Arka Wicks or
Arka Vothulu or God Surya Strands
(10 in one Box) Rs. 250/- only
Arka Wicks or
Arka Vothulu or God Surya Wicks in Telugu అర్క వత్తులు
Arka Wicks or
Arka Vothulu or God Surya Wicks in Tamil சூரிய
திரி
Our Address : Bakthitoday Pavithra
Saamagri Parisodhana Nilayam, Balabharathi Nilayam, New No. 49, Rangarajapuram
Main Road, Kodambakkam, Chennai – 600024
Arakhs or Arkawanshi, an ancient
Kshatriya Suryavanshi clan.
If
one lights a deep with Arka Strands will be blessed with health, wealth and
prosperity. For health benefits after the lamp is off if the remains of the
arka strand is applied to the skin it cures Skin diseases, digestion problem,
abdominal pain, tumors, joint pains, wounds etc.
Among the 21
leaves offered to Lord Ganesha during patra pooja. Arka is one of them. Pooja
to Lord Hanuman is incomplete without the offering of a garland made with arka
flowers or Arka leaves. Hindus worship the plant and the leaves are used while
having a bath on Rathasapthami festival of Sun god. In the ancient scripts of Ayurveda, Arka is
mentioned as a healing herb. There are
two varieties of this plant, the plant with the white flowers is said to be
more sacred and its botanical name is Calotropis Procera and the other with
lilac coloured flowers is called as Calotropis Gigantean.
Arka means ''ray
of light'' in sanskrit and the Arka plant is native to India. Many
medicinal benefits have been derived from different parts of Arka plant.
Man has been fascinated by nature since he evolved
from his primitive ancestors, the apes. No doubt, to start with he hunted for
food mainly by killing the wild animals, but if there was anything on which he
could depend with any confidence towards its availability, it was the plant.
Not only the fact that a large number of plants provided him with food but also
the fact that they provided him with curative medicine and shelter, were
perhaps the reasons why he worshipped them rather then the animals which also
gave him food. The reason for a large number of plants not having any
commercial use
and still associated with myths and traditions are
difficult to understand. The only explanation for their association with
religious beliefs can be that these plants, perhaps because of the resemblance
to the emblem of a particular deity or the name of a sage being associated with
them, made the plants holy. For this reason alone a large number of plants are
considered sacred in India. There are a large number of trees, popularly called
the Bodhi trees, associated with the name of sages who received enlightenment
under them, thus making the trees sacred. For instance Aswattha (Ficus
religiosa) is the
bodhi tree of Sakya Muni or Buddha; Nyagrodha
(Ficus bengalensis) of Kasyapa; Udumbara (Ficus glomerata) of Kanaka muni;
Sirisa (Albizzia labbek) of Krakuchhanda; Asoka (Saraca indica) of Vipaswi;
Pundarika (Nelumbium speciosum) of Sikhi. The availability of a plant can be
another-reason for its traditional use. Yet there again reasons defy
explanation. Rice for instance is ‘a fertility symbol. Its use at religious and
marriage ceremonies can be understood in areas where rice is available in
plenty. But what defies human understanding is the fact that rice is used for
the same reason and purpose even in areas where it is not cultivated. The only
explanation for such a cult can be that when the migration of the human race
from one corner of the earth to another took place, men took their traditions
with them even when those plants were not easily available and often had to be
procured from great distances for the said purpose. There are a large number of
plants which are used by people all over India for cures against witchcraft or
to remove the effect of the evil eye but the reasons for faith and belief in
them is lost in antiquity. For instance, Cheilanthes tenuifolia belonging to
the Family Polypodiaceae and called Dodheri by the Santhals of India is highly
valued, as the root of the plant is prescribed in a preparation given in
sickness attributed to witch-craft or the evil eye. Similarly the nomadic tribes of Rajasthan
tie the leaves of Pedilanthus to the neck of small children as an amulet to
ward off the evil eye. Among the Oriyan tribe Saoras, an amulet made of bits of
the bark of Trewia nudiflora is used as protection against Danunkisum. Also a
necklace made of the bark of the tree is believed to protect the nursing
mother.
Similarly Euphorbia antiquorum of Family
Euphorbiaceae and called Tridhara in Hindi, is supposed to possess the power of
warding off lightning strokes. Embelica officinalis is a tree sacred to the
Hindus and is credited with magical properties by the tribesmen. Seeds of
Peganum harmaia are burnt to drive away evil spirits or to avert the evil eye.
The smoke emanating from the burning seeds cleanses the atmosphere of
mosquitoes and germs.
Prisni-parni, identified as Hermiontis cordifolia,
also as Glycine debelis is used as a protection against sorcerers indulging in
bringing about abortion. Certain trees like Semicarpus anacardium, Diospyros
melanoxyhn and Vitex negundox are believed to have magical potency and the
branches of these trees are used by the Oroan tribes of India to avert the evil
eye, repel evil spirits and other evil influences from standing crops.
Aparmarga (Achyranthes aspera) is used in witchcraft and for medical purposes
against
Ksetriyas. It is described in Atharvaveda as
revertive. Because it has reverted leaves, it wards off a spell by causing it
to recoil on its user. Though generally speaking, the idea of the identity of
the plant with the deities belonged to the tradition of the Aryan immigration,
such as the association of the Soma plant with the moon, yet a large number of
plants that are associated with the deities belong to the traditional flora of
India such as the association of Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) and Amalaka (Embelka myrobalam)
with Vishnu; Bilva (Aegle marmelos) with Siva and the identification of
Sri-Lakshmi with the lotus. In such cases the association of the plant with the
deities would be pre-Aryan. The utility of trees in a hot country was
recognised by people from very early times. The merit of planting trees is
given in many old texts. In Matsya Purana a legend says that Parvati planted an
Asokan sapling and the gods asked her the merit that would accrue from planting
trees. To this Parvati replied: “A Vapi is equal in fruit to 10 wells, a pond
to 10 Vapi’s; a son to 10 ponds and a tree is equal in merit to 10 sons. The
merit for the performance of rite of consecration of trees and fruit gardens is
also mentioned in Agni Purana.
To the Hindus, all plants having the trifoliate
arrangement of its leaves, like Crataeva religiosa of Family Capparidaceae and
called Varuna in Hindi are associated with the Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, Siva.
In South India, its trifoliate leaves are offered to gods. Also Bilva (Aegle
marmelos) and Mandara (Erythrina inciica) have trifoliate leaf arrangement and
are offered to Siva. Apart from the above associations, a large number of
plants are considered auspicious and their flowers are offered at temples or
their wood used for the sacred fire ceremony Homa. Below are given the names of
a few such plants. The flowers of Clitoris ternate of Family Papillionaceae, called
Apacjit in Hindi are used in religious ceremonies. Flowers of Gudahul i.e.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis are the favourite flowers for offering to goddess Kali.
Incidently this flower is also a favourite one for incantations in evil
designs. The wood of Aak (Calatropis gigantea) of Family Asclepiadaceae is used
in Homa and its flowers and those of Datura (Datura fastuosa) of Family
Solanaceae are offered to Siva. The flowers of Euphorbia Hguhria; called Sehund
or Sij in Hindi are considered sacred to Manasa, the goddess of snakes and are
offered at the temple of Manasaji by the tribal and hill people where snake
worship is prevalent, particularly in Bengal and South India. The leaves of
Azadirachta indica or Margossa neem are used in the feast connected with the
Lima rites after a death by certain tribes of Orissa. The inflorescence of
Areca catechu is used in ceremonies on auspicious occasions like marriages in
South India and Gujerat. Kusa ghas i.e. Eragrostis cynasuroides of Family
Gramineae is sacred to the Hindus and is used in religious ceremonies all over
India. The odorous roots of Dolomisea macroccphala or Dhup are used as incense
and its flowers offered at shrines and temples. The sweet scented flowers of
Daphne bholua of Family Thymelaceae are used as offerings in temples. Also of
Leucas lavenduiaefolia. And may be because of the sweet scent alone and for no
other reason, the wood of Chandana or Sandalwood i.e. Santalum album of Family
Santalaceae is extensively used in religious ceremonies. The” paste made from
the wood has a cooling effect and it is believed to remove sins, miseries and
sorrows and to augument riches.
In ancient India, an elaborate ritual was laid for
each sacred ceremony and plants formed an important niche in the ceremony. Thus
for instance at the coronation of Yudhishthira after the battle of Mahabharata
there were “Golden jars full to the brim with water, and those made of copper
and silver and earth, and flowers, and fried paddy, and Kusa ghas (Eragrosds cynasuroides),
and cows milk, and sacrificial fuel consisting of the wood of Sami (Acacia
suma) Pippala (Piper lorigum), Palasa (Butea frondosa), and honey and clarified
butter and sacrificial ladles made of Adumvara (Ficus glomerata) and conches
adorned with gold”. In Garuda Purana also there is a mention of the ritual use
of plants: The twigs of such sacrificial trees or plants e.g. Arka (Calatropis
gigantea), Palasa (Butea monosperma), Khadira (Acacia catechu), Aparmarga
(Achryanthese aspera), Pippala (Piper longum), Udumvara (Ficus glomerata), Sami
(Acacia suma), blades of Durva (Pao cynasuroides) and Kusa ghas (Eragrostis
cynasuroides), soaked with curd, honey, clarified butter should be repeatedly
cast in the sacrificial fire, in Homa ceremonies celebrated for the
propitiation of the planets, such as the Sun.”
Plants are repeatedly mentioned in connection with
customs, traditions and beliefs. In fact no ceremony was complete without some
sacred plant being used. For instance in the Mahabharata, Sakra says: ‘Rubbed
with the astringent powder of the hanging roots of the Banyan tree (Ficus bengalensis)
and anointed with the oil of Priyangu (Panicum italicum), one should eat the
Shashiika paddy mixed with milk. By so doing one gets cleansed of all sins.” The
merit of offering flowers, incense and lamps to deities was given to the Daitya
king Vali, son of Virochanu, by Sukra of niirign’s race when he was the priest
of the Daityas. “Flowers gladden the mind, and confer prosperity. The man, who
in a state of purity offers flowers unto the deities, finds that the deities
become gratified with him and bestow prosperity upon him”.
The flowers offered in various months of the year
to the various deities are mentioned in Garuda Parana. The vow of
Ananga-Trayodashi falls on the 13th day of the moon’s increase in the month of
Marga’sirsha (January). Yoges-vara (Siva) should be worshipped on this day with
offerings of Datura (Datura stominium), twigs of Mallika (Jasminium
arborescens), Vilva leaves (Aegle marmelos), twigs of Kadamba (Anthocephallus cadamba),
sandal paste (Santalum. album); god Nateshwara with Kunda flowers (Jasminium
pubescens) and Plaksha twigs (Butea monosperma). In the month of Phalguna
(February-March) god Vivesvara is to be worshipped with Muruvaka flowers
(Vedala cadai), pot herbs and Chuta trees (Mangifera indica), twigs of Vata
(Ficus bengalensis); in Vaisakh (April) god Sambhu to be offered flowers of
Asoka (Saraca indica), twigs of Udumbara (Ficus glomerata) and nutmeg. In the
month of Jaistha (May), Pradyumna who is an incarnation of Kama, the god of
love, is to be worshipped with Champaka flowers (Michelia champaca) Vilva twigs_
(Aegle marmelos). In Ashada (June) gods are worshipped with flowers of
Aparmarga (Achryanthes aspera) and Agaru twigs (Aquilaria agallocha). In
Sravana (July) with Karavira flowers (Nerium oleander). In Asvins (Sept.-Oct.)
god Suradhipa, lord of celestials is worshipped with flowers of Vakusa
(Mimusops elangii), twigs of Madhavi (Hiptage madhoblata); in Aswina
(September) with Champaka flowers (Michelia champaca) and twigs of Khadira
(Acacia catechu). In Kartika (October-November), Rudra is worshipped with twigs
of Vadari (Zizyphus jujuba). At the year’s end Puja is done with milk, pot
herbs and lotus flowers (Nelumbium speciosum) are offered to deities. In the
Puranas it is said that he who gives libations-of first fruits in the vessels
of Palasa (Butea monosperma), Aswattlia (Ficus reiigiosa), Plaksha (Ficus
lacor), Nyagrodha (Ficus bengalensis), Kasmari (Gmelina arborea), Madhuka (Jonesia
asoka), Phalgu (Ficus oppositifolia), Bilva (Aegle marmelos), Venn (Bamboo) get
the benefit of all Yajnas.
