Giant baobab tree identified in Virudhunagar on ancient trade route

Madurai: A thousand-year-old giant baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) was discovered at Mandapasalai, which was historically considered as a trade route, in Virudhunagar district.

The historical tree is still worshiped by people as a deity, V Rajaguru, president, Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation, said on Tuesday. The giant tree, which measures seven metres in height and 11 metres in width at the base, is on the east side of the road that leads to Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram district.

The tree is popularly known in Tamil as ‘Ponthanpuli’, ‘Yanaimaram,’ ‘Anaippuli’, ‘Perukkamaram’ and ‘Paparappuli’ due to its mammoth size and sour taste of the leaves.

Rajaguru said, “This tree is widely present in Africa, Madagascar, Australia and Arabia. The leaves and fruits of the baobab tree were given as fodder to the horses imported from Arabia. The tree at Mandapasalai features five leaflet compound leaves with naturally occurring hollows and a huge elephant-sized base. The elephant shaped tree sheds leaves for about six months in a year. Moreover, the ‘Giant baobab’ is one of the longest living trees and its stems retain water.

Three branches of the tree had broken off a few years ago. But, its fallen branches continue to grow. There’s a large hollow in the middle of the stem in which eight persons could sit comfortably.

The tree helped foreign guilds to visit the Pandya kingdom for trade since the Sangam period, he said. A proof of this is the Neeravi village, named after a trade guild called Peruniraviyar near Mandapasalai, Rajaguru recalled.

According to C Santhalingam, a renowned archaeologist, Mandapasalai in Virudhunagar leads to old Mangammal Salai, the ancient trade route that connected Aruppukottai, Virudhunagar district and Sri Lanka in 12th and 13th centuries during the later Pandya era. One of the important trade guilds in those period was the Valanchiyar of south Ceylon, who are known as ‘Then Ilangai Valanchiyar’ in Tamil, who were engaged in the business of semi precious stones and ‘navaratna’ in south Tamil Nadu. The Valanchiyars of South Ceylon colonised in two groups with one at Cholapuram, Rajapalayam and the other at Aruppukottai town as discovered in an inscription at a Sivan temple.

The old Mangammal Salai located to the left of the tree connected several areas, including Kamuthi, Parthibanur, Paramakudi, Ramnad, Mandapam and Rameswaram. The traders, who used to ride on horses, took rest under such giant trees, which could be found at every 10-mile distance during their travel through these villages, Santhalingam told DT Next.