BRAHMYONI HILL GAYA, THE FINEST EXAMPLE OF NATURE-CULTURE LINKAGE

Brahmyoni Hill, Gaya (Source: Author)

Nature reflects the beauty of the city and when we talk of Bihar, Gaya district has been endowed with the rich natural heritage in form of hills, sarovars, kunds, springs, rivers and the scattered forests throughout the district. Today let’s open our arms and feel the scenic beauty of Gaya city. The city finds it’s mention in Vayu purana, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Buddha charit and has a rich historic importance from time immemorial.  When we talk of the city, it is surrounded by hills from three sides and river Falgu from the fourth side. There are many stand-alone hills, which are geographically located within the city boundary. Another hill has its range, which has even crossed the city boundary, the Brahmyoni hill. Let’s explore the historicity of the Brahmyoni hill and its scenic beauty and importance for Gaya city.

Brahmyoni Hill, Gaya (Source: Author)

Gaya is geographically located on the intermediary zone of chotanagpur plateau and gangetic plain. Brahmyoni hill is the part of the city and is located in the municipal boundary in the south west portion of the city. As far as the area of the hill is concerned, it has a ground coverage of around 495.57 hectare, which is 4.96 square km (approximately 5 sq km). The municipal area is around 50.17 sq km, which clearly shows that the Brahmyoni hill covers around 10% of the city area. If we leave other natural sites of the city, even then we would be happy to learn that at-least 10% of the city area is covered only by a single hill range, which means a good green coverage, but this is not true.

Temple at Hadhadwa Water Fall at Brahmyoni Hill, Gaya (Source: Author)

The Brahmyoni hill, its Cultural and Religious aspect

The Brahmyoni hill is one of the sacred hills of Gaya, which finds its mention right from the ‘Purana age’. The sacred Hill also finds its mention in Mahabharata and Buddhist records. As per the ‘vana parva’ of Mahabharata it is mentioned that proceeding towards the Brahmyoni hill, the purity of the body and the soul is obtained by the man who bathes here in the abode of Brahma and attain salvation without doubt in his own race to the 7th generation up and down. For the Buddhist the sacred hill is also a pilgrimage site as Buddha preached the Fire sermon to the thousands former fire-worshipping ascetics, who all became enlightened while listening to this discourse. During Buddha the brahmyoni hill was called ‘Gayashisha’ and it was located 1 km Southwest of Vishnupad temple as the Budha charita says. Also on the top of the hill there are two narrow caves – the ‘Matriyoni’ and ‘Pitriyoni’. Passing through these caves, it is believed that one will not experience rebirth and attain salvation. There is a temple dedicated to Ashtabhuja Devi and other Goddesses at the top of the hIll. There are few sarovars in the foothills of the hill. Godavari, Rukmini, Gadalol, Saryu pokhar are notable of them. There are various ‘pind-daan’ vedis situated around the periphery of the hill, which are treated as sacred for the Hindu pilgrims. Manglagauri Temple dedicated to Maa Manglagauri, a Shakti peeth, is also located on the hill in its eastern part. The hill was the meditation place for many sages from time immemorial. We can learn the stories of ‘Kapil Muni’ and ‘Markandey Rishi’, who used to reside and meditate in the forest of Brahmyoni hill. The Brahmyoni hill has been the centre of the cultural formation and the heritage of the city of Gaya. It endows in itself, the culture and its up-gradation with the passage of the time, which identifies and adds on to the unique character of the city. The steps leading to the hilltop need repair and maintenance. There are many small temples on the hill top which need restoration and preservation, so that the asset lives long.

Lotus pond in foothills of Brahmyoni Hill, Gaya (Source: Author)