Flowers are classified: is fierce, mild and powerful
and the flowers that are acceptable to the different deities are of diverse
kinds. There is a detailed account in the Mahabharata about the types of
flowers that ought to be offered to the deities and how. “Those flowers that
have an agreeable scent should be offered to the deities; flowers destitute of
thorns and white in colour are most acceptable. Garlands of aquatic flowers
like the lotus should be offered to Gandharvas, Nagas and Yakshas. Red flowers
possessed of keen energy, painful to touch, growing on thorny plants, deep red
or black in colour should be offered to evil spirits and unearthly beings.
Flowers which gladden the mind and heart, of a beautiful form and agreeable
when pressed are worthy of being offered to human beings. Flowers growing on
mountains and valleys, beautiful to look at and with an agreeable scent should
be offered to the deities. The deities become gratified with the scent of the flowers;
the Yakshas and the Rakshasas with their sight; the Nagas with their touch; the
human beings with all three, viz scent, sight and touch.”
All exudations except that of Boswellia serrate are
agreeable to the deities. The best exudation that is made into Dhup or incense
is of Balsamodendron Mukul and of Aquilaria agallocha. It is agreeable to the Yakshas,
the Rakshasas and the Nagas. The exudation of Boswellia serrate is desired by
the Daityas. Dhups made of the exudation of Shorea robusta and Pinus deodars
are ordained for human beings”. About the offering of lamps: “Light is said to
be energy and flame has an upward motion. Hence the gift of light, which is
energy, enhances the energy of man”. Bhishma advised Yudhishthira: “It is
recommended that a man of intelligence should smear his limbs with unguents
made of Priyangu {Panicum italicum), Vilva (Aegle marmelos), Tagara (Tabernae
montane-coronaria) and Kesara {Eclipta alba).” It is interesting to note that
most of these plants are highly medicinal. It is well known that the science of
medicinal plants was very well developed in ancient India.
Just as there are religions prejudices in favour of
some plants, there are also prejudices against their use. Flowers growing in
cemeteries or in places dedicated to the deities are not used in marriages or
in rites for prosperity or for acts of dalliance. There is a taboo attached to
-wearing-of-garlands-of- red-flowers and -instead flowers of white colour are
recommended. Red flowers, however, can be worn in the hair. Acacia arabica var.
Telia cupiess of Family Mimosaceae is never used in any ceremony connected with
an auspicious occasion. Its common name being Ram Kanta or Ram Kati, it is symbolic
of Ram’s ward and is therefore not considered auspicious.
Similarly, the Tamarind tree, inspite of there
being many legends connected with it, is never used for auspicious ceremonies
as its fruit being very sour, it is believed that the ceremony will turn ‘sour’
and thus become fruitless and lose its meaning. Characters and situations are
often compared poetically to flowers and plants in Hindu Mythology. For example
Kama, badly wounded in the battle of Mahabharata is described as such: “Pierced
with those arrows equipped with heads like the calf’s tooth, Adiratha’s son of
broad chest looked resplendent like an Asoka (Saraca indica) or Palasa (Butea
monosperma) or Salmali (Salmalia malabaricum) decked with its flowery load or a
mountain overgrown with a forest of Sandal trees (Santalum album). Indeed with
those
numerous-arrows sticking to his body, Kama, o
Monarch, looked resplendent like the prince of mountains with its top and glens
over grown with trees or decked with flowering Karnikaras (Pterospermum accrifolium)
or Kimsuka flowers (Butea monosperma). Sometimes more then one plant has the
same common name and it is difficult to find out the right plant to which a
particular myth is attributed. For instance, Mandara, Parijata, Durva and Kusa
ghas and Soma-lata are the common names of more than one plant. Often the
plants are mythical and difficult to identify and confusion increases when they
are mixed with plants which exist in the present times. For instance, Kustha
identified as
Costus speciosus or ambicus is a plant that grew
“in the third heaven under the Aswattha tree (Ficus religiosa), along with
Soma”. May be some of the plants mentioned are extinct but the description
given of the said plants is too meagre for them to be identified with fossil
plants. For instance, in the Bhagavata Purana, there is a story of Priyavrata
who married Visva-karma’s daughter Barhtsmati and by her had ten sons who are
all named after Agni.
Priya-vrata reigned 400,000,000 years. The Sun-god
Aditya moves round the Sumeru Mountain and sends his rays up to the Loka-loka
range, illumining half the regions while the other half remains dark.
Priya-vrata who possessed high spiritual powers determined to illuminate the
dark regions, so that there was perpetual day-light. To effect this, he
followed the Sun-god seven times in his chariot till Brahma appeared before him
and said, “Desist, O son, this is not thy assigned duty in the Universe”. But
since Priya-vrata had already gone round the Sumeru mt the ruts caused by the wheel
of his chariot formed the seven oceans which gave rise to the seven Dvipa’s:
Jambu, Plaksha, Salmali, Kusa, Kraunca, Saka and Pushkara. Each succeeding
Dvipa is twice as large as the preceding one. Most of these are named after a
sacred tree that grows there.
According to the Mahabharata, the eastern side of
Meru has a large forest of Bhadra salas (identified both as Anthocephalius
cadamba ‘and Cedrus deodara), and a huge tree called Kalamra (Mangifera
indica). This Kalamra is always graced with fruits and flowers. It is a Yojana
in height and adored by Siddhas and Charanas. People who live on this mountain
are good looking, of fair complexion and live up to 10,000 years. Drinking the
juice of Kalamra, they continue youthful for ever. On the south of the Nila and
north of the Nishadha, there is a huge Jamvu tree ‘(Syzgium cumini, syn. Eugena
Jambolena) that is eternal and wish ful-filling. The Dvipa is named Jamvudvipa
after the tree Jamvu. The height of the tree is a thousand and hundred Yojanas.
Two thousand and five hundred cubit measure the circumference of a fruit of
that tree. When the, fruit is ripe, it bursts and falls on the ground making a
loud noise and a silvery juice pours out of it. This juice becomes a river
which passing circuitously round Meru, comes to the region of the Northern
Kurus. Drinking that juice, one gets peace of mind, does not feel thirsty again
and decrepitude never weakens one. Sometimes cities are compared to flowers.
According to the Bhagavata Parana the lotus floats on’the lake, Madhura
(Mathura) rares itself on the earth, protected by the Cakra, the disc of
Vishnu. Hence it is called Gopala-puri. This Puri is surrounded by twelve forests.
1. Brhad-vana from Brhad or large 2. Madhu-vana from Madhu, a tree (Bassia
latifoiia) 3. Tala-vana from Tala, palm tree (Borassus flabbifera) 4.
Bahula-vana from Bahula, a tree (Cardamon) (Amomum subulatum or Elettaria
cardamornum) 5. Kumuda-vana from Kurnuda, lotus (Nelumbium speciosum) 6.
Khadira-vana from Khadira (Acacia catechu) 7. Bhadra-vana from Bhadra (Gmelina
asiatica) 8. Bhandlra-vana from Bhandra (Ficus bengalensis) 9. Sri-vana from
Sri or Lakshmi. Sribriksha (Aegle marmelos) 10. Loha-vana from Loha, a plant
(Aloe agallochum) 11. Brada-vana from Brnda or Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) These
forests are presided over by 12 Adityas, 11 Rudras, 8 Vasus, 7 Rsis, Brahma,
Nanada, the five Vinayakas (Moda, Pramoda, Amoda, Sumukha and Durmukha),
Viresvara, Rudresvara, Vises-vara, Gopalas-vara, Bhadres’ vara and 24
Siva-Lingas.
Since very early times Deva Daru or the Deodar
(Cedrus deodara) is considered as the abode of gods, may be because of the
lofty, awe inspiring height the tree attains. In the Western Himalayas,
particularly in the Kumaon hills and the Kulu valley, people hold the tree
sacred and offer iron pieces as their offering to the gods dwelling in the
trees. One often comes across trees studded with iron nails as a form of
worship mainly to ward off illness, death and destruction of cattle, sheep and
crops. Like the worship of Deodars, many trees are worshipped mainly because of
the belief that spirits and deities dwell in them. Why iron nails are made as
an offering can only be explained from a common Indian belief that iron keeps
the evil away. And may be, to the people worshipping the tree, it was not just
the gods dwelling in the tree that were important but also the tree itself as
it brought rain which was important in an agricultural country.
Trees are worshipped for-various reasons. In-the
Pun district of Orissa, a Tamala tree (Cinnamomum tamala) growing in the
compound of the Sakhigopal temple is worshipped as an incarnation of Krishna.
Jhand (Prosopis spicigera) is revered in the Punjab. Very often a temple is
erected near it or a stone deity placed under the tree with flags and steamers adorning
its branches. The tree is believed to have the gift of giving children and
women worship it for that. Often even the marriage processions go to the tree
before proceeding to the bride’s house or the doli procession goes first to the
Jhand tree before the bride enters her new home. Offerings are also made to the
tree by smallpox patients. Just as all animals are believed to possess a soul,
similarly the belief that all plants possess a soul is very strong. There are
gods and goddesses of trees, shrubs and creepers. They even have a mother
called Ira. Ira, a daughter of Daksa and one of the wives of Kashyapa, was the
mother of three daughters. Lata (creeper), Valli (creeping plants) and Virudha.
They became in turn mothers of trees, plants and shrubs. Lata created
flowerless - wild plants standing in sandy regions and also trees with flowers
and fruits.
Valli created bushes and grass of all kinds. Ira
means water and since the vegetable kingdom cannot subsist without water, Ira
was the right choice of a mother for the plants. The association of the
vegetation with a goddess is an old one dating back to the Harappa civilization
where terracotta figurines of naked female figures have been found with their
legs wide apart and a plant issuing from their womb. Quoting from Banerjee the
association of the
vegetation with the goddess is very well worked out
in her Sakambhari aspect (Markandya Purana, Devi Mahatmya. This association is
still emphasised in the Navapatrika ceremony of the autumn Durga worship in Bengal
which shows that the Devi was in a way the personification of the vegetation
spirit According to the Markendeya Purana plants and trees were created from
the hair of Brahma’s body. The Navapatrika or ‘nine planets’, are Rambha
associated with the Plantain (Musa sapient); Kacvi (Arum colocasia); Haridra,
the tumeric plant (Curcuma longa); Jayanti or Barley (Hordeum vulgare); Vilva
(Aegle .marmelos); Dadima or pomegranate (Punica granatum); Asoka (Saraca indica);
Mana or Dhanya called paddy (Oryza sativa). The nine goddesses presiding over
the Individual plants are Brahmani, Kalika, Durga, Karttiki, Siva,
Raktadantika, Sokarahita, Camunda, and Lakshmi respectively. These nine forms
of the Devi can be described as comprising a variety of the Navadurgas.
A reference to the vanadevattas or the tree spirits
is made in Kalidasa’s world renowned play Sakuntala where the vanadevatta
blesses Sakuntala as she leaves for her husband’s home. There is a sculpture
piece of the Banyun tree (Ficus bengalensis) at Mahabodhi near Gaya which shows
two human arms extended from the tree, one holding a plate full of food and the
other containing a vessel with a drink, towards a man who is ready to receive
then. But this is not only a belief held by the Hindus, the presence of
tree-spirits is also a very strong Buddhist belief as seen from the Jataka
stories.
Marriage of boys and girls to trees is still being
practised by certain tribes in India. This is a relic of the primitive age.
