Haldwani: In an eye-catching development, the Uttarakhand Forest department has developed an ethnobotanical garden featuring species of plants mentioned in Mahabharata. The garden has been setup in the hilly range of Haldwani and spanned over around one acre of land.
Plant species of 37 types mentioned in all the 18 sections of Mahabharata have been developed in the garden named as “Mahabharata Vatika”. This includes Peepal, Bargad, Dhak, Kovidar, Harsringar, Khair, Baheda and other 30 species mentioned in the Hindu religious text.
Significantly, the forest department of Uttarakhand has already developed Ramayan Vatika where species of plants mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayan have been developed. The garden was setup in 2024.
According to the forest department officials, the Mahabharat Vatika has been developed after a lot of research and includes all the species mentioned in the Shlokas (hymns) of the sacred text.
“The garden has been developed to link religion and history with the environment and its conservation. It demonstrates how Bhishma Pitamah lying on a bed of arrows explained the importance of wildlife and plants to Pandava king Yudhisthira,” informed one of the forest officials while interacting with one of the prominent daily.
Authored by the great sage Ved Vyasa the Mahabharat has a dedicated part (Van Parva/Aranya Parva) dealing with the forests underscoring significance of planting trees, protection of tigers and significance of forest conservation.
