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{{About|the plant commonly known as "sal"||Sal (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Tree species native to the Indian subcontinent}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Shorea robusta.jpg
|status = LR/lc
|status_system = IUCN2.3
|status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Ashton, P. |date=1998 |title=''Shorea robusta'' |volume=1998 |page=e.T32097A9675160 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T32097A9675160.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
|genus = Shorea
|species = robusta
|authority = [[Albrecht Wilhelm Roth|Roth]]
|synonyms = ''Vatica robusta''
}}

'''''Shorea robusta''''', the '''sal tree''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | access-date = 11 May 2019}}</ref> '''shala tree''', '''sakhua''',<ref name=Swaminathan>{{cite book | title = Major Flowering Trees of Tropical Gardens | author1 = M. S. Swaminathan | author2 = S. L. Kochhar | pages = 39–40 | year = 2019 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | isbn = 9781108481953 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NoOWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 | access-date = 7 September 2021}}</ref> or '''sarai''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecoindia.com/flora/trees/sal-tree.html |title=Sal Tree |website=ecoindia.com |access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref> is a species of tree in the family [[Dipterocarpaceae]].

==Distribution and description==
This tree is native to the [[Indian subcontinent]], ranging south of the [[Himalaya]], from Myanmar in the east to Nepal, India and Bangladesh. In India, it extends from [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Assam]], [[Bengal]], [[Odisha]] and [[Jharkhand]] west to the [[Shivalik Hills]] in [[Haryana]], east of the [[Yamuna]]. The range also extends through the [[Eastern Ghats]] and to the eastern [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]] ranges of central India.<ref>Oudhia P., Ganguali R. N. (1998).Is Lantana camara responsible for Sal-borer infestation in M.P.?. Insect Environment. 4 (1): 5.</ref> It is often the dominant tree in the forests where it occurs. In Nepal, it is found mostly in the [[Terai]] region from east to west, especially, in the [[Sivalik Hills]] (Churia Range) in the subtropical climate zone. There are many protected areas, such as [[Chitwan National Park]], [[Bardia National Park]] and [[Shuklaphanta National Park]], where there are dense forests of huge sal trees. It is also found in the lower belt of the Hilly region and [[Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal|Inner Terai]].

The sal tree is known also as sakhua in northern India, including [[Madhya Pradesh]], Odisha and Jharkhand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://infochangeindia.org/environment/stories-of-change/a-rakhi-for-trees.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527102145/http://infochangeindia.org/environment/stories-of-change/a-rakhi-for-trees.html |archive-date=2011-05-27 |title=InfoChange India News & Features development news India - A rakhi for trees}}</ref><ref>http://bjmirror0112.wordpress.com/</ref> It is the state tree of two Indian states – Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.<ref>[[List of Indian state trees]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=June 2018}}

Sal is moderate to slow growing, and can attain heights of 30 to 35 m and a trunk diameter of up to 2–2.5 m. The [[leaf|leaves]] are 10–25 cm long and 5–15 cm broad. In wetter areas, sal is [[evergreen]]; in drier areas, it is dry-season [[deciduous]], shedding most of the leaves from February to April, leafing out again in April and May.

===Hinduism===
In [[Hindu]] tradition, the sal tree is said to be favoured by [[Vishnu]].<ref>[http://www.salagram.net/Sacred-trees.html Sacred trees]</ref> Its name ''shala'', ''shaal'' or ''sal'', comes from [[Sanskrit]] (शाल, śāla, literally "house"), a name that suggests it for housing timber; other names in the Sanskrit language are ''ashvakarna'', ''chiraparna'' and ''sarja'', among many others.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

[[Jain philosophy|Jains]] state that the 24th ''[[tirthankara]]'', [[Mahavira]], achieved enlightenment under a ''sal''.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Some cultures in Bengal worship [[Sarna Burhi]], a goddess associated with sacred groves of Sal trees.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UZyjAQAAQBAJ&q=Sarna+Burhi+goddess&pg=PA123|title=The Forest in Folklore and Mythology|last=Porteous|first=Alexander|date=2012-04-03|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=9780486120324|language=en}}</ref>