Among boys such a marriage is usually performed if the prediction is that his
first marriage will break. By marrying him to a tree which is considered to be
female, the tragedy is averted and later he is married to a girl and she is
considered his second wife. In Orissa if a man loses two wives in succession,
before he can be married for the third time, he is first married to a tree of
Stribulus asper or Morus indica before he is considered free of the curse of
becoming a widower again, as the ill-luck is now carried by the tree he is
married to. The same custom for girls, however, has a different basis. An
unmarried girl’s body cannot be consecrated to the fire. In other words, a
virgin cannot be cremated and it is the sacred duty of her parents to marry her
at the appropriate time to a boy of their own caste. But if for any reason, the
father fails to get her married, a marriage is solemnised between her and a
tree after which the girl can be given away informally to any boy or to a boy
of an inferior caste. For instance, among the Kunbirs of Gujerat, if a man
fails to provide a husband for his daughter, she is married to a bunch of
flowers and the flowers are later thrown into a well after which the girl can
marry anyone or she is simply given away to any man who is prepared to accept
her. In some cases a girl is first married to a tree with a belief that she
will imbibe some of the fertility of the tree, before she is married in the
normal way to a man. Among the Gauras of Orissa, a girl who fails to get a
husband is taken
to a forest married to a tree and left tied to it.
She is rescued by the first man who comes that way and she becomes his wife
informally. Mostly a youth of a lower caste is waiting for the family to depart
before he takes her to his home.
So much importance was given to plants,
particularly to trees that a whole ritual was laid for the felling of the
‘trees and for image making for purposes of worship. Not every wood was used
for image making, nor could anyone worship an image unless it was sanctioned by
the scriptures. For instance, the images for worship by the Brahmanas are made
from Deodar (Cedrus deodar), Candana (Santalum album), Sami (Acacia suma) and
Madhuka (Bassia latifolia, also identified as Glycyrrhiza glabra); for
kshatriyas images are made out of Arishta (Sapindus mukorossi), Aswattha (Ficus
religiosa), Khadira (Acacia catechu), Vilva (Aegle marmelos); for Vaishas from
Jivaka (Putranjiva roxburghn), Khadira (Acacia catechu), Sindhuka (Hibiscus rosa-
Sinensis), Syandana (Delbergia sissoo); for the Sudras out of Tinduka (Diospyros
peregrina), Kesara (Eclipta alba), Salya (Aegle marmelos or Vanguinieria
spinosa), Arjuna (Terminalia Arjuna), Amra (Mangifera indica), and Sala (Shorea
robusta). The prescribed ritual for felling the selected tree was an elaborate
one. The sculptor had to perform certain rites such as the marking off on its
trunk the various sections of the image to be made. Next he had to propitiate
the tree with various offerings and to worship at night the gods, manes, Rakshasas,
Nagas, Asuras, Ganas and Vinayakas. In the morning, after sprinkling water on
the tree and smearing the blade of his axe with honey and clarified butter, he
would cut round the tree rightwards, beginning from the north-east corner.
Just as most gods and goddesses in India are
associated with some tree, shrub or creeper, similarly all the nine planets which
are believed to control the destiny of man are associated with plants. Planet
Ravi (the Sun) after whom Ravivara or Sunday is named is offered the burnt
offerings of Aak plant (Calatropis gigantea). Butea monospermir or Palasa
is-sacred to planet Soma (the moon) after whom Somavara or Monday is named.
Planet Mangla (Mars) hence Manglavara or Tuesday is identified with Karttikeya
and the plant Khadira (Acacia catechu) is sacred to him. Planet Buddha
(Mercury), hence Budhavara or Wednesday has Aparmargu (Achryanthes aspera) as
its sacred plant. Aswattha (Ficus religiosa) is sacred to Planet Brihaspati
(Jupiter) after whom Brihaspativara or Thursday is named. The plant Urumbasa
(cannot be identified botanically) is sacred to the planet Sukra (Venus) and’
Sukravara or Friday is named after him. Saturday or Sanivara is named after the
Planet Sani (Saturn) and the plant sacred to it is Sami (Acacia suma). Dharbha
ghas (Pao cynasuroides) is sacred to the Planet Rahu and blades of Kusa ghas (Eragrostis
cynasuroides) to the Planet Ketu. Though generally speaking the Sikhs in India
do not worship trees, yet a few specimens are held sacred by them. One is a
tree of Ber (Zizyphus jujuba) growing in the compound of the Golden Temple at
Amritsar which is believed by the Sikhs to be a tree which removes sorrow.
Similarly, a tree of Carissa spinosa or the sacred Gama, growing in a village
called Badal in the Hoshiarpur dis’trict of Punjab, is a tree of great
antiquity and is held in great reverence by the Sikhs. Near Bareilly in Uttara
Pradesh there is a tree of Amla (Embelica officinalis) one branch of which
bears sweet fruits and the rest of the tree bears bitter-sour fruits. No doubt
a case of mutation in the plant but the Sikhs hold the tree sacred under the
belief that one of their Gurus once rested under this tree and the branch which
gave him shade, since that time bears sweet fruits.
There is a mention of the birth of plants in Matsya
Purana. The legend says that by the power of their penances, Rishis Prachetasa
(ten brothers), had protected the plants but Agni burnt them. So the Rishis
married Soma-Kanya, Marisha, the daughter of Soma and from this union was born Daksha.
Daksha in turn produced on her innumerable plants and trees.
According, to the Vamana Purana the following
plants arose as listed below;
1. Lotus (Neiumbium speciosum) from Vishnu’s navel.
2. Kadamba (Anthocephallus cadamba) from the
forepart of the hand of Kandaripa.
3. Banyan (Ficus bcngalensis) from Manibhadra, the
chief of the Yakshas.
4. Datura (Datura fastuosa) from the chest of Siva.
5. Khadira (Acacia catechu) from the middle body of
Brahma.
6. Bread fruit (Adansonia digitata) from the body
of Visvavarman.
7. Kurchi flowers (Jasminium pubescens) from the
palm of Parvati.
8. Sindhuvaraka (Vitex negundo) from the temple of
Ganesha.
9 Palasa (Butea frondosa) from the right side of
Yama.
10. Udumbara (Ficus glomerata) from the north-south
side of Yama.
11. Vrsa drig (Banduvija pentapates) from Rudra.
12. Bamboo (Banduvija pentapates) from Skanda. 13-
Aswattha (Ficus religiosa) from Ravi.
14. Sami (Acacia suma) from Katyani.
15. Bilva (Aegle marmelos) from Lakshmi.
16. Reeds (Arundo donax) from the lord of serpents.
17. Durbha {Pao cynasuroides) from Vasuki.
The cult of tree worship is as old or older than
civilization, in fact almost the first objects to be worshipped were trees. In
India this is borne out by a seal discovered at Mohenjodaro, now in Pakistan,
which depicts Aswattha (Ficus religiosa) being worshipped. This seal dates back
to the 3rd or 4th millennium B.C. The worship of trees in India is
understandable as the trees not only provided shade in the hot scorching
summers, food, and medicine and fuel but the forests ‘Meant rain which was
essential for a purely agricultural economy. The trees being beneficial to
humanity, to protect them became a religion for men and the trees were
converted into the abode of spirits, the vanadevattas. To cut down a tree meant
depriving the spirit of its home and very often if it became imperative to cut
down any tree, special prayers for forgiveness of the tree spirit were
performed before a tree was cut down or another abode offered to the
Vaimdevatta. Invariably it is not the tree that is worshipped but the spirits
residing in them.
The identification of the plant at times gets
difficult as a large ‘number of plants have the same common name. In a country
like India with many regional languages, a particular common name of a plant is
applied to different plants. Also plants that are associated with various gods
and goddesses change from one part of India to another. Not only that, but the
names of gods and goddesses also differ in
different parts of India thus making accurate assessment and Identification of
plants at times impossible. Where the Sanskrit name of the plant belongs to
more than one plant, only those plants have been identified, the synonym of
which suites in a particular reference. To make matters more confusing, myths
in various districts overlap. If in one district a particular deity is
worshipped with a certain plant, in the next district, either the same plant is
offered to a different deity or some other flowers are considered sacred to the
same deity.
ACACIA CATECHU
Family Leguminoseae
Sanskrit: Khadira
Hindi: Katha
English: Cutch tree
Khadira wood is considered sacred both by the
Hindus and the Buddhists. There is a mention of the plant in the Bhagavata
Purana and other ancient Indian texts. It also finds a mention in the Buddhists
Jataka stories. When Brahmadatta was king of Benares, Bodhisatta was born as a
wood-pecker and since he lived in a forest of Acacia trees i.e. Khadirj-vana,
he was called Khadiravaniya. He had a friend called Kandagulaka, who used to get
his food from soft, good fruit. Once Kandagalaka visited Khadiravaniya and the
latter took him into the Acacia woods and pecked at the tree trunks until the
insects came out and these he gave to his friend to eat. Kundagalaka was an
arrogant bird and thought that he could himself get the insects to eat, why
should he be obliged to Khadiravaniya for them. When he told his intentions to
his friend, Khadiravaniya said: “You are used to take your food from pithless
silk-cotton trees and trees that bear abundant soft fruit. But Khadira is full
of pith and is hard. You should not peck at it”. But Kandagalaka did not heed
the warning given by his friend and pecked at the hard Khadira wood. The wood
being hard, his beak snapped, his head split and he could not hold fast to the
tree. He fell to the ground arid died. Bodhisatts
identified the Birth and said: “Devadutta was Kandag-abka and Khadiravaniya was
myself. This was not the first time that Devadutta had destroyed himself by
imitating me”. The dried pulp extracted from the wood of Acacia catechu is used
as a paste for the betel leaves. It has digestive and other medicinal
properties. The inflorescence of Khadira is essential in marriage ceremonies in
certain parts of India. The sacrificial post is made of Khadira wood, also the
sacrificial fire, as it produces very hot embers. The Sruva or sacrificial
ladle is also made fromits^woodperhaps because the wood is very hard.
ACACIA SUMA
Family Leguminoseae
Sanskrit & Hindi: Sami
English: Acacia
In the krita age all the celestials approached
Varuna and said: “As Sakra, the lord of the celestials always protects us from
every fear, similarly be thou the lord of all rivers. Thou always residest, O
god, in the Ocean, that home of Makaras. This Ocean, the Lord of rivers, will
then be under thy dominion. Thou shalt then wax and wane with Soma.’ Thus
addressed, Varuna answered: “Let it be so”. Then according to the rites laid
down in the scriptures, Varuna took his abode in the Ocean. The illustrious
Varuna began to duly protect seas and lakes, rivers and other receptacles of
water and all aquatic creatures. Because of Varuna haying his abode in the
waters, these became a place of pilgrimage or Tirtha. Baladeva, the slayer of
Pralamba and possessor ot great wisdom, after having bathed in the abode of
Varuna i.e. the river, proceeded to the Agni Tirtha which was the spot where
the god of fire, Agni, the eater of clarified butter, frightened at the curse
of Bhrigu, had concealed
himself within the entrails of the Sami wood. At
this disappearance of the light of the world, the gods repaired to the
Grandsire of the Universe and said: The odorable Agni has disappeared for
reasons unknown to us. Let not all creatures be destroyed, create fire, O
Lord”. Upon the disappearance of Agni, all the gods with Vasava or Vrihaspati
at their head, searched for the missing god and found him in the entrails of
the Sami wood. Having found Agni, the gods returned to their respective homes.
Agni, henceforth, because of Bhrigu’s curse became an eater of everything.
Balarama, after having bathed at Agni Tirtha the spot where Agni had entered
the Sami wood, then proceeded to Brahmayoni where Brahma had exercised his functions
of creation.
Another story regarding the sacredness of the Sami
wood is told in the Mahabharata. An Asura called Taraka was afflicting the
deities and the Rishis. To get him killed, the deities and the Rishis approached
Brahma. Brahma gave them his word that the vedas and the eternal duties “will
not be exterminated and he promised to do something to get rid of Taraka. The deities
then reminded Brahma that because of his boon to Taraka, Taraka was incapable
of being slain by the deities, Asuras or Rakshasas. For having tried to stop
propagation in earlier days, the deities had also been cursed by Uma, the
consort of Siva. As a result of that curse, they could not have any offspring.
