's Dindori district,
danger is averted." - Babur stand guard for their gods, the
(Baburnama) trees standing in the lush jungles
that have been their homes
Research and mention how trees
for generations. The Baigas are
with a sour fruit like lemon,
amla, tamarind and kokum have nature-worshippers and believe
that felling trees will destroy their
their own unique stories and role to play
in history. world.

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