There is a standard decorative element of Hindu [[Sculpture in India|Indian sculpture]] which originated in a ''[[yakshi]]'' grasping the branch of a flowering tree while setting her foot against its roots.<ref>Buddhistische Bilderwelt: Hans Wolfgang Schumann, ''Ein ikonographisches Handbuch des Mahayana- und Tantrayana-Buddhismus.'' Eugen Diederichs Verlag. Cologne. {{ISBN|3-424-00897-4}}, {{ISBN|978-3-424-00897-5}}</ref> This decorative sculptural element was integrated into [[Architecture of India|Indian temple architecture]] as ''[[salabhanjika]]'' or "sal tree maiden", although it is not clear either whether it is a sal tree or an asoka tree.<ref>Eckard Schleberger, ''Die indische Götterwelt. Gestalt, Ausdruck und Sinnbild'' Eugen Diederich Verlag. Cologne. {{ISBN|3-424-00898-2}}, {{ISBN|978-3-424-00898-2}}</ref> The tree is also mentioned in the [[Ramayana]]—specifically, where Lord Rama (on request of deposed monkey-king Sugreeva for proof he can kill Sugreeva's older half-brother Vali) is asked to pierce seven ''sals'' in a row with a single arrow (which is later used to kill Vali, and still later to behead Ravana's brother Kumbhakarna)

In Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, one can find typical Nepali pagoda temple architectures with very rich wooden carvings, and most of the temples, such as [[Nyatapol Temple]] (Nyatapola), are made of bricks and sal tree wood.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

===Buddhism===

[[File:Birth of Buddha at Lumbini.jpg|thumb|left|Queen Mahamāyā giving birth to the Buddha]]
[[Buddhist philosophy|Buddhist]] tradition holds that [[Queen Māyā of Sakya]], while en route to her grandfather's kingdom, gave birth to [[Gautama Buddha]] while grasping the branch of a sal tree or an [[Ashoka tree]] in a garden in [[Lumbini]] in south Nepal.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Buswell|editor1-first=Robert Jr|editor2-last=Lopez|editor2-first=Donald S. Jr.|editor1-link=Robert Buswell Jr.|editor2-link=Donald S. Lopez, Jr.|title=Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism.|date=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ|isbn=9780691157863|page=724}}</ref><ref name="scribd.com">Bhikkhu Nyanatusita, “What is the Real Sal Tree”, ''Buddhist Publication Society Newsletter'', No. 63, 2010, accessed on 15.1.2017 at https://www.scribd.com/document/192654045/Nyanatusita-Bhikkhu-What-is-the-Real-Sal-Tree</ref>

Also according to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha was lying between a pair of sal trees when he died:

{{quote|Then the Blessed One with a large community of monks went to the far shore of the Hiraññavati River and headed for Upavattana, the Mallans' sal-grove near Kusinara. On arrival, he said to Ven. Ananda, "Ananda, please prepare a bed for me between the twin sal-trees, with its head to the north. I am tired, and will lie down."<ref>{{cite web|title=Maha-parinibbana Sutta: The Great Discourse on the Total Unbinding" (DN 16), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu| language=en| url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.5-6.than.html| access-date = 2015-06-29}}</ref>}}

The sal tree is also said to have been the tree under which [[Kondanna Buddha|Koṇḍañña]] and [[Vessabhū Buddha|Vessabhū]], respectively the fifth and twenty fourth Buddhas preceding [[Gautama Buddha]], attained enlightenment

In Buddhism, the brief flowering of the sal tree is used as a symbol of [[impermanence]] and the rapid passing of glory, particularly as an analog of ''[[sic transit gloria mundi]]''. In Japanese Buddhism, this is best known through the opening line of ''[[The Tale of the Heike]]'' – a tale of the rise and fall of a once-powerful clan – whose latter half reads {{Nihongo|"the color of the sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline."|沙羅雙樹の花の色、盛者必衰の理を顯す|sharasōju no hana no iro, jōshahissui no kotowari wo arawasu}},<ref>Chapter 1.1, Helen Craig McCullough's translation</ref> quoting the [[four-character idiom (disambiguation)|four-character idiom]] {{Nihongo||盛者必衰|jōsha hissui}} from a passage in the [[Humane King Sutra]], {{Nihongo|"The prosperous inevitably decline, the full inevitably empty"|盛者必衰、実者必虚|jōsha hissui, jissha hikkyo?}}.

==Confusion with cannonball tree and other trees==
In Asia, the sal tree is often confused with the ''[[Couroupita guianensis]]'' or cannonball tree, a tree from tropical South America introduced to Asia by the British in the 19th century. The cannonball tree has since then been planted at Buddhist and Hindu religious sites in Asia in the belief that it is the tree of sacred scriptures. In Sri Lanka, Thailand and other [[Theravada]] Buddhist countries it has been planted at Buddhist monasteries and other religious sites. In India the cannonball tree has been planted at Shiva temples and is called Shiv Kamal or Nagalingam since its flowers are said to resemble the hood of a Nāga (divine cobra) protecting a Shiva lingam.<ref name="scribd.com"/><ref>L.B.Senaratne “The revered 'Sal Tree' and the real Sal Tree”, ''Sunday Times'', Sunday September 16, 2007, Accessed cessed on 15.1.2017 at http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070916/News/news00026.html</ref>
An example of a cannonball tree erroneously named 'sal tree' is at the Pagoda at the Royal Palace of Phnom Penh in Cambodia.<ref>“Sal tree at Royal Palace Silver Pagoda”, accessed on 17.1.2017 at https://samilux.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/sal-tree-at-royal-palace-silver-pagoda/</ref>