Brahma told the assembled company that at the time the curse was pronounced by
Uma, Agni was not present and therefore he was free from the curse. Agni would
begat an offspring who, transcending all the deities, Danavas, Rakshasas,
Gandharvas, Nagas and the feathery creatures will slay Taraka. Continuing, he
said: “Kama is identical with Rudra’s seed, a portion of which fell into the
blazing form of Agni. That blazing substance will be cast by Agni into Gangs
for producing an offspring upon her in order to effect the destruction of the
enemies of the gods. Let the eater of sacrificial libations, who alone is
Capable of killing Taraka, being free of Uma’s curse, be sought. Agni is the
Lord of the universe. Will or desire is identified with Agni”. The deities and
the Rishis then searched for Agni in all corners of the three worlds but could
not find him as Agni had merged himself into self i.e. water, for water is
identified with Agni. Agni having entered the waters, the aquatic animals were
scorched by the heat thus produced. A frog living in the water could not bear
the heat anymore. As the deities were searching for Agni, the frog came above
the water surface and informed them of Agni’s whereabouts. When Agni came to
know of frog’s treachery, he cursed him by depriving “is entire race of their
organs of taste. Seeing the plight to which the frogs were reduced for having
done them a service, the deities showed them a favour and said that inspire of
all the inconveniences caused to them by
the lack of tongues, the Earth would still hold them and they will no: starve.
After bestowing this boon on the frogs, the deities went about searching for
Agni but failed to find him. An elephant told them that Agni was hiding in the
Aswattha tree (Ficus digiosa). Incensed by the betrayal of the elephants, Agni
cursed them and said that their tongues would be bent backwards. The deities
then said to the elephants that even with tongues bent inwards, they would be
able to eat and make incoherent sounds. Having thus blessed the elephants, the
deities resumed their search for Agni. Having issued out of the Aswattha, the
deity of fire had entered the heart of Sami tree. His new abode was divulged by
a parrot. Enraged with the conduct of the parrot, Agni cursed the whole parrot
race and deprived them of the power of speech. The deities feeling compassion
for the parrot blessed them and said that though their tongues had been turned
back, they will still have speech, sweet and indistinct and confined to the
letter K. Then beholding the deity of fire within the heart of the Sami wood,
the deities made Sami a sacred fuel fit for producing fire in all religious
rites. From that time onwards, Agni is believed to reside in the heart of 5am;
and men came to regard Sam; as the right wood for producing fire in sacrifices
and to this day, the sacrificial fire is produced by rubbing together two
sticks of Sami wood.
In ancient times, Kings sometimes performed
sacrifices causing altars’ to be raised at small distances from one another.
Those distances were measured by hurling a heavy piece of Sami wood from an
altar. The site for the next altar was chosen at the spot the piece of Sami had
fallen. Since the time that Agni devatta concealed himself in the Sami wood,
the tree became sacred. Sami is a Very inflammable wood and is therefore, used in
all sacred rites where the holy fire Homa is kindled. Sami is also considered
as the goddess-incarnate. Since Sami has fire inside it and Kudra is an
embodiment of fire, Siva or Rudra is conceived as a yupa post made of Sami
wood. An evil spirit resides in it but he works evil only if a bed is made or repaired
from Acacia wood. Such a bed can not be slept in.
AEGLE MARMELOS
Family Rutacese
Sanskrit: Bilva, Vilva
Hindi : Bel, Bael
English: Wood Apple
Bilva is a scraggy tree with three leaves and with
a crust of thick thorns. The three leaves together, look like Trishul, or the
Trident, the emblem of Siva. These tri-foliate leaves signify the three
functions of Siva i.e. Creation, Preservation and Destruction. They also
represent his three eyes. That is why Bilva leaves are considered effective in
removing the sins of three births. The tree is sacred to Siva and is worshipped
by his followers on the 14th phase of the moon’s wane between the months of
Magha and Phalguna. On Sivaratri day is celebrated Siva’s first manifestation
of himself in phallic form. The Linga is bathed in milk, decorated and wrapped
with Bilva leaves. Bilva is considered as one of the important sacred trees and
keeps on recurring in Hindu Mythology. The following story is from Brihaddharma
Purana as quoted by Gupta in his article on Tree symbol worship in Bengal’. Lakshmi,
while worshipping Siva used to make a daily offering of one thousand lotus
buds. One day when she was going to worship Siva, she found that the lotus
flowers were short by two. She was in a quandry as to what to do when she
remembered that her husband, Vishnu had always compared her breasts to lotus
buds. So she decided to cut off her breasts, and substitute them in place of
the lotus flowers that were missing. As she cut off one breast, Siva satisfied
with her worship of him and at her sacrifice appeared before her and said that
her cut breast (which was not placed on the ground and therefore did not become
unclean) would be the wood apple i.e. the Bilva tree.
According to Banihipurana and Tantrik folklore,
Lakshmi was born as a sacred cow and from her dung arose the Bilva tree and
therefore it is considered sacred. The tree being associated with lakshmi, it
is also called Sribiksha, the tree of prosperity and good fortune. Another
legend says that Lakshmi and Saraswati were both wives of Vishnu but Vishnu
loved Saraswati more than he loved Lakshmi. Enraged, Lakshmi started the
worship of Siva and was engaged in meditation of Siva for a very long time but
Siva did not appear before her. After a while, Lakshmi became the Bilva tree
and now Siva dwells in the tree. According to one legend, a hunter was trying
to shoot a deer. He climbed the Bilva tree and getting bored in his hours of
waiting, to kill time he started plucking the leaves of the tree and throwing
them down. Under the tree was an image of Siva. After a while, Siva himself
appeared to the hunter in a vision and said, “I make myself visible to you for
it is not the way you worship that is important but the worship itself. Even
the accidental fall of leaves on the image of Siva, gave the hunter his vision.
From that day onwards, the tree and its trifoliate arrangement of leaves became
sacred.
Another version of the same story is given by
Dubois. A slightly different version of the story is: Sundara Sena, the vicious
king of Arunda went out hunting. Getting tired he took rest in a bower of Bilva
trees. There was a phallic emblem in the bower and Bilva leaves fell on it because
the king plucked them from the tree. Plucking Bilva leaves made the dust rise
and to lay down the dust, the king brought water from the near by river and
sprinkled it on the tree. Some water dribbled down on the head of the emblem.
Then a shaft fell down from the king’s quiver and he went to fetch it. As he
bent down to pick it up, his chest touched the emblem. Having touched, bathed
and worshipped the emblem of Siva with Bilva leaves on the night of the Vratam,
the king got his vision of Mahadeva. Another interesting legend is as follows:
Once in the city of Pataliputra ruled a king called Vikramatunga. He had the
reputation of never turning his back on a suppliant, nor in fighting on an
enemy. The king one day entered a forest to hunt and saw a Brahman offering a
sacrifice of Bilva fruits. The king did not disturb him and went ahead with his
chase. Hours later, on his return from the chase; he found the Brahman still
intent on his sacrifice as before. The king got curious and going upto the
Brahman asked him what merit he was going to gain by offering Bilva fruits. The
Brahman named Nagasarman answered, “When the God of Fire is pleased with this
Bilva for sacrifice, and then Bilva fruits of gold will come out of the fire.
The God of Fire will appear in bodily form and grant me a boon; and so I have
spent much time in offering Bilva fruits. But so little is my merit that even
now the God of Fire is not propitiated”. The king then said, “Give me a Bilva
fruit that I may offer it, and I will today, O Brahman, and render the God of
Fire propitious to you”. The Brahman answered, “How will you, unchastened and
impure, propitiate that God of Fire, who is not satisfied with me, who remain
faithful to my vow and am chastened”? The king answered, “Never mind, give me a
Bilva fruit and in a moment you shall behold a wonder”. The Brahman, full of
wonder and curiosity, gave a Bilva fruit to the king. The king meditated for a
while and offering the Bilva fruit to the fire, said, “If thou art not
satisfied with this Bilva fruit, O God of Fire, then I will offer thee my own
head”. Arising from the sacrificial fire, the seven-rayed god appeared before
the king, bringing him a golden Bilva fruit, as the fruit of his valour and addressing
the king said, “I am pleased with thy courage, so receive a boon, O king”. The
king bowed before the God of Fire and said, “Grant this Brahman his wish. What
other boon do I require”. The God of Fire answered, “O king, this Brahman shall
become a great lord of wealth and thou shall also by my favour have the
prosperity of thy treasury remain ever undiminished”. The Brahman then
addressed the God of Fire and said, Thou hast appeared swiftly to a king that
acts according to his own will, but not to me that am under vows, why is this,
O revered one?” Then the God of Fire, the giver of boons answered, “If I had
not granted him an interview, this king of fierce courage would have offered
his head in sacrifice to me. In this world successes quickly befall those of fierce
spirit, but they come slowly, O Brahman, to those of dull spirit like thee”.
Thus
spoke the God of Fire and vanished. The Brahman
Nagasarman took leave of the king and because of the boon given him by the God
of Fire, became very rich.
According to certain tribes of India, the tree
sprang from the testes of a pig which is considered an unclean animal, thus
revealing the great gap that exists between the orthodox Hindu thought and that
of the tribes. Naturally therefore, most tribal people do not consider the pig
sacred. The Gauria snake-charmers of Central India are believed to cure snake
bites by an appeal to the Bilva tree and to Dhanwantri, the Physician of gods. Before
the start of the war between Ramachandra and Ravana, Brahma took Rama to a
Bilva tree on the sea shore to invoke Devi on the Krishna navami Tithi. Rama
approached the Bilva tree and eugolised Devi and the latter assured him with a
voice from heaven that he would attain victory over the Rakshasas. A fallen
tree is never used for firewood and though its fruit is highly valued by
people, the people of Kerala never eat it, as it signifies the head of Siva.
Bilva leaves are offered to Siva on Mondays in the
month of Shrawan (July). Its wood is included in Homa and the fruit is believed
to promote fertility. Bilva tree is highly medicinal, particularly useful in
curing diseases of the skin by purifying the blood. The fruit, believed to have
come from the milk of Sri, is a remedy for dysentery. The tree is planted on
the north side of the house.
ANTHOCEPHALLUS CADAMBA
Family Rubiaceae
Sanskrit: Kadamba
Hindi: Kadam
English: Kadamb
This is the famous Kadamba tree popularly
associated with Krishna. Krisnha dancing with Radha and his favourite gopies
under this tree is a favourite theme of the Krsna-Radha legend and is often
represented in miniature paintings. Till’today, the tree is held sacred by the
followers of Krsna and in memory of his swinging from its branches and
delighting with the milkmaids of Brndavana; its flowers are offered at the
temples dedicated to him.
According to a Puranic legend, the distillation of
liquor is associated with the Kadamba tree. Sheshnag, the great serpent who
supports the earth, was on his wanderings in the forest with his companions in
the guise of a mortal. Lord Varuna wanted to provide him with recreation and
ordered his wife Varuni, the goddess of wine to go and regale the powerful
Ananta or Sheshnag and make him happy. Obeying the commands of her husband, Varuni
as Madira or wine, went and hid herself in the hollow of a Kadamba tree in the,
Brndavana. Krsna, as Baladeva who was roaming in the forest, smelled the
pleasant fragrance of liquor and his old passion for strong drink was resumed.
Seeing drops of liquor come from the Kadamba tree, he was delighted and gathering
them, drunk it with his herdsmen and the gopies, the latter then sang and
danced praising Krsna. Krsna got drunk with wine and in his drunken state
called upon the river Jamuna to come near him as he wished to bathe. The river
disregarded the wishes of a man who was drunk, at which Krsna got enraged at
the audacity of Jamuna and plunged his ploughshare into the river and dragged
her to him and further compelled the river to follow him wherever he went in
his wanderings in the forest Since that day Krsna and the Kadamba tree which
provided him with liquor have come to be associated together.
Assuming a mortal figure, Jamuna with distracted
looks approached Balabhadra, another aspect of Krsna and entreated him to
pardon her. Appeased by her reiterated prayers, Krsna let her go but only after
she had watered the whole country. Then Balarama bathed in the river Jamuna and
Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty gave him a lotus flower to put in his car and a
garland of lotus flowers to wear.
