The Uttarakhand forest department has developed an ethnobotanical garden at Haldwani over one acre of land to showcase ecological and environmental knowledge in Mahabharata and grown 37 plant species mentioned in the epic.
Chief conservator of forests Sanjeev Chaturvedi said the "Mahabharata Vatika" has plant species mentioned in 18 sections of the Mahabharata.
- He added the plants include Khair (Acacia catechu), Kovidar (Bauhinia variegata), Bargad (Ficus benghalensis), Peepal (Ficus religiosa), Dhak (Butea monosperma), Harsringar (Nyctanthes arbortristis), Baheda (Terminalia bellirica), Aam (Mangifera indica), Kala Sirs (Albizia lebbeck).
- He referred to the Sanskrit names of the 37 species mentioned in the epic, their scientific names, and the number of shlokas (hymns) in which a particular plant species has been mentioned.
- Mahabharata, whose authorship is ascribed to the sage Vyasa, has 100,000 shlokas and 18 sections