A Case Study of Sai Temple SGs & Sursame Balaji SGs, Tehsil Jhalarapatan, District Jhalawar, Rajasthan

The sacred groves are found all over the India, manages by local community in different size, composition, including burial grounds (Mgumia and Oba 2003; Wadley and Colfer 2004) and sites of ancestral or deity worship with different forms of gesture (Ramakrishnan et al., 1998). These are the storehouse of rare and endemic species and can be regarded as the remnant of the primary forest left untouched by the local communities and protected by them with thinking that the deities reside in these places. The credit goes to Prof.MadhavGadgil‘s group for reviving interest in the dormant field from the Indian institute in Bangalore were encouraged by the discovery of an ancient grove in the Western Ghats (Gadgil and Vartak 1976) Rajasthan Sacred groves are found all over Rajasthan and are called by various names such as Vani in Mewar, Kenkri in Ajmer, Oran in Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, Shamlatdeh and Devbani in Alwar. A total of 560 sacred groves have been documented so far in Rajasthan. Garvaji, Bharthariji, Naraini Mata, Peerbaba, Hanumanji and Naharsakti Mata are the deities to whom these groves are dedicated. The commonly found plant species are Cutch tree, Indian mesquite, mukul myrrh tree, salvia leaved cross berry, Indian tree of heaven, neem, Indian plum, banyan and pipal. The tradition in Rajasthan is an ideal example of support of the tradition for ecosystem services. The resources in the groves are used in a controlled fashion or only in case of emergency. The Gurjar people of Rajasthan have a unique practice of neem (Azadirachtaindica) planting and worshipping it as the abode of God Devnarayan (Aman Singh, 2014)

The district Jhalawar lies in the South-East corner of Rajasthan at the edge of the Malwa plateau between 23°45‘20‖ N to 24°52‘17‖ N latitudes and 75°27‘35‖ E to 76°56‘48‖ Elongitudes (Fig. 1). Nearly 87% forest area is under subsidiary edaphic type of dry tropical forest and Northern tropical dry deciduous mixed forests. It is one of the rainiest parts of the Rajasthan state where the average annual rainfall is 35‖ which keeps it cool and gentle breezes ward off the stifling humidity. Preliminary surveys were made for collection of the primary information. Sacred groves or CCAs were intensively surveyed for the tree composition. Information like species of the plants, age of the tree or any monument, diameter, height and their ethnobotanical use which were used by local communities. Questionnaire surveys were followed for the collection of the sociological information. The information recorded from the field were compiled and arranged for further study. So, to know the nature of the community conserved areas or forest, 32 sacred groves were recorded from the Jhalawar district. Trees species were identified based on the available literature (Hooker, 1872-1897). The and community interaction through semi-structured questionnaire(Manna et al., 2017). Sites of much diversification were selected for the study. In this work author chose two study area side First is SursamBalaji SGs & Second side is Sai Temple SGs. The study area is SursamBalaji temple at Kalmandi Kalan village is located in Jhalrapatan Tehsil of Jhalawar district in Rajasthan, India (Joshi, 1985). It is situated 11km away from sub-district headquarter Jhalrapatan and 12km away from district headquarter Jhalawar. And other study area is Sai Baba Temple, Jhalawar which is situated at 5 K.m from Jhalawarcity.located in Jhalrapatan Tehsil of Jhalawar district in Rajasthan.

The sacred groves of Rajasthan are known with the names Oran, Jogmaya, Deora, Thanak etc. All these sacred forests have been protected by tribals, nomadic groups, and local residents living in Rajasthan since long time. Most of the sacred groves of Rajasthan are found in the Aravalli Mountain range. Apart from this, sacred groves are found in some form in every village of the Rajasthan. Jhalawardistrict is a gift place of nature. Jhalarapatan tehsil is full of natural and geographical beauty. Numerous areas of the Jhalarapatan tehsil are surrounded by many residual hills, folding, faulting, waterfalls, and many more sacred groves. Many sacred groves are found in this area. The observation is based on a field survey of the someJhalarapatan tehsil region during different seasons which is as follows

away from sub-district headquarter Jhalrapatan and 12km away from district headquarter Jhalawar.In an average the climate is fairly dry and healthy. The year may be divided into four seasons -- the hot season from March to middle of the June, the monsoon season from mid-June to September, post monsoon season from October to November and the cold season from December to February. The western portion of the district gets fewer rains than the eastern portion. The south-west monsoon advances into the area in the latter half of the June and as much as 93 percent of the annual rainfall is recorded during the season.This place is full of natural beauty like several plants, anikets& animals there is ancient shiv temple also. It has better growing conditions harbor rich natural plants along with old tree species (more than 200 years old) mainly Pandanus odoratissimus, Mangiferaindica, Mimusopselengi, Ficusbenghalensis, Ficusracemosa, Ficusreligiosa, Azadirachtaindica, Temarindusindicus, Syzygiumcumini etc. some other plants like Adansoniadigitata, Adhatodazeylamica, Alangiumsalvifolium, Argemonemaxicana, Lawsoniainermis Linn,Neolamarckiacadamba, Phyllanthusemblica, Tamarindusindicaetc. also found in this area. ig: SursameBalaji SGs Sai Temple SGs:

The present study is an attempt to bring the light to the knowledge of different sacred groves protected by the tribal, nomadic, and local residents of the various locality of Jhalarapatan tehsil. The result of this survey of sacred trees has been described with medicinal,Spiritual and religious significance in Table-1

The religious importance of the sacred groves of tehsil Jhalarapatan has been emphasized in this study. These SGs have been protected by the tribals and the local community considering them as sacred. These ancient Sites play an important role in freeing the environment from pollution and producing oxygen. Due to modern developmental activities, sacred groves are reduced considerably. At present, the existence of these sites is being threatened due to the exploitation of forests and increasing encroachment in these areas. At present, there is a need that guidelines should be made to protect these sacred groves. These areas should be recognized by the local government. With all these efforts, we will be able to save these holy forests.

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Research Scholar, Govt. College Kota, Department of Botany, University of Kota, Kota, India