In the Vishnu Purana there is a mention of the four
sacred mountains: Mandara, Gandhamandara, Vipula and Supars.a and on each one
of them stands severally a Kadamba tree, a jambu tree (Syzgium cumini, syn. Eugenia
jambolena), a Peepul (Ficus religiosa) and a Vata (Ficus bengalensis) tree,
each spreading over 1100 yojanas and towering aloft like banners. In the
Bhagavata Purana, Mango tree is present on mount Mandara; Jambu tree on
Merumandara; Vata on the Kamuda and Kadamba on mount Suparsva. Though the
Kadamba tree is associated with the exudation of liquor drops, in fact wine
does not exude from the Kadamba tree but its flowers are said to yield a spirit
on distillation. The name Kadambari is a synonym of wine. The original Kadamba
tree is believed to have grown on the Gomantha Mountain, one of the mythical
sacred mountains of Hindu Mythology. Gohitayani, the nurse of Skanda, is
worshipped under a Kadamba tree.
ARUNDO DONAX
Family Gramineae
Sanskrit: Nalaka
Hindi : Bari-nari
English: Cane-sticks, Great
Reed, Spanish Cane
Buddha, the Master, while on an alms pilgrimage
with his disciples through Kosala came to the village of Nalaka-pana. They were
dwelling in the Ketaka-vana (Pandanus odoratissimus) near the pool of
Nalaka-pana where grew the cane-sticks. The cane sticks those days were solid
and the novices used to gather them to make needle cases out of them. Seeing
the forest of Nalaka-pana, Buddha narrated the following story, an event which
had occured in a previous birth.
Once Bodhisatta was born as the king of the monkeys
and lived in the forest near this pool with his 80,000 followers. One day the
monkeys came to a spot that they had not visited before. They were thirsty but
instead of drinking the water of the lake, they waited for Bodhisatta, their
king to come. Bodhisatta, on arrival made a circuit of the lake and scrutinized
the foot prints round it and noticed that footsteps led down into the water but
none came out of it. He then realised that the lake was the haunt of an Ogre and
was glad that none of his followers had gone down to the lake to drink water, When
the Ogre realised that the monkeys were not coming down to the lake he came but
of the water and finding ail of them sitting on the banks of the lake,
addressed their Master and asked him why the monkeys were not going down to the
lake to drink water. Bodhisatta, the Master, asked him in return if he was the
Ogre who] ate up the animals that went to drink water at the lake. The Ogre
replied in the affirmative and also disclosed his intentions of eating all the
monkeys when they went to the lake. The Bodhisatta told him that the monkeys
would drink the water of the lake but without going down to it, and that the
Ogre would not be able to eat them. The Bodhisatta had a cane brought-to him
and after calling to mind the Ten Perfections, he recited them and blew down
the cane. The cane became hollow without a single knot being left in all its
length. He then made a round of the lake and commanded all canes to become
hollow. After the canes became hollow, he and the 80,000 monkeys each took a
hollow cane in their hands and sucked the water up through them and the Ogre
could not catch them.
The Ogre in the story was Devadutta; the 80,000
monkeys were the disciples of Buddha and the monkey king was Bodhisatta
himself. The cane-sticks are tall, stout, perennial grasses with a hollow stem.
They are common all over India and are distributed westwards to Europe, N.Africa
and N.Asia.
ASCLEPIA AECIDUM
Family Asclepiadaceae
Sanskrit: Soma
Hindi: Somalata
English: Sour creeper
Soma is variously described as a God, as a drink
and as a plant. As a drink it is considered to be a drought of immortality,
soma, which also has great, curative powers. As a deity, he is considered to be
a wise seer who inspires good thoughts and poetry, Soma is also considered as
Vanaspati, the lord of plants and woods. In a few hymns in the Rg-veda, he is
identified with the moon. The ninth chapter of the Rg-veda is devoted to the
Soma deity. Soma plant which grew on the hills, corresponds to Haoma of Avesta
and like the fire-cult, the soma-cult is also identical to the Iranian custom
where Soma, under the name of Haoma, plays exactly the same role in the worship
and sacrifice of the followers of Avesta. In the Rg-veda, the Soma deity is
referred as a plant which yields intoxicating beverages. This liquor is offered
at sacrifices, partaken by the worshipper and poured into the sacred flame on
the altar of sacrifice. The Soma draught is said to dispel sin from the heart,
to destroy falsehood and to promote truth. The ninth chapter of the Gita
mentions Soma as: Those who are devoted to the three wisdoms i.e. Dharam,
Arath, Kama, drink Soma, become similar and pray for paradise. According to the
Rg-veda, Soma deity which is mountain born, comes after Agni and Indra in
importance. It is said that Varuna who placed the Sun in the heaven and fire in
the water, placed Soma on the mountains. Like fire, Soma is brought to men by
superhuman agency. Whereas Fire was brought to earth from Heaven by
Matarishvan, Soma was brought from the mountains by a falcon. The original Soma
plant grew in the Heavens.
Parallels were recognised between the celestial and
the earthly spheres. Soma, King moon; dwells in the Soma plant, the stalks of
which yield an intoxicating drink. This drink was considered as the terrestrial
counterpart of the elixir of immortality, the amrta which was contained in the
cup of the moon and, the gods imbibed it on mount Sumeru. To attract Indra and
other gods to the diurnal rituals of the Vedic times, counterpart of the amrta
i.e. the juice of a terrestrial plant was offered at sacrifices. The plant
associated with the soma-cult grew on the Himalayan highlands of Kashmir, in
the deep valleys of which the Aryan tribes dwelt from very early times probably
even before the Rg-veda hymns were compiled and the complicated priestly ritual
with regard to their use was rigidly instituted. The cult of the Soma sacrifice
started in the north mountainous region from where it spread geographically
south eastwards with the spread of the race. But since very likely the Soma
plant did not flourish well in these hotter regions, immense quantities of the
plant needed for consumption of the increasing Aryan settlements had to be got
from the mountains, which practice being highly inconvenient because of the
distance involved, the real Soma plant was ultimately substituted by another
plant which also yielded an intoxicating beverage, a plant which answered at
least to a partial morphological description of the original Soma plant. This
plant is Sarcostemma acidum known as Soma or Somalata in Hindi. This plant also
belongs to the family Asclepiadaceae. According to some historians, there were
five plants from which the juice was extracted. According to others, the Soma
plant was Ephednt pachyclade (Hindi: Hum, Huma) or Ephedra distachya which
grows from Siberia to the North Himalayan region. This theory is plausiole if
we accept the Arctic home for the vedas.” The other two plants associated with
it are Asclepia acida and Sarcostemma viminale or Sarcostemma aqjdum (English:
Moon plant) both belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae. The description of the
Soma plant is: “with hanging bough, bare of leaves and of a light brown colour;
knotty joints containing an abundance of slightly astringent, milky juice in a
fibrous cane like outer rind.”
Adara is a plant prescribed as a substitute for
Soma. It is identified in the Satapatha Brahrnana as Putika (Guilandina Bonduc
or Baselfa cordifolia).” For the extraction of the juice a regular trade
started between certain mountain tribes who used to gather the plant and sell
it to the Aryans. The Aryans considered the tribes contemptible for trading in
a divine plant and did not allow them to-either extract the Soma-rus or to
partake of it. The price the Aryans paid to these mountain tribes for the plant
was a reddish-brown cow with light brown eyes, in allusion perhaps to the
colour of the Soma plant. This cow was not allowed to be roughly handled. The
juice was pressed out of the plant with various attendant rituals. It was then
mixed with other ingredients and fermented to make the intoxicating sacrificial
beverage which was the holiest offering in ancient Indian worship. There were
rituals attendant at every step of the Soma-rus extraction. The plant had to be
collected by uprooting it during moonlight and carried to the sacrificial altar
on a carriage drawn by two goats. The altar or the vedi was prepared from Kusa
ghas (Eragrostis cynasuroides), where the gods ultimately came and took their
seat. The Soma plant was laid on the consecrated spot before being pressed.
Pravargya was a special preliminary rite performed in the sacrifice. Abhishava
was the extraction of the juice of the Soma plant and its consecration with
mantras. The vessels were made of the Aswattha (Ficus religiosa) wood.
This unadulterated clear, shining juice was called
Sukra, Suchi or Suddaha. The filtered juice was then put into jars i.e. Kalasa
or vats called drona. In the jars the juice was mixed with milk or water to
sweeten it The Soma admixture called asir was of three different kinds. Mixed
with milk it was called Go, with sour milk dadhi and with barley, yava. This admixture
was referred as a bright robe. Soma-rus was pressed three times a day i.e.
morning, mid-day and evening. The first two extractions were offered to Indra
and the one pressed in the evening was meant for the Ribbus. Soma-rus was drunk
by the gods at the ceremonial offering made to them by the priests. The drink
nourished them and threw them into a joyous intoxication. The divine beverage
was supposed to purify the drinker, give health and immortality and pave the entry
of the drinker to heaven and destroy his enemies. The drink produced enthusiastic
and exhilarating; effect and a consciousness of something divine. The drink was
considered as the earthly form of the celestial soms.
Symbolically, the stones on which the plants were
pressed were the clouds; the stones used for pressing the plants were the
thunderbolts; the sieve was the sky; the liquor that fell through the sieve was
the rain and the kalasa or vessel holding the juice was the Samundra, the
celestial sea that holds all the atmospheric waters.
According to the Upanishads the moon is King Soma.
He is also known as a warrior god when he is depicted as vigorous and well
armed, equipped to battle against the demons who abide Jn the dark. Soma deity
is also considered as the Lord of streams and the admixture of the juice has a special
relation with the waters. According to one myth, Soma is married to
Surya, the Sun maiden. According to another story,
he is the son of Rishi Atri and Anasuya and married twentyseven daughters of
Daksha who are personified as twentyseven lunar asterisms. The inspiring effect
of intoxication seemed to be due to the inherent divinity of the plant that
produced it, the plant was, therefore, regarded as divine and the preparation
of the draught was looked upon as a sacred ceremony.
According to Mackenzie, “Soma worship appears to be
connected with the belief that life was in the blood; literally ‘the life
blood’... the blood of trees was the name for the sap; sap was water
impregnated or vitalised by Soma, the essence of life. Water worship and Soma
worship were probably identical, the moon which was believed to be the source
of growth and moisture, being the fountain head of ‘the water of life’.”
BUTEA MONOSPERMA
Family Papillionaceae
Sanskrit: Kimshuka, Plaksha
Hindi: Palas, Dhak, Teysu
English: Flame of the forest,
Parrot tree, Judas tree
The tree is considered sacred by both the Hindus
and the Buddhists. The Hindus consider it sacred because of the tri-foliate
formation of its leaves which represents the Holy trinity with Vishnu, the
Preserver in the middle, Brahma, the Creator on the left and Siva, the
Destroyer on the right. The tree is associated with moon as it is believed to
have sprung from the feather of a falcon imbued with Soma, the intoxicating
drink of the gods and is thus immortalised. It is a common practice to use the
leaves of the tree in ceremonies connected with the blessing of the calves to
ensure their becoming good milkers. Dry twigs of the plant are used in the
sacred fire Homa. Its wood is sacrificial and is mentioned in the vedas. From
the wood are made utensils used for sacred purposes. The staff placed in the
hands of a Brahmin boy at the time of the thread ceremony is made from the
Plaksha wood. When a Brahmin boy renounces the worldly life and becomes a sadhu
and his hair are being shorn, he is given the Plaksha leaf to eat or else he
must eat off Plaksha leaves.
The orange red flowers of the tree are offered to
the gods, especially to goddess Kali. In the spring festival of Holi, a dye
made from the flowers is used to sprinkle the passers by. Since Holi is
associated with Krsna, the tree has come to be associated with him. Red being
the colour of passion, a young man smearing the face of a maiden with the dye
made from the flowers of Plaksha is supposed to have great erotic significance.
