Binomial
name: Shorea
robusta
Marathi: Sal
Hindi: Sal
Local
Language: Sakhua
Distribution:
#
This tree is native to the Indian
subcontinent, ranging south of the Himalaya, from Myanmar in
the east to Nepal, India and Bangladesh.
# In India, it extends from Assam, Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand west to the Shivalik Hills in Haryana,
east of the Yamuna. The range also
extends through the Eastern Ghats and
to the eastern Vindhya and Satpura ranges of central India.
Description:
# In Hindu tradition,
the sal tree is said to be favored by Vishnu. Its name shala, shaal or sal,
comes from Sanskrit (शाल,
śāla, literally "house"), a name that suggests it for housing timber;
other names in the Sanskrit language are ashvakarna, chiraparna and sarja,
among many others.
# There is a
standard decorative element of Hindu Indian
sculpture which originated in a yakshi grasping
the branch of a flowering tree while setting her foot against its roots.
# This decorative sculptural element was
integrated into Indian temple architecture as salabhanjika or "sal tree
maiden", although it is not clear either whether it is a sal tree or an
asoka tree.
# The tree is also
mentioned in the Ramayana—specifically, where Lord Rama (on request of deposed
monkey-king Sugreeva for proof he can kill Sugreeva's older half-brother Vali)
is asked to pierce seven sals in a row with a single arrow
(which is later used to kill Vali, and still later to behead Ravana's brother
Kumbhakarna)
# Buddhist tradition
holds that Queen Māyā of Sakya, while en route to her grandfather's kingdom, gave birth
to Gautama Buddha while grasping
the branch of a sal tree or an Asoka in a garden in Lumbini in south Nepal
# Also according to Buddhist tradition, the
Buddha was lying between a pair of sal trees when he died.
# In Buddhism, the brief flowering of the sal
tree is used as a symbol of impermanence and the rapid passing of glory, particularly as an
analog of sic transit gloria mundi. In Japanese Buddhism, this is
best known through the opening line of The Tale of the Heike – a tale of the rise and fall of a
once-powerful clan – whose latter half reads "the color of the sāla
flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline."
Uses:
# Sal
is one of the most important sources of hardwood timber in India, with hard, coarse-grained wood
that is light in colour when freshly cut, but becomes dark brown with exposure.
# The
wood is resinous and durable, and is sought-after for construction, although
not well suited to painting and polishing. The wood is especially suitable for
constructing frames for doors and windows.
# The dry leaves of Sal are a major source for
the production of leaf plates called as patravali and leaf bowls in northern and eastern India, also
used as leaf plates to serve food in Karnataka Canara (Dakshina Kannada,
Gokarna) regions of India.
# The leaves are also used fresh to serve readymade paan (betelnut preparations) and small snacks such as
boiled black grams, gol
gappa, etc.
# The used
leaves/plates are readily eaten by goats and cattle. The tree has therefore
protected northern India from a flood of Styrofoam and plastic plates that
would have caused tremendous pollution.
# Sal tree
resin is known as Sal dammar or Indian dammar, ṛla in
Sanskrit. It is used as an astringent in Ayurvedic medicine, burned
as incense in Hindu ceremonies, and used to caulk boats and ships.
# Sal seeds and fruit are a source of lamp oil and vegetable
fat. The seed oil is extracted from the seeds and used as cooking oil
after refining.
----Parag Deshpande