Hindu Temple Dedicated to Tree – Vruksha Narayan Temple in Sabarkantha District in Gujarat

Vruksha Narayan Temple, which opened on October 17, 2010, at Derol Village in Sabarkantha District in Gujarat in India is dedicated to a tree. The tree is worshipped as the deity. Inspiration for this form of nature worship comes the famous Upanishad teaching – A tree is equal to ten sons. It wants care and water only for five years and makes one rich with its ten gifts which are oxygen, water, soil, food, cloth, energy, shelter, medicine, fodder and shade.

Vruksha Narayan Temple is the brainchild of ardent environmentalist Jitendra Patel from Gujarat who was nominated as the first 'Green Ambassador' of Mehsana by Gujarat government. He is also the sole recipient from the state of the Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi Vrikshamitra national award.

The temple has been designed as a banyan tree and is 18 ft high and 20 ft wide.

Jitendra Patel has also come out with a Vruksha Narayan Katha on the lines of Satya Narayan Katha that personifies tree as god.

Times of India reports

"The Derol park is situated on 68 acres of land reclaimed from a dried up creek with a one metre deep garbage refill and is similar to my Lyasra Tirupati Park at Visnagar in Mehsana," Patel, a civil engineer by qualification, said. "Every individual visiting the park will be made to sign an oath to plant and maintain a tree. He must accept that God resides in the trees and the best way to pray to God is to love his creations," he said.