Trees & Tanks at temples

dt 5th June 2014.
Trees & Tanks at temples;
an integral part of the philosophy of Divinity in Nature
Introduction:

Age and a slow down process in Life (and some health limitations) can some
times bring in some unexpected surprises and pursuits--in fact Hobbies and
learning. When I started on Temple Trees in 1998 at Ramnagar with taking

a photo of a
Peepal tree entwined with a Frangipani , I never realised I was on an amazing
voyage of discovery about Ficus genus and this developed a wonderful purusit with TreeWatch..

The study  actually began when I attended the punar  pratishta of  Sri Ram temple in Mavungal (Kanhangad Dist) inauguration. My room mate was a very nice person who had a copy of a book "Temple Culture" by one AKB Nair of Kasargode..In 2-3 days , I went through it with deep interest  at the ashram itself and managed to go through most of it, as it was a small booklet -but brilliantly researched and written. Later, spoke to him and purchased  several copies o and distributed to friends. This book is now available at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The one  titled  "Sacred Trees of Tamilnadu".by the CPR Foundation of Chennai is also very good. There are also a few papers available on  Temple Trees by some authors. ( in later years) gave an added impetous to progress on the study of  Temples and Tree Watch.

Sthala Vriksha means the Tree of the sacred location (and specific ) is linked to the Deity in the temple and so we have Sthala (place)  Vrikshas (Tree) .

The tree study  of  1998 began with the Peepal -Frangipani -Banyan, Oudamber (all same  Ficus genus but differ ) was an amazing start. Then the Neem and the  study gradually increased my awareness of our culture and tradition that had largely been missed earlier, as I have been  living in a metro city.

Then as time passed in 2009--shared on sites and finally a blog "Prakruti Mother nature" .
It has kept me happily occupied.

If we look carefully we will find  many trees near Temples in the south especially but one Tree
will gain  prominence -eg   Palash--Purasai (tamil)  in in Puraswalkam at Shree Gangadeeshwar Temple -Chennai., Punnai at Shree Kapaleeswar-Mylapore.

These 5 trees have a special significance  --,  

1 Bilwa (Aegle marmelose)
2 Shami (Banni) (Acacia ferruginea)
3 Ashwatha (Arali) (Ficus religiosa)
4 Margosa (Neem) (Azadirachta indica)
5 Audumbara (country fig) (Ficus racemosa)

In almost every town and village,  temples in south India  maintain these great trees. 
They also serve as a meeting centre of many social, religious and community activities of the village. It is widely believed  that these 5 Panchavati trees offer a sacred space.  
These trees have been a source of inspiration for many of our saints and sages.
Sadly most of the Hindus do not even care to read about Sthala Vrikshas -TR

Contd -----