The Brahmyoni hill, its Natural and Environmental aspect

We all might have heard a phrase in the society that Gaya is the land of rivers without water, which is of course defining the sandy river Falgu. Secondly, Gaya is the land of hills without trees and thirdly, Gaya is the land of people with beautiful brains. Though, the original phrase says the opposite. But I think Gaya is the land of people with beautiful hearts. Let’s not enter into a debate, my focus is on the hills, as the phrase says that 'Gaya is the land of hills without trees' but why so. Maybe the composition of the minerals present on the outer surface of the hill, the type of rocks, lack of fertile soil on the hill would be the reason. But in my view lack of interest is the main reason why there are very few trees on the hills of Gaya. When you go through the woods in Brahmyoni hills, you can experience that hill is covered with a very thin layer of shrubs and bushes. For the green cover to be really useful for the city, there needs to be a thick layer of trees on the hills. The amount of oxygen produced by shrubs and bushes is very less in comparison to the trees. There is a need for big trees to be planted. Several attempts have been made by the forest department but all in vain as there is no maintenance policy for the regular upkeep of the plants. However there are various enthusiastic people who are working for the conservation of the green cover on Brahmyoni hill and even maintenance of the same on a regular basis. One of them is Mr. Surendra Nath Bahera, an officer in National Informatics Centre, Gaya. He has been passionately working for the conservation of the trees on the hill. He has formed a group of around hundred local volunteers and with the help of the forest department, planted around 500 trees on Brahmyoni hill. This is not the end as these kinds of attempts have also been made in the past but the real work starts now with the regular maintenance and upkeep of the planted saplings. Maintenance of the saplings while taking care of its watering, chemical treatment, and protection from animals on a regular basis is the main task, which Mr. Bahera and his team is dedicated for and are planning to increase their strength in future with more volunteers and more and more plantation on the hill. It is not that the outer layer of the hill is not suitable for plantation, but proper dedication and understanding in this context is needed. Government agencies should passionately be involved in the plantation process and this is not a herculean task. There are many schemes run by the government like – ‘Jal Jeevan Hariyali Yojana’ etc. With proper planning and implementation and most important of all, proper post-intervention operation and maintenance, a thick green cover can be achieved on the Brahmyoni hill. Nevertheless we can say that Brahmyoni hill is the lung of the city and it's our duty that we take care of it for its healthy functioning. We should also help the government achieve the real motto of the plantation schemes. This would also be helpful in decreasing the pollution level of the city and more oxygen to the citizens for a healthy living.

Brahmyoni hill was home to several wildlife animals in the past due to its thick vegetation. But in recent days, the wildlife assets have decreased. However few animals like wolves, hyena, wild dogs etc can be seen moving around in the areas with dense vegetation.

Brahmyoni hill, its Social aspect

Society is the main stakeholder in every aspect as the main aim of any development work is the benefit of the society. As a principal stakeholder, it is the duty of the people to help the agencies in achieving the goal of any development work and maintaining the same. In the near future it has been seen that there are cases of encroachment on the foothills. Increasing pressure of urbanization has also put pressure on the land resources. Since the land resource is limited, people are forcibly encroaching the property of the hills and Brahmyoni hill is also not untouched by this illegal practice. The green cover of the hill is decreasing day by day. Initially the foothills were encroached but now there are many areas, where the encroachment can be seen moving towards the hilltop. This can only be restricted by the government but a more social approach to this problem is needed. It’s high time that the social groups, NGOs, Shelf help groups etc. join hands together and work jointly in the conservation of the hill and its natural resources.

Brahmyoni hill, its Tourism and Economic aspect

Brahmyoni hill, being one of the important natural sites in Gaya can be developed as a centre of eco-tourism. There is much potential in the site to be transformed as an eco-tourism spot. Its scenic beauty, the hilltop, its cultural relevance with the historical events of Brahma, Pind daan, Maa Manglagauri, Buddha, etc. can be creatively transformed to attract tourists, which will ultimately enhance the economic potential of the city as a whole. There is a small waterfall known as ‘Hadhadwa water fall’ in the southern portion of the hill, which attracts tourists during the monsoon. The point needs more intervention in terms of infrastructure development from a tourist point of view. Few sarovars located in the foothills of the Brahmyoni hill can also be developed as a tourist destination. One of such sarovar is Singra Sthan sarovar, which has been developed under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana, HRIDAY scheme of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India in recent future.  There is a proposal for a ‘rope-way’ project on the hill in the pipeline. It is necessary that we work together to create some creative tourism framework linking nature and culture together.

Hadhadwa water fall in foothills of Brahmyoni Hill, Gaya (Source: Author)

Brahmyoni hill and the colonial era

Brahmyoni hill has also been elaborately featured and discussed in colonial texts and the British library. The Britishers have also paid attention to the geography of the city and have treated this hill as the most important part of the city. The hill has been mentioned in various colonial texts. The hill has been featured by Thomas Fraser Peppe in 1870 in his photograph collection. Other references to the hill can be seen in the Elgin collection of 1995. The colonial texts have represented this hill as a Buddhist site as well.

Brahmyoni Hill, Gaya (Source: British Library)

Brahmyoni Hill, Gaya (Source: British Library)

Way forward

The Brahmyoni hill has a huge potential for its development as the major tourist destination due to its geographical location within the city limits, its wildlife and culture. Some creative tourism framework will harness its natural and cultural significance for the benefit of the citizens of Gaya. Its high time we unite and work together in conserving the green cover and help this lung of the city become healthy to enhance the health of the whole city. Let’s pledge not to encroach the hill property and maintain the resource which nature has provided us. Let us conserve our Natural Heritage.

Author: Abhishek Kumar, Dated 07^th day of February 2022.

Copyright @ Abhishek Kumar