Thursday Tree Love Banyan Tree Auroville

The Great Banyan Tree, Auroville, Pondicherry

• Banyan or Baragad or Bad/बरगद: The national tree of India.
• One of the largest species in the world.
• Banyan is a fig tree that has an unparalleled ability to spread its branches and aerial roots.

The Great Banyan Tree which was there even before Auroville city was laid in 1960, Pondicherry

When Sri Aurobindo and the Mother established Auroville on degraded farmlands, they chose this Auroville Matrimandir Banyan tree as the focal point. It’s from this point that their reforestation and conscious-living community would spread.

Banyan Tree

Banyan trees are, in general, considered to be sacred in India and worshiped across the country. Perhaps, this is what prompted The Mother to select a Banyan tree as the geographical center as it was located on the exact point on which she wanted the center to be. An integral part of the Matrimandir complex, the Banyan Tree, with its peculiar aerial roots is spread across at a diameter of 50 meters (164 feet).

 

This Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) belongs to the Ficus (fig tree) family and is now probably a little more than a hundred years old.

I’m sharing my #TreeLove with the #ThursdayTreeLove blog hop, a photo feature hosted by Parul Thakur

Also linking with #WW

This is my Love Your planet “Earth” post

Check out more trees for my Treelove.