In Japan the sal tree of Buddhist scriptures is identified as the deciduous camellia (''[[Stewartia pseudocamellia]]''), called shāra, 沙羅, from Sanskrit śāla.<ref name="scribd.com"/>

The sal tree is also said to be confused with the [[Ashoka tree]] (''Saraca indica'').<ref>Weise, Kai. “Managing the Sacred Garden of Lumbini”, in ''Asian Heritage Management: Contexts, Concerns, and Prospects'', Routledge, 2013, p. 122.</ref>

==Uses==
Sal is one of the most important sources of [[hardwood]] timber in India, with hard, coarse-grained wood that is light in colour when freshly cut, but becomes dark brown with exposure. The wood is resinous and durable, and is sought-after for construction, although not well suited to planing and polishing. The wood is especially suitable for constructing frames for doors and windows.

The dry leaves of sal are a major source for the production of leaf plates called as [[patravali]] and leaf bowls in northern and eastern India, also used as leaf plates to serve food in Karnataka Canara (Dakshina Kannada, Gokarna) regions of India. The leaves are also used fresh to serve ready made ''[[paan]]'' (betelnut preparations) and small snacks such as boiled [[black gram|black ''grams'']], ''[[gol gappa]]'', etc. The used leaves/plates are readily eaten by goats and cattle. The tree has therefore protected northern India from a flood of styrofoam and plastic plates that would have caused tremendous pollution. In Nepal, its leaves are used to make local plates and vessels called "tapari", "doona" and "bogata" in which rice and curry is served. However, the use of such "natural" tools have sharply declined during last decade.

Sal tree resin is known as sal [[dammar gum|dammar]] or Indian dammar,<ref name=Panda/> ''ṛla'' in Sanskrit. It is used as an [[astringent]] in [[Ayurvedic]] medicine,<ref>[http://chestofbooks.com/health/materia-medica-drugs/Hindus-Materia.../Nat--Dipterocarpeae-Shorea-Robusta-Sans.html Sala, Asvakarna]{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> burned as [[incense]] in Hindu ceremonies, and used to caulk boats and ships.<ref name=Panda>{{cite book |last=Panda |first=H. |date=2011 |title=Spirit Varnishes Technology Handbook (with Testing and Analysis) |location=Delhi, India |publisher=Asia Pacific Business Press |pages=226, 229–230 }}</ref>

Sal seeds and fruit are a source of lamp oil and vegetable fat. [[Shorea robusta seed oil|The seed oil]] is extracted from the seeds and used as cooking oil after refining.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180px" heights="120px">
File:Managed Sal forest in Dehradun.jpg|Sal forests in [[Dehradun]], India
File:Sal forest at Gazipur, Bangladesh in winter.jpg|Sal forest in winter at [[Gazipur]], Bangladesh
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- trunk- strangulated by some ficus tree at Jayanti, Duars W Picture 119.jpg|Sal trunk constricted by a ficus tree at Jayanti
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- new leaves with flower buds at Jayanti, Duars W Picture 120.jpg|New leaves with flower buds West Bengal, India
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- old leaf at Jayanti, Duars W Picture 122.jpg|Old leaf at Jayanti
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- flowering canopy W Picture 117.jpg|Flowering canopy at Jayanti
File:Shala Tree in full bloom.jpg| Sal Tree in full bloom at [[Gazipur]], Bangladesh
File:India, tre dee, salabhanjika, periodo hoysala 1150-1200 da Karnataka.JPG|''Salabhanjika'' or "sal tree maiden", [[Hoysala]] sculpture, [[Belur, Karnataka]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Shorea robusta seed oil]]
*[[Yakshini]]
* [[List of Indian timber trees]]

==References==
{{Reflist|26em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Shorea robusta}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202715/http://www.haryana-online.com/Flora/sal.htm Haryana Online.com: Sal (śāl) trees]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q909828}}

[[Category:Shorea|robusta]]
[[Category:Flora of China]]
[[Category:Trees of the Indian subcontinent]]
[[Category:Trees in Buddhism]]
[[Category:Symbols of Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:Symbols of Jharkhand]]

Shorea robusta - Revision history

Saurabh pal: updated details

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