Seeing is believing: This mighty banyan tree in Odisha stands witness to generations

A rather grand sight beckons anyone passing through Sohada Panchayat under Bhadrak’s Dhamnagar block. No passerby would pass the area without capturing the majestic banyan tree in their eyes for a minute and in their minds forever.

With branches creating an expansive canopy over five acres of land, this great banyan tree on the banks of Baitarani River has been standing tall for years, in fact, for centuries. From kingdoms to governments, from floods to cyclones, this tree has been a mute spectator to changing times.

While some say the tree is 400 years old, others assert the tree is over 500 years old. Though the age of this tree is still a matter of study, it has seen generations grow underneath it. This reportedly half-a-century-old tree is so huge that an entire village can assemble under it for shelter.

“I have seen this tree since my childhood. I remember playing under it, tying swings during Raja festival. I have heard about this tree from my grandparents as well,” said 87-year-old Rasabihari Das, a local.

With OTV on the spot, the locals did not waste the chance to demand the administration to safeguard this tree and make it a tourist spot.

“The children play swing by holding the roots damaging them in the process. It restricts the roots to touch the ground limiting the tree’s ability to expand further. The government should develop the spot as a tourist destination,” said Shyamasundar Jena, another local.

It is pertinent to mention here that apart from the great banyan tree at Gorekhnath shrine in Jagatsinghpur, no other banyan tree this big has ever come to the fore in Odisha.

For the unversed, the banyan tree has a tap root system. The branches of the plant get extremely hefty as it grows. As a result, prop roots emerge vertically downward to give additional support. When they reach the ground, they bear adventitious roots for stabilization.

“Trees, particularly banyan trees can live up to 600 years if they are not disturbed by anything, particularly by humans. It also needs proper care and nurturing,” said botanist Nabakishore Jena.

Notwithstanding the fact that the tree has land coverage of five acres, it is still not the largest in India. The largest banyan tree can be found growing in a botanical garden near Kolkata. It occupies the better part of five acres and is more than 250 years old. This tree covers about 14,500 square feet (1,347 square meters) of space and has branches as high as 80 feet (24 meters).

The banyan is considered a particularly meaningful tree in India and other parts of the world, with rich historical and spiritual ties. Referred to as "the Vata-vriksha," in India, the banyan is associated with the god of death, Yama, and is often planted near crematoriums outside villages. In Hinduism, it's said that Lord Krishna stood beneath a banyan tree at Jyotisar when he delivered the sermon of the sacred Sanskrit scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.