Kabirvad is a
banyan tree
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...
located on a small river island in the
Narmada river. It is in
Bharuch district
Bharuch (formerly commonly known as Broach) in India, is a district in the southern part of the Kathiawar peninsula on the west coast of state of Gujarat with a size and population comparable to that of Greater Boston. Bharuch derives its name f ...
, Gujarat, India. The tree and place is associated with 15th-century mystic-poet
Kabir
Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...
, and the location includes a temple dedicated to Kabir. The place is a religious site as well as a popular tourist spot.
Background
Nearchus
Nearchus or Nearchos ( el, Νέαρχος; – 300 BC) was one of the Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and e ...
, an admiral of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
, described a large specimen on the banks of the
Narmada River, possibly Kabirvad. The tree's canopy was so extensive, it sheltered 7,000 men. It was later described by James Forbes (1749–1819) in his ''Oriental Memoirs'' (1813–1815) as nearly in circumference, with over 3,000 trunks. Currently, the area of its canopy is , with a perimeter of .
Access
From
Bharuch
Bharuch (), formerly known as Broach, is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District.
The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since tim ...
to Jhanor via Shuklatirth, there is a place known as Kabirmadhi. From here, a boat ride brings people to the river island.
Legend
Local legend has it that there were two Brahmin brothers, Jeeva and Tatva, in the village of Shuklatirth, near Mangleshwar, in Bharuch district, Gujarat. One day, the brothers were inspired to find a true saint. To do so, they planted a dried shoot of a banyan tree in their courtyard and surmised that whichever saint would turn the dried shoot green would be a true saint. In the end, they concluded that Kabir Sahib Ji turned the shoot green and therefore was a true saint.
According to that legend, the shoot developed into Kabirvad.
See also
*
List of banyan trees in India
*
List of individual trees
The following is a list of notable trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as well as ...
References
Tourist attractions in Gujarat
Hindu temples in Gujarat
Flora of India (region)
River islands of India
Narmada River
Bharuch district
{{Gujarat-geo-stub