Amir Khusru, a Turkoman poet, compares the flowers of the tree to a lion’s claw
stained with blood. In Indian poetry the flowers are compared to the new nail
marks on the body of the beloved. A Rg-vedic hymn describes the bridal car as
adorned with its blossoms (Su-Kimsuka). Palasa patram or a vessel of Palasa
wood was used by the trees for milking the cow earth. Its wood is used in
ceremonies connected with Krsnastamivratam and the digging of tanks.
The Plaksha tree is associated with Brahma also
because of the following legend. Once Siva and Parvati were engaged in amorous
dalliance. The gods and deities ordered Agni devatta to go there in the guise
of a Brahmana. Seeing Agni intrude on their privacy, Parvati cursed the whole
host of gods and deities to be born as trees. Because of the curse, Brahma was
converted into the Plaksha tree, Vishnu into the Aswattha (Ficus religiosa),
and Rudra into the Vata (Ficus indica syn. F. bengalensis.) tree. Buddhists
associate the tree in flower to penitents dressed in orange red. Orange red
being the colour of flame, it is worn symbolically by those who have burnt all
their desires. The tree often figures in Buddhist Jataka stories. One of the
stories relate: King Brahmadatta of Benares had four sons. Once they sent for
their charioteer and expressed a desire to see the Kimshuka tree. The
charioteer, instead of taking the four sons of the king together to see the Kimshuka
tree, showed them the tree separately and at different times of the season. One
son saw the tree when buds were sprouting from the stem; the second when the
leaves were green; the third when the tree was in blossom and the fourth when
the tree was bearing fruit.
After they had all seen the tree, they were asked
by someone about what sort of a tree Kimshuka was. The four brothers having
seen the tree at different seasons* their impressions about the tree naturally
differed from one another. The elder brother having seen the tree when buds,
were sprouting from it said that it looked like a burnt stump. The tree bears flowers
buds when it is bereft of all foliage and the stems are completely bare. The
second brother’s impressions were that it looked like a banyan tree as he had
seen the tree decked in green foliage. The green, coarse, ovoid shaped leaves
resemble the leaves of a banyan tree. The third brother thought that the tree
resembled a piece of meat as he had seen the tree full of flowers. The flowers
of Kimshuka are orange-red in colour. The fourth compared the tree to an Acacia
tree as it was in fruit when he had seen it. Both Kimshuka and Acacia bear
similar looking pods as fruit. The brother’s were perplexed at each other’s
answer and went to their father the king, for an explanation. The king
answered, “All of you have seen the tree at a different season but none of you
asked the charioteer what the tree looked like in a different season and so you
are in a doubt”. Similarly, four brothers had approached the Tathagata and
asked for means by which ecstasy could be induced. Tathagata explained the
various ways of attaining ecstasy. One of them learnt the Six Spheres of Touch
and became a saint; second by learning the Five Elements of Being; third after learning
the Four Principal Elements; fourth after learning the Eighteen Constituents of
Being. One of the brothers was in a doubt and said, “There is only one Nirvana
for all these modes of meditation; how is it that all of them lead to
sainthood?” Tathagata was born as king Brahmadatta of Benares. He had the four
sons who saw the Kimshuka tree at different times of the year. These were the same
four brothers who in a previous birth had asked the Tathagata about the ways of
attaining Nirvana. During the reign of Brahmadatta of Benares,
Bodhisatta was born in the form of a Kimsuka tree
spirit. This is a medicinal plant. Its gum is used as an external astringent.
Bark of the tree is locally used by certain tribes for snake and scorpion bites
but medicinally it has proved to be useless.
COCCULUS CORDIFOLIUS
Family Menispcrmaceae
Hindi & Sanskrit: Gaduchi
English: Rain of Nectar
The plant is considered sacred because of a legend
in the Ramayana. The demon king Ravana was enamoured of the beauty of Sita, the
wife of Ramachandra and wished to make her his wife. Also, by doing so he hoped
to avenge his sister Surupnakha whose nose had been chopped off by Lakshmana,
the younger brother of Ramachandra. He played a ruse on
them and removed Ramachandra and Lakshmana by his
magical prowess from the cottage where Sita lived with her husband and
brother-in-law, by appearing as a golden deer which Sita desired to possess. To
catch the deer, the two brothers chased it to a great distance. In their
absence Ravana appeared before Sita in the guise of a mendicant and asked for
alms. Sita believing him to be a pious ascetic came out of the cottage to give
him alms. Left undefended she was taken by force by Ravana to his kingdom of
Lanka. A great battle ensued following Sita’s abduction. To rescue her, Ramachandra
with his army of monkeys attacked Lanka and killed Ravana. Sita was at last
rescued. Indra, the king of gods was happy at the fall of Ravana and at the
removal of evil. He brought back to life all the vaanars
i.e. monkeys killed in the battle by spraying the
elixir of life on them. Some of the nectar fell on the earth and wherever the
drops of the nectar fell, plants of Gaduchi sprang up and because of their
origin from the nectar, they were immortalised and therefore, are held sacred. Gaduchi
is a medicinal plant, yielding a bitter medicine given to children for various
ailments.
COCOS NUCIFERA
Family Palmae
Sanskrit: Narikel
Hindi: Nariel
English: Coconut palm
Unripe coconut fruit is an essential part of all
Hindu religious ceremonies. Even in areas where the coconut palm does not grow,
no puja or offering is complete till a coconut is offered. If a son, a brother
or a husband is going on a long journey, the mother, the sister or the wife
applies tilak on his forehead, wishing him well and offers him a coconut. In
South Indian temples, the priests will not accept the offerings of a devotee,
if it does not contain a coconut Similarly at weddings and other auspicious
occasions a coconut is placed at the pandal erected far the ceremony.. Because
of the economic utility of coconut, which perhaps makes it essential in all
sacred ceremonies, the fruit is also called Sriphala.
Usually a pitcher of water is placed on white
paddy; a branch of mango is placed in the pitcher and a coconut adorned with
sandal paste, vermilion and flowers is placed on that branch. This is called
the full pitcher Purnakumbha which is symbolically invoked as gods and
goddesses for the successful end to any mission undertaken. As often happens
with customs the world over, the meaning behind a ritual is lost but the symbol
is retained. So it is with the offering of the coconut fruit. Long, long ago,
human sacrifice used to take place in India to propitiate the deity,
particularly at the temple of Bhadra-Kali. But as time passed and people got
enlightened, human sacrifice gave place to animal sacrifice and ultimately to
the symbolic offering of a coconut which with its round and fibrous outer
covering, the epicarp, resembles a human head and the two dark spots on it
represent the two human eyes. This is the closest resemblance of any member of
the vegetable kingdom to a human head. For this reason it is offered as a symbolic
human sacrifice.
The legend connected with its origin says that
Rishi Viswamitra practised severe austerities for a long time and in the end
acquired super-human powers. To prove his prowess, he decided to send king
Tri-sanku to heaven in his earthly mortal body. King Tri-sanku had been exiled
from his kingdom by his father for the seduction of the wife of a citizen.
During the period of exile, there was a severe famine and Tri-sanku looked
after the wife and children of Viswamitra while the latter was away. Since
Tri-sanku desired to reach heaven in his mortal body, Viswamitra repayed him
for looking after his family, by fulfilling his desire and raised him to heaven
in his mortal body inspite of strong opposition from sages and gods. But when king
Tri-sanku reached Indra’s swarag in his mortal body, Indra was furious, “How
can a mortal reside in my domain in his mortal body? Only souls are permitted”.
Feeling annoyed at the audacity of Rushi Viswamitra, he hurled the body of the
king out of the heavens. When Sage Viswamitra saw this happen, he was
indignant. His very first effort was coming to naught. For the king’s body to
come back to earth would not only have meant insult but also an acceptance of
defeat at the hands of Indra. So Viswamitra used his magical powers again and
stopped the king from falling on the ground. This resulted in king Tri-sanku
being suspended in the air. To prop him, Viswamitra put a pole under him. In
course of time, the pole became the coconut palm which is as straight and unbranched
as the pole which Sage Viswamitra had taken to stop the further fall of the
king. The reason for the coconut fruit to have coarse fibrous outer covering is
because symbolically it resembles the hair of the king and the two prominent
black spots on the outside of the fruit resemble the two eyes of the king.
Coconut fruit is believed to fulfil one’s desires.
It is therefore considered sacred and offered to gods. The fruit is considered
a symbol of Siva as it has three black spots and Siva is believed to have three
eyes. In Gujerat the bride offers a coconut to the bridegroom and this coconut
is preserved by him throughout his life. In Mysore it is worshipped as a family
god. Coconut is also worshipped as Saraswati, the goddess of learning.
DIOSPYROS MELANOXYLON, D.
PEREGRINA
Family Ebenaceae
Sanskrit: Tinduka
Hindi: Tendu
English: Ebony tree
According to Oriyan tribal tales as related by
Verrier Elwin the origin of the tree goes back into antiquity, when Kittung and
his wife had to escape the great deluge in a gourd. On reaching safety, they
emerged from the gourd which naturally broke in the process and they made a
fire from its fragments. From its charred wood arose the ebony tree which is,
therefore, black.
According to another story, a girl had died from
snake bite. This tree arose from her grave and since snake bite turns the
victim blue-black because of the poison, the tree that arose from her grave is
also black. Among certain tribes of India, a pole made of the ebony tree is
usually used to protect fields of tobacco and chillies from a sorceror, from a
belief that the sorceror would be attracted by the pole. But since the pole is
black, the whole field will appear black to the sorceror and thus made
invisible, would be protected from harm.
According to yet another tribal story the reason
for the wood of Tinduka being black goes back to Ramayana. Before the battle of
Lanka took place to rescue Sita, (see Cocculus cordifolius) Hanuman, the monkey
god was sent by Ramachandra to survey the formidable city of Lanka. Hanuman,
the son of Vayu or wind, tied a piece of cloth soaked in oil to his tail and
lighted it. Then he jumped from house top to house top, putting the city to
flames. After he had jumped back to safety, he wiped his blackened hands upon
the Ebony tree and since then its wood is black.
According to a Muria tribal story which is very
similar to the above story, when Lingo’s virtue was tested by the ordeal of
fire, a Tinsa (Ongenia dalbergioides) tree grew out of the fire. Lingo’s foot
struck the Tinsa tree and the bark has ever since looked dead and dry on one
side. The white ashes from his body flew over the Saja (Terminalia comentosa)
tree and it became white and holy. Lingo becoming holy on passing the test,
rubbed his blackened body against the ebony tree and ever since its wood has
been black.
Tinduka fruit is considered sacred by the Buddhists
as it figures in one of the Jataka stories, the stories of Buddha’s former
births. It is a shade bearing tree and therefore much valued in India. When
Brahmadatta was king of Benares, Bodhisatta was born as a monkey. He, along
with 80.000 other monkeys lived near a village in the Himalayas. In the village
was a tree of Tinduka which in season was loaded with sweet fruit. This village
was inhabited for only a part of the year and the monkeys used to come down
from the hills to eat the fruit. Once, when the tree was loaded with fruit, the
village was full of people but even then the monkeys decided to risk and invade
the village. When they informed their master about their intentions, he warned
them against it as men were very deceitful. But the monkeys, since they were
hungry for the taste of the delicious fruit said, “We’ll go at mid-night when
everyone is fast asleep. The great host of the monkeys came down from the
mountains and
waited in the vicinity of the village till people
went off to sleep. When the village was all quiet, the monkeys invaded the
Tinduka tree and started eating the fruit. But as ill-luck would have it, one
man woke up and gave the alarm. The villagers woke up and came running with
what ever weapons they could lay their hands on and surrounded the tree to kill
the monkeys.
The monkeys got scared and looked at their chief
for help. He assured them that all will be well and asked the monkeys to
assemble together. When the 80,000 monkeys had gathered together, they found
that Sanaka, the nephew of the Master was missing. He had fallen asleep when
the monkey troop had left for the village. On waking up, he followed the track
of the other monkeys and when he neared the village, he found people running
about, shouting and brandishing sticks and he realised that there was some
danger to the monkeys. Just then he saw a hut outside the village where an old woman
was fast asleep before a lighted fire. Taking the fire, Senaka set the village
on fire. Seeing the village on fire, the villagers left the monkeys and the
Tinduka tree and started extinguishing the village fire. The monkeys left alone,
ran away, each carrying a fruit of Tinduka for Senaka.
