DEVRAI – The God’s Forest

The word ‘Devrai’ is a compound of ‘Dev’ meaning ‘God’ and ‘Rai’ meaning ‘Forest‘. The article reveals exhaustively about the sacred groves devrai in Maharashtra, which includes devrai forest information and its concepts, importance, and forests in Maharashtra.

What is a concept of Devrai?

Many traditional societies in Maharashtra revere and worship nature and consider certain plants and animals sacred. The forest patches are also considered sacred forest by locals so they are called “Sacred Groves.”

This sacred grove devrai in Maharashtra is an attempt to share with you some of the traditional Indian biodiversity conservation practices.

What is Sacred Grove Devrai in Maharashtra?

Faith and taboo play an important role in guarding the forest from human invasion. Sacred Groves are forest patches traditionally protected by native communities due to their religious significance so that nature can sustain itself.

What is Devrai forest also known as?

The sacred groves in the western part of Maharashtra are called Devrai or Devrahati whereas in eastern Maharashtra, the Madiya tribe calls them Devgudi. It is also locally known as Devpan, Devrahat,  Devara kadu, Kavus, Orans, Than, etc. in other states of India.

What is the biodiversity of sacred groves of Maharashtra?

These sacred groves devrais of Maharashtra are a rich source of fruit-bearing trees and small water bodies and act as habitat for several birds and reptiles.

Portia tree, Casuarina, Silk cotton tree, Indian laurel, Indian Elm, Bead tree, Indian butter tree, turmeric, and Japanese ginger are among the most commonly found plant species in the sacred groves.

These sacred groves can range in size from a cluster of trees to hundreds of hectares.

They are often associated with temples, shrines or with burial grounds. Some of the deities to whom these groves are dedicated are Lord Shiva, Maruti, Vaghoba, Vira, Bhairoba, Khandoba and Shirkai.

The tribal communities of Dhangar, Mahadeo Koli and Maratha worship the deities and look after the groves. They are forest-dependent communities, while Maratha carries out agricultural practices. Resource extraction in the groves is limited by a variety of rules to placate the deity, which has resulted in the development of relict patches of climax forest.

These undisturbed forests provide a safe haven for several species of flora and fauna since no form of life can be harmed in the sacred groves.

Therefore, cultural and biological diversity is even today relevant as a tool for nature conservation, which is foremost for sacred grove conservation in Maharashtra.

Why is Devrai important?

• They act as a repository for various Ayurvedic medicines. Other uses involve a source of replenishable resources like fruits and honey.
• They play a crucial role in regenerating the water table as they happen to be the source of a number of rivers, streams and rivulets in the district.
• Sacred groves often contain plant and animal species that have become extinct in neighboring areas. They therefore harbor great genetic diversity. 
• Because of the taboo to hunt or chop any wood in sacred groves, the vegetation cover helps reduce soil erosion and prevents desertification.

Which forest is sacred grove in Maharashtra?

In Maharashtra, sacred groves are found in tribal as well as non-tribal areas. Maharashtra has about 4,000 such groves, scattered in the wildlife regions.

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the northern Western Ghats in Pune and Thane districts, includes about 14 sacred groves, including a large grove surrounding a Shiva temple, which is one of the twelve Jyotirlingams in India.

Villages located in and around the sanctuary often have one or more sacred groves dedicated to the local deity, called ban or devacha ban (God’s forest). The most common deity is Vandev (forest god), also known as  Bhairavnath,  Bhairoba or  Kalbhairavnath.

These groves are either managed collectively, by a clan or a family in the village. The Ghod River, also originates in the sacred grove at Ahupe village in Bhimashankar..

Sacred groves in Maharashtra list

What are the Threats to the Sacred Groves?

Since older people in villages believe in the tradition of the grove more than the younger generation,. Therefore, it steadily eroded ties to nature and led to rising urban migration among the younger generation in these communities, which led to a decline in awareness about the importance of preserving these groves.

Sacred groves are being influenced by urbanization. It resulting in the building of concrete temples by clearing natural vegetation and planting ornamental and other economically useful trees in the cleared areas of the groves.

Such actions alter these fragile ecosystems and deplete or destroy the natural resource base for which this ancient culture is believed to have originally evolved.

The downsizing of sacred groves highlighted the necessity for a sustained social movement for their protection. The precise amount of green cover entailed by these ‘green islands’ needs to be assessed. 

How to Protect Devrai Sacred Grove?

In the villages in which groves are protected, regionally relevant folk’s knowledge supports traditional conservation practices. Local people have evolved their own traditional rules and management based on ancient practices, which led to the conservation and maintenance of the groves as relatively intact patches of forests as a by-product of their religious sentiments.

There is also an urgent need to document and recognize these groves while retaining community control over them and initiating dialogues with community members on the social, cultural, and ecological value of these groves.

This is why “Mission Devrai” took up the cause of protecting sacred groves by educating the masses on the science behind them. Maharashtra Vriksha Samvardhini has initiated this unique movement to bring about awareness about the protection and conservation of sacred groves.

The larger objective of the ‘Devrai’ conservation project is not only to encourage local communities to carry their traditions forward but also to document regional deities in what is proposed to be a socio-cultural assessment.

To learn more about Sacred Groves, checkout following links:

Short Film about Devrai – The Sacred Groves of Maharashtra by Richa Hushing

Sacred Groves: The Consequence of Traditional Management by Arpita Vipat and Erach Bharucha

Thoughts about DEVRAI

“How this religious and traditional beliefs, cultural mores, and practices play a crucial role in the conservation of environment and biodiversity and we have much to learn about this environmental conservation model and need to take it back with us to the cities.!!”

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