“Hinduism accords a divine status to trees and plants. Myths, epics and rituals of worship are built around them. There is a reference in the Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, that those who want better future should plant good trees around lakes and tanks used by the public, and raise them like sons.”

“Sacred Plants of India is a well-researched book on tree worship in India, written by two respected and experienced professionals in the field, Nandita Krishna and M. Amritalingam.”

“Tattvãloka presents in the following pages edited extracts from the first two sections of the book. The book has chapters on each of the sacred plants/trees and their individual significance.”

Article tells you about the importance of trees in Vedic References, Trees in Epics, Puranic and later literature, Trees in Baudh and Jain Dharam, Ancient Tamil Literature and Special Trees. Next is Kalpa Vriksha and Sacred Groves.

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This article was first published in the February 2015 issue of Tattvaloka, the Splendour of Truth. Tattvaloka is published under the aegis of the illustrious 9^th century Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham, and the Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya of Sringeri. This article is courtesy and copyright Tattvaloka (http://www.tattvaloka.com/) You can subscribe online at http://www.tattvaloka.com/buy-online . Cost is Rs 396/ for one year (12 monthly issues) print, Rs 1,080 for three years, Rs 9,600 for Lifetime subscription.

Also read Sacred Trees of the Hindus