Shorea Robusta - Religious Significance

Religious Significance

In Hindu tradition, the sal tree is said to be favoured by Vishnu. Its name shala, shaal or sal, comes from Sanskrit; other names in the Sanskrit language are ashvakarna, chiraparna and sarja, among many others.

The sal tree is often confused with the ashoka tree (Saraca indica) in the ancient literature of the Indian Subcontinent.

In Buddhist tradition, it is said that Queen Māyā of Sakya gave birth to Gautama Buddha under a sal tree or an asoka tree in a garden in Lumbini, in south Nepal, while grasping its branch. When this event took place, Queen Māyā was en route to birth him in his grandfather's kingdom. It is also said that four pairs of sal trees growing around the Buddha's bed suddenly turned white when he died.

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.

In Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, one can find typical Nepali pagoda temple architectures with very rich wooden carvings, and most of the temples, such as Nyatapol Temple (Nyatapola), are made of bricks and sal tree wood.