In this story, the Chief of the monkeys was
Bodhisatta; his nephew Senaka was Mahanama Sakka and the monkey troop were the
followers of Buddha, Brands of Tinduka wood are kept in the lying-in chamber as
it is believed to keep the evil spirits away and bring luck.
ELAEOCARPUS GANITRUS
Family Elaeocaipaceae
Sanskrit: Rudrakasha
Hindi: Rudrakasha
English: Utrasum Bead Tree
It is told that Parvati, the daughter of Daksha, on
getting married to Siva, the Lord of death, destruction and creation, discovered’
that he was oblivious to all feminine charm and indifferent to a women’s desire
to wear ornaments. He lived like a beggar or a sadhu practising austerities all
the time. Parvati had practised severe austerities and penances to win Siva as her
husband and now that she was married to him, she, like all women wanted to
adorn herself in jewellery and took attractive. But to Siva these were
unnecessary adornments. He did not see the worth of such earthly enjoyments,
considering them superfluous and childish. The time he did not spend in
practising austerities, he spent in a samadhi, which usually lasted for years
on end ... a time when he was oblivious even to the presence of his wife
Parvati. Or else he gave her long discourses on learned topics which to the
feminine mind of Parvati sounded too philosophical. A woman’s natural desire to
look attractive and to adorn herself with jewellery was frustrated by Siva,
year after year. The Himalayan peaks which are the abode of Siva are blanketed
with snow for the greater part of the year. One year, when after an unusually prolonged
winter, spring came, the chirping of birds could be heard from dawn to dusk;
flowers opened in their myriad hues and garbs; the sky once again turned a
heavenly blue; the bees and the butterflies skipped from flower to flower
sucking their nectar and joy at the advent of spring was felt in every corner
of the earth. Parvati also was filled with longing for love and beauty and
wanted jewels to make herself look attractive. She went to Siva and told him of
her longing to wear jewels,—a desire he considered a mere frivolity on her part
But Parvati was adamant. In the end Siva gave in to her desire and promised to
give her jewels. He stretched his hands and Rudrakssha fruits fell from heaven
into his hands by the dozen. He gave them to Parvati and asked her to make
necklaces, bangles, armlets and ear-rings of the Rudraksha beads, saying that
for the wife of an ascetic, they made the best jewellery, Parvati strung them
and wore them as jewellery as directed by Siva.
According to the Skanda Purana (Chap. XI),
Rudrakasha tree originated from Siva’s tears.’ There is a general belief 4n
India that Rudrakasha beads dispel the evil eye and if kept in the house, they
avert misfortune. Also there is a strong belief that they cure cardiac ailments
and are often worn by people who suffer from high blood pressure. Because of
their association with Siva, Rudrakasha beads art considered sacred by the
followers of Siva, Rudra being one of the names of Siva. Garuda Purana mentions
that ‘for the sandhya adoration, sitting on Kusa ghas, man should have a
garland of beads made of either crystal, lotus, Rudraksha orPutranjiva beads.’ According
to the Agni Puranam the God himself out layed the method and types of
Rudrakasha beads to be worn. A man should wear Rudrakasha beads, firmly
threaded together and even in number. The seeds should have a single mouth, or
3 or 5 mouths. Seeds having 2, 4, 6 mouths with unbroken thorns on th clean, as
if he has fulfilled that vow. The class of Rudrakasha known as Haimis, sho e
surface, not having been eaten by worms or marked by any fissure are considered
as the most auspicious. A four-mouthed seed should be worn by a person, either
on his right arm, or tied to the tuft of hair on his crown. By doing so, the
wearer, even if-not observing the vows of ascetism, will acquire the merit of
leading such a pious life, or a man not observing the vow of religious
ablutions, will be uld be worn by consecrating them with the Siva mantra.
The Rudrakasha seeds are divided into four classes
or Gochares: Siva, Shikha, Yoti & Savitra. Gochara means a class of
Rudrakasha, a hundred thousand counting of which with a mantra, grants success
in life. Rudrakasha known as Prayapatyas, Mahipalas, Kapotas, Granthikas belong
to the class Siva. Rudrakashas known as Kutilas, Vetalas, Padmahansas, belong
to the class Shikha and those known as Dhritarastras, Vakas, Kakas, Gopalas to
the class Yoti, while those known as the Kutikas, Saratas, Gutikas and Dandinas
to the class Savitra.
EMBELICA MYROBALAN
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Sanskrit and Hindi: Dhatri,
Dhattrica, Amlak, Amlaki, Anavala
English: Indian Gooseberry
Dhattrika or Dhatri which means earth or mother
particularly the nursing mother, perhaps because of its nourishing juicy fruit
is a tree associated with both Siva and Vishnu. In Brihaddharma Purana there is
a mention about the sacredness of the tree both to Parvati and Lakshmi, the
wives of Siva and Vishnu respectively. According to the legend, both the goddesses
went to Prabhasa, a sacred place to worship. Parvati said to Lakslimi that she
wished to worship Vishnu through a new material. Lakshmi answered that she also
wished to worship Siva through a new material. At that the two goddesses wept
and from their tears were created Dhatri or the Amalaki tree which both
propitiated to worship Siva and Vishnu and since then the leaves of this tree
are considered essential in the worship of Siva and Vishnu. The tree is
worshipped on Sivaratri day. It is surrounded by red and yellow thread and
flowers and fruits are offered to the tree just as in any other worship. It is
considered as one of the most sacred trees in Gujarat. In the month of Kartik
(Oct.-Nov.) women worship the tree with flowers, sandal paste and vermillion,
particularly on the 9th day of Kartik, called
Akshaya Navami when women worship it for begetting
male progeny. They make five circumbulations round the tree and tie sacred
thread round its trunk each time.
Amalaki is a plant .which transformed itself into a
beautiful woman to entice Vishnu away from the charms of Vrinda. (See Ocimum
sanctum). The tree is very sacred to the Hindus and credited with magical
properties by the tribesmen. This plant which is of great medicinal value is
planted on the South side of the temple or home.
ERAGROTIS CYNASUROIDES
Family Gramineae
Sanskrit: Kusa ghas
Hindi : Kusha
The origin of Kusa ghas is mentioned in the
Ramayana. Ramachandra left his consort Sita after they came back from their
fourteen years exile, doubting her chastity and fidelity to him on hearsay
because she had lived in the palace grounds of the demon king Ravana who had
abducted her. (See Cocculus cordifolius). Ramachandra did this because he
wished to be an ideal king and not give his people a chance to talk. Sita was
with child by him at that time but even then she was sent back to the forest
and there in the hermitage of Valmiki, she gave birth to twin sons Lava and
Kusa. When the sons grew up and met their father, Ramachandra realised the
injustice he had done to his wife by forsaking her on mere hearsay and decided
to fetch her back. Seeing him come, Sita’s feeling of humiliation, shame and
anger at having been forsaken by him even after she had undergone the fire
ordeal, to prove her innocence rose. She did not wish to go back to him. Sita
being the daughter of Dharani, the goddess of earth, she prayed to the mother
earth to accept her back if she considered her innocent. Just then an
earthquake occurred, the earth opened where Sita was standing and Sita was
buried under the debris. Seeing their mother swallowed by the earth, her son
Kusa ran forward to save her but all that he could get hold of were Sita’s hair
which as the earth closed were left above the ground and turned into a grass which
was named after her son Kusa as he had tried to save her. Since that time, the
grass is held sacred.
Another story as given in the Bhagavata Purana says
that Sita gave birth to only one son who
was named Lava. Sita was in the habit of leaving her son behind in the
hermitage when she went for her bath in the river but one day, unknown to
Valmiki, she took the child with her. Valmiki, not finding the child in the hut
thought that the child had been carried away by a wild beast and afraid that
Sita, on returning from her bath and not finding her son, would die of grief,
made a babe of Kusa ghas resembling Lava and placed him in Lava’s cot. When
Sita returned with Lava, she was surprised to find another boy resembling Lava
lying in his cot and asked Rishi Valmiki how this second child came to be
there. Valmiki then told her what had taken place and said, “Blameless one,
receive this second son named Kusa because I, by my power created him out of
Kusa ghas.” Sita brought up the two sons Kusa and Lava for whom Valmiki
performed the sacraments.
One day the two boys killed and ate a deer
belonging to the hermitage and made a play thing of Valmiki’s sacred Linga.
Valmiki was greatly offended but at Sita’s intercession, to make the expiatory
penance, asked Lava to bring golden lotuses and Mandara flowers from Kuvera’s
lake and garden; to make a Linga with the flowers and worship, and then only
the crime could be atoned for.
According to Valmiki’s Ramayana, Sita gave birth to
twin sons. Valmiki performed the Rakshasa rite to avert the evil eye. Taking a
handful of Kusa ghas with its roots, he pronounced the formula for protection
of the children and for the destruction of evil forces, saying, that since the
first born will be rubbed with the Kusa ghas, blessed by the aid of mantras to
avert the evil eye, his name shall be Kusa, and as the last born will be
carefully dried by the female ascetics with the roots of the Kusa ghas, he
shall be called Lava.- The sacredness and immortality of the Kusa ghas is also
because of its having been sprinkled with amrta. Vinata and Kadru were both
wives of Kashyap. When the Ocean of milk was being churned, the horse Uccaihcravas
came out of the ocean. Without seeing the horse, Vinata and Kadru had a bet.
Vinata said that the horse was pure white; Kadru said that the horse was white
but had black spots on his tail. According to the bet, whoever lost had to
become the slave of the other. When Kadru realised that the horse was pure
white, she ordered her children, the snakes, to go and attach themselves to the
tail of the horse. Having done that, the horse appeared to have a black tail
from a distance. Vinata lost the bet and became the slave of Kadru. Vinata as
the slave of Kadru had to suffer untold misery.
Kadru agreed to release her, provided she could get
Soma rus for her. To free Vinata from the bondage of slavery, Garuda, the son
of Vinata, stole the ambrosia. As he was flying with the pot of arnrta, he got
tired and placed the pot containing the ambrosia on Kusa ghas. A few drops of
the ambrosia fell on the grass and since then the grass became sacred to the
Hindus. The Nagas licked the sharp-edged grass for ambrosia and since then
their tongues were cleft asunder. According to a legend in the Mahabharata,
Rishi Manakanaka was the son begotten by the god of wind, Vayu, upon Sukanya.
Manakanaka, who in his youth, led the life of a Brahmacharya, once while
performing his ablutions in the river, beheld a woman of faultless limb and
fair brows bathing in the river Saraswati. Seeing her person uncovered, the
Rishi was full of desire for her and his vital seed fell in the sacred
Saraswati. The great ascetic took up his seed and placed it in an earthen pot.
Within the pot, the fluid became divided into seven parts and from these seven
portions were born the seven Rishis who were the progenitors of the 49 Maruts.
Rishi Manakanaka by his ascerism and penances came to be known in the three worlds.
Once, after he had been crowned with success, his hand was pierced by a blade
of Kusa ghas and instead of blood, vegetable juice flowed from
the wound. The Rishi was so happy at the miracle
that he started dancing with joy. Watching him dance, all the creatures
stupified by his energy, also began to dance. When all creatures, mobile and
immobile started dancing non-stop as if mesmerised, the gods with Brahma at
their head and the Rishis of great ascetic merit, approached Mahadeva and
informed him of Manakanaka’s great feat and requested him to put a stop to this
dancing.
Mahadeva, desirous of doing well to the gods
approached Manakanaka and addressed him thus, “Why, O Brahmana, dost thou dance
in this way, acquainted as thou art with thy duties? What grave cause is there
for such joy of thine, O Sage, that, ascetic as thou art, O best of Brahmafia
‘and walking as thou dost along the path of virtue, thou shouldest act in this way?”
