This year Vat Savitri Vrat is being celebrated on 6th June. Vat Savitri Vrat is a festival for married women, in which they fast and then worship the Banyan tree and always seek the blessings of Saubhagyavati. There is a belief about this fast that Savitri worshiped Yamraj under a banyan tree for the life of her husband Satyavan. Since then, married women have worshiped under the banyan tree with the wish of a long life for their husbands. Although there are many Banyan trees in India, where women are seen worshiping on the occasion of this festival, here we are telling about such ancient and huge Banyan trees of the country, which are quite famous.
Banyan tree of Gaya
There is an ancient, sacred Banyan tree in Gaya, Bihar, which is called Akshayvat. This Akshayvat is half a kilometer away from Maupur Turn located on Gaya-Bodhgaya road. At this place, there is Gadalaal Vedi on one side the famous temple of Mata Mangala Gauri, and the magnificent Kut mountain on the other side. It is said that the Akshayvat of Gaya was saved by Lord Brahma and Mother Sita had blessed this tree to be immortal.
Van Tree of Vrindavan
In Vrindavan of Uttar Pradesh, there is Madhya Vanshivat Ghat situated on the banks of Yamuna, where one can see the great tree. There is an ancient Banyan tree at this place too. Here is the Shastramukt Sthal of Srimadhav. It is believed that Vaishnav saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had visited here.
Van Tree of Prayagraj
In the Sangam city of Prayagraj, at a little distance from the Triveni Sangam, inside the huge fort of Akbar's era, there is a huge Banyan tree, which is called Manorath Vat. Mention of this Manorath Vat of Prayag is found in the later Puranas. It is said that earlier a dry branch was buried in the Patalpuri cave of the fort and wrapped in cloth and worshipped as Akshayvat, but later its original position was known on the banks of Yamuna. This highly virtuous Banyan tree was also visited by the Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang.
Banyan tree of Puri
In ancient times, there is a Kalpataru on the Nilanchal mountain in Jagannath Puri that fulfilled everyone's wishes. According to mythology, Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram, Mata Sita and Lakshman Ji stayed here for some time during their exile. Due to this, this place is also called Vanasthali.
Panchvati
Panchvati is a place where five trees, namely Peepal, Bel, Banyan, Had, and Ashoka are planted. A Panchvati is also located in the Dandakaranya region of Chhattisgarh, which is 62 km from Jagdalpur. The Banyan tree located here is also very ancient and famous.
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