बरगद (bargad)

noun A single, concrete sense: the banyan tree, a common noun with strong cultural resonance in Indian life (bargad).
Sense 1 : banyan tree
noun, masculine
Synonyms: वट (vat, literary/formal, often used in religious contexts), बड़ (bad, variant form)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: The बरगद (bargad) is the classic shade-giving tree of Indian villages -- you'll often hear of a बरगद के नीचे बैठना (bargad ke niiche baithnaa, 'to sit under the banyan tree'), evoking panchayats, wandering sadhus, or old men playing cards in the afternoon heat. Its sprawling aerial roots also make it a natural symbol for family and rootedness, so it shows up in metaphors about elders or ancestral homes holding a family together.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse बरगद (bargad) with पीपल (piipal), the sacred fig -- both are large shade trees seen at village squares and temples, but they are different species and neither word substitutes for the other. 2) The gender is masculine; learners occasionally default to feminine because many tree names ending in unusual sounds get mixed up -- but बरगद (bargad) is always masculine.
Sample Sentences:
गाँव के बीचोंबीच एक पुराना बरगद है। There is an old banyan tree right in the middle of the village.
(gaanv ke biichombiich ek puraanaa bargad hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
बुजुर्ग रोज़ शाम को बरगद के नीचे बैठते हैं। The elders sit under the banyan tree every evening.
(bujurg roz shaam ko bargad ke niiche baithte hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पंचायत की बैठक बरगद के नीचे हो रही थी। The panchayat meeting was taking place under the banyan tree.
(panchaayat kii baithak bargad ke niiche ho rahii thii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
बरगद के नीचे बैठो, बहुत ठंडी छाया है। Sit under the banyan tree, the shade there is very cool.
(bargad ke niiche baitho, bahut thandii chhaayaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
उस बरगद की जड़ें दूर तक फैली हुई हैं। That banyan tree's roots have spread far and wide.
(us bargad kii jaden door tak phailii huii hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
दादाजी हमारे परिवार के लिए वही बरगद हैं, जिनकी छाया में हम सब पले-बढ़े। Grandfather is like that very banyan tree for our family, in whose shade we all grew up.
(daadaajii hamaare parivaar ke lie vahii bargad hain, jinkii chhaayaa men ham sab pale-badhe।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर वह बरगद अभी भी होता, तो पूरा मोहल्ला उसकी छाया में इकट्ठा होता। If that banyan tree still existed, the whole neighborhood would gather in its shade.
(agar vah bargad abhii bhii hotaa, to pooraa mohallaa uskii chhaayaa men ikatthaa hotaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
साधु महीनों तक उस बरगद के नीचे तपस्या करते रहे। The sadhu kept doing penance under that banyan tree for months.
(saadhu mahiinon tak us bargad ke niiche tapasyaa karte rahe।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
सड़क चौड़ी करने के लिए वह सदियों पुराना बरगद काट दिया गया। That centuries-old banyan tree was cut down to widen the road.
(sadak chaudii karne ke lie vah sadiyon puraanaa bargad kaat diyaa gayaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
मुझे उम्मीद है कि यह बरगद अगले सौ साल तक ऐसे ही खड़ा रहेगा। I hope this banyan tree will keep standing like this for the next hundred years.
(mujhe ummiid hai ki yah bargad agle sau saal tak aise hii khadaa rahegaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): बरगद (bargad)
(sg.m.oblique): बरगद (bargad)
(pl.m.direct): बरगद (bargad)
(pl.m.oblique): बरगदों (baragdon)