Recently our City fathers felt that the roads in my city are narrow and hence they should be widened so as to allow free movement of traffic in our growing/developing city. It has now become a fashion or status symbol to own a car. In that direction, the banks also encourage people to purchase cars by giving car loans at a reasonable rate of interest. Development always comes at a price. In the case of roads, the casualty are the old trees standing on the edge of the old roads which used to give shade and shelter to pedestrians.
In the olden days, our ancestors used to pant trees which should grow tall towards sky and should live for hundreds of years. They always wanted the tree to spread its branches as far as possible so that it can cover a large area. They also wanted the pedestrian when he walks long distances and he gets exhausted should have not only enough oxygen to breath but also a place to rest with shade. Our forefathers always lived for the coming generation unlike the present generation. They were not selfish. They always had far sight and they wanted to contribute for the generation to come. That is why they pitched upon a tree called Ashwatha tree. It is also called as peepal tree or banyan tree. It is considered as tree of life.
The tree belongs to the family of fig trees and its biological name is Ficus religiosa. Our forefathers found Ashwatha tree as the most suitable for that purpose. It grows not only skywards but also side wards as its branches themselves become roots and they spread around the tree. Thus the tree covers large area. Its leaves are large and wide like heart shaped and slightest breeze make them to rustle thereby giving cool breeze. The tree has unqiue quality unlike other trees. Scientists have proved that the leaves of the tree can carry our photosynthesis even in the night thereby concluding that it can generate more oxygen than any other trees. It is believed that it provokes functions of the brain and giving peace of mind.
The Hindu religious mind was thus keen on environmental stability. It worshiped the Peepal tree or the Banyan Tree as an incarnation of God. Ancient scriptures, that is, sthotras or hymns addressed to divinity in Puranas praised the peepal tree as king of all trees. The Puranas are stories about gods, goddesses, devas etc. Skanda Purana is one of the 18 major Puranas and is the longest one with nearly 88,100 verses and one hundred stanzas (shlokas )
According to Skanda Purana to fell a peepal tree is as good as killing a Brahmin ( a person belonging to highest cast among hindus, viz.of elite class ) and after death, he would be sent to hell for the offense which he has committed. It also says that if one does not have a son, the peepal tree should be regarded as one. They saw god or divine force personified in the tree like this shloka. They gave the shape of a human being to the tree.
Moolatho Brahma roopaya,
madhyatho Vishnu roopine,
Agratha Shiva roopaya
Vruksha rajaya they nama., 1.
Translation :
My salutations to the king of trees.
Whose root is the form of Brahma,
Middle is the form of Lord Vishnu,
And top is the form of Lord Shiva.
In Bagvad Gita Lord Krishna in order to mitigate the anxiety and fears of Arjuna, said as follows which is found in Chapter X Verse 26
asvatthah sarva – vrksanam
dvearsinam ca naradah
gandharvanam citrarathah
siddhananm kapilo munih
Translation:
Among the trees I am the Ashwath (banyan tree)
and among sages and demigods I am Narada.
of the singers of the gods [Gandharvas]
I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings
I am the sage Kapila.
As the tree has all the attributes of a god, in ancient India, people offered prayers and performed other rites to expiate themselves from the crime of harming or up-rooting a holy tree. To plant a pipal, banyan or some other sacred tree at a holy place or on the roadside continues to be regarded by the Hindus as an act of virtue. The Brhat Parasara Smrti (10.379) says that one who plants and nurtures the Ashwatha tree will never see hell. Women traditionally worship this tree and unmarried girls go round the tree daily for obtaining a good husband or married women to beget children. Senior citizens of the villages meet under this tree to benefit from the spiritual aura that emanates from it. People also tie a red thread around it to make a wish. In general, trees are given the unique status almost of saints in India. Because like saints, trees always give back more to the world than they take. Besides religion, the tree also has medicinal properties. Its leaves are roasted in ghee and applied to wounds.
But modernization and modern living make it incumbent for the society to sacrifice such trees to make room for wide roads. It is a pity that we do not have any other method by which the roads can be widened or by which traffic can be reduced. There are occasions when such trees which have to be eliminated to make space for widening the road, instead of cutting them, they are transplanted as it was done in my city. But in my city, it was not a success.
Though Lord Sri Krishna proclaimed that he was like Ashwatha tree, here mortals cut them without any compunction and in utter ingratitude, by using electric saw, fell it down on the earth and never to rise again ostensibly to give better amenities to road users. But when the tree is felled and it falls to the ground after serving generations together continuously, it appears that the whole world around it echoes with its fall and says like Julius Ceasar when he saw his good friend and confidant stabbing him with a knife, “ You too Brutus, then fall Cesarâ€