The Rishi answered, “O Brahmana, seeing vegetable juice flowing from this wound
of mine, I am dancing with joy!” The god laughed at the Rishi and said, “Behold
me!” and saying that, Mahadeva of great intelligence struck his thumb with the
end of one of his fingers and ashes white as snow came out of that wound.
Seeing this happen, the Rishi was
filled with wonder and understood that the god was
none else than Mahadeva, the Great Supreme Being. After praising Mahendra,
Manakanaka Rishi asked that his ascetic merit should not be destroyed for his :
having displayed such a ridiculous behaviour Mahadeva told him that the sacredness
was in the Kusa ghas that was capable of turning blood into’ vegetable juice.
Mahadeva assured him that his ascetism will increase a thousand fold and that
he will always dwell in the Tirtha called Sapta-saraswat The Sapta-saraswat
tirtha on the banks of the river Saraswati abounded with Vadari (Zizyphus
jujuba), Inguda (Balanites Roxburghii), Kasmaryya (Gmelina arborea), Plaksha
(Ficus lacor) Aswattha (Ficus religioloa) Vibhitika (Terminalia belerica)
Kakkaola (Mangifera indica); Palasa (Butea monosperma), Karira (Zizyphus
rotundufolia), Pilu (Salvadora oleoides) Karushakas (cannot be identified
botanically) Vilwas (Aegle marmelos), Amratakas (Spondias mangifera), Atimuktas
(Gaertinera racemosa), Kashandas (cannot be identified botanicaliy), Parijatas
(Nyctanthes arbor-trestis). Baladeva having the plough for his weapon also
visited this Tirtha.
Kusa ghas is also considered to be Vishnu or Hari
in the Vishnu Purana. For all religious ceremonies Kusa ghas is considered
essential. When a person dies, his body is cremated and bones left unburnt are
gathered and brought home before they are immersed in the river. Along with the
bones, a handful of Kusa ghas called Kurcha is also brought and sprinkled on
the ground where the dead body lay in the house with the chanting of a hymn which
says. The soul has departed from this house. But may those left behind prosper
and flourish and may their life be as green as this grass”. Even in the cult of
Soma, there is a mention of this grass. The altar made for the sacrifice was
made of Kusa ghas. The anomaly that comes in is that the cult of Soma worship
is of Vedic origin and the epic Ramayana which gives the origin of the plant
and the reason for its sacredness is of a much later date. Confectioners, who
are obliged to keep large quantities of cooked food, circumvent the taboo about
eating it by keeping some Kusa ghas in their vessels when an eclipse is
expected. There are certain rules of conduct for a man who has taken the vow of
Brahmacharya. Such a man, “Betaking himself to the path of abstention, should
seek to extinguish his dependence on both the external and the internal.
Sitting on Kusa ghas, with a Kusa in hand and binding his coronal locks with
Kusa, he should surround himself with Kusa and have Kusa for robes... reciting
the highly beneficial composition Gayatri, he should
meditate with the aid of his intellect on Brahma
alone”. The Pavitra meant for sprinkling clarified butter upon the sacrificial
fire is made of blades of Kusa ghas.” The diminutive Rishis called Valakillyas
sprang from the blades of Kusa gbas spread out in a sacrifice. From the same
blades of Kusa ghas sprang Atri.” The sacred mythical island Kusa dvipa is so
named because of a clump of KusS ghas growing there. The island is believed to
be surrounded by the Ghrta Sea or the sea of butter.
ERYTHRINA INDICA
Family Papilloanaceae
Sanskrit: Mandara, Parijata
Hindi: Pharad
English: Coral Tree
The sacredness of the plant is attributed to its
origin from the Ocean of milk when it was churned by the Devatas and the
Daityas to procure ambrosia or arprta, the drink of immortality, (see
Nyctanthes arbortristis). When the Ocean of milk was churned by using mount
Mandara as the churning stick and the snake Vasuki as the churning rope, many
objects made their appearance. Among them was the Mandara tree. India took the tree
to heaven and planted it in his garden. Long ago demon Taraka was oppressing
gods and men and Indra wanted Siva to produce a son who should be strong enough
to kill Taraka and be the god of war. Indra approached Brahma the Creator, who
in turn entreated Siva for help. Siva then consented to beget a son on the
goddess Uma and pursued the game of love with her which went on for centuries.
As there appeared no end to his amorous play, the triple world trembled at the
friction thus produced. Fearing lest the world perished, the gods by order of
Brahma called to mind Agni in order to stop Siva’s amorous play. Agni, afraid
to interfere, fled and entered the waters, but the frogs getting scorched by
the heat, told the gods of Agni’s whereabouts. Agni curse.d the frogs and made their
speech inarticulate and again disappeared. This time he fled to Siva’s paradise
tree, Mandara. He was betrayed there by the elephants and the parrots but the
gods found him concealed in the trunk of the Mandara tree, hiding in the form
of a snail. There after, Agni agreed to do as the gods wished him to. He
approached Siva and by his heat stopped him from his amorous play and then
humbly informed him of the commission the gods had given him. Siva agreed and
deposited his seed in the fire which neither the Fire nor Um5, his wife was
able to bear. Then Siva asked Uma to worship Ganeshia, the Lord of obstacles so
that a son may be born to them in the Fire and thus was born the six-faced
Karttikeya, who, when he grew up, became the god of war and killed Taraka. Mandara
is one of the five trees growing in heaven and is therefore, called a Paradise
tree. The tree originally grew in Vaikuntha, Indras pleasure garden. Krsna
stole the tree and brought it to earth while the gods were busy arguing among
themselves. The two wives of Krsna, Rukmini and Satyabhama, quarrelled for the
possession of its flowers. Since Satyabhama had already got the Parijata tree
(see Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) from Indra’s heaven for her garden, the Mandara
tree was won by Rukmini and grew in her garden and adorned her mansion. Since
that time the tree is associated with Krsna.
The wood of Mandara is considered sacred and
offered in the sacrificial lire or Homa and the flowers offered to Siva.
According to some, Hanuman is a part of Siva and therefore the flowers of
Mandara are also offered to him. Krsna being an incarnation of Vishnu, the
flowers are sacred to him. The plant is considered sacred because of the
trifoliate arrangement of its
leaves which represents the holy trinity Brahma,
Vishnu, Siva. In Assam, its wood is considered sacred for cremations.
EUPHORBIA NERIFOLIA
Family Euphorbiaceae
Sanskrit: Snuhi, Manasa tree,
Manasasij
Hindi: Sehund
Snuhi associated with snake worship has a peculiar
story attached to it which sounds almost like a fairy tale. Long, long ago,
there lived in Champaka Nagar, a wealthy merchant called Chand Sadagar who was
a devout worshipper of Siva and looked contemptuously on Manasa Devi, the snake
goddess. Manasa Devi felt offended at his attitude towards her and to teach him
a lesson, let loose her snakes into his spacious, well laid out garden and
reduced it to a wilderness, Chand Sadagar, by his devotion to Siva had acquired
some magical prowess and managed to reconvert the wilderness into a garden, a
garden that he was very proud of. Manasa Devi assumed the form of a beautiful
maiden and enchanted Chand Sadapar. He fell madly in love with her and asked
her to marry him. Manasa promised to do that on the condition that he transfers
his magical powers to her. After the merchant had fulfilled this condition,
Manasa assumed her natural shape and asked him to worship her. Chand’s love for
the maiden was converted into fierce hatred of Manasa and he refused to worship
her even at the cost of his beautiful garden being once again converted into a
wilderness. Manasa now tried her next trick to woo him as her devotee and bit
his six sons to death. When Chand Sadagar was wailing over his dead sons,
Manasa appeared before him and asked him to be a devotee of her and she would restore
them to life but the merchant refused her once again. Time passed. Chand
Sadagar set out on a long voyage and was returning home with his ships laden
with rich merchandise. Manasa Devi produced a terrific gale and all his ships
were sunk. Chand himself was in danger of being drowned and Manasa offered to
save him if he promised to worship her. But Chand preferred death to being her
devotee. Manasa was adamant on taking her revenge and did not want ‘him to die.
So she saved his life and cast him ashore where he had to face many privations
and humiliations because of her. Instead of his relenting his attitude towards
Manasa, his hatred of her increased with his miseries. After having undergone
untold troubles, he atlast reached his native city. In course of time son was
born to him who was named Lakshmindra. On coming of age, Lakshmindra was betrothed
to Behula, the beautiful daughter of Saha. But the astrologers predicted his
death by snake bite on his nuptial bed. To frustrate the plans of
Manasa Devi, Chand engaged a well known architect
to build a room of steel as the nuptial chamber for the young couple, so that
no snake could enter it. But as the room was being built, Manasa appeared
before the architect, intimidated him by threats and forced him to leave a slit
which was disguised by a thin layer of metal.
As Lakshmindra slept, with his bride Behula keeping
watch, a snake crept into the bridal chamber through the slit left open by the
architect Behula, who knew of the prediction, fed the snake with milk and kept
it in good humour. But as the long hours of the night slowly passed, she felt
drowsy and ultimately fell off to sleep. The snake now got its opportunity and
stung Lakshmindra to death. Behula woke up to see the snake crawl away after it
had performed its tragic and cruel mission. In the morning the corpse of the
deceased Lakshmindra was put on a raft to let it drift down the river in the
hope that it might revive, with the devoted Behula sitting besides the dead body
of her husband. Behula refused to leave her husband’s dead body inspite of
persuasion by her relatives, saying that a wife’s place was next to her
husband. The raft floated down stream, past villages and towns. Days, weeks and
months passed thus, and finally at the end of six months when the body of Lakshmindra
had started to decay, the raft touched ground at a place where a woman was
washing clothes. The little son of the woman was causing annoyance to his
mother by interfering with her work. The mother strangled her son and quietly
went on with her work. After she had finished with her washing, the woman
sprinkled some water on her dead son and he was revived, Behula who had
witnessed this miracle, requested the washer woman to bring Lakshmindra back to
life. The washer woman, who had been sent on purpose by Manasa Devi, took
Behula to the snake goddess.
When Behula approached Manasa Devi, she was told by
her that Lakshmindra would be restored to life if she promised to convert her
father-in-law and make him a devotee of Manasa. Behula agreed to this
condition; Lakshmindra was restored to life and the husband and wife set out
for their home. Chand Sadagar when informed of his son’s miraculous recovery
was very happy but did not like the condition for his recovery. However, he agreed
to the condition. A man who could not be terrorised or intimidated by anything
was forced ultimately to the worship of Manasa by the love of his son. Cha id
offered the flowers of Snuhi with his left hand and with his face turned away
from the image on the eleventh day of the waning moon, but for all that,
Manasa, the goddess of snakes was appeased. She had won the final battle and
her worship no one dared to oppose from that day onwards. Since that day,
flowers of Snuhi came to be accepted as the offering most dear to Manasa Devi
and the plant came to be called Manasa tree. The same story with slight
variations appears in Maity’s Histories, studies in the cult of the Goddess
Manasa. The Snuhi tree has curative qualities especially against poison and possibly
because of this, it came to be associated with the goddess of snakes.” The
twigs of the plant are planted by women on Dasahara day and it is worshipped
during the rainy season and on other days of Manasa worship, perhaps because
during the rains, the snakes come out of their holes. The sacredness of the
tree is traced back to the Indus valley period. It is believed by the followers
of Manasa that on the fifth day of the dark half of the moon in the month of
Sravana (Juiy-Aug.), goddess Manasa appears on the tree, with eight serpents
spreading their hoods. The tree is worshipped for the fulfilment of vows. Since
goddess Manasa is associated with a fertility cult, the Snuhi tree associated
with it is also worshipped by women for the blessings of a child. The latex of
the plant is acrid, rubefacient, purgative and expectorant. It is used to
remove warts and cutaneous eruptions, in ear-ache, asthma, and in ophthalmia.
FICUS RELIGIOSA
Family Moraceae
Sanskrit: Aswattha
Hindi: Peepul, Bo tree, Bodhi
tree
English: Indian Fig tree
For antiquity and veneration, the Aswattha is
unrivalled throughout the world. There is a mention of the tree from Vedic time
onwards. The tree is mentioned in the Bhagavata Gita as Aswattha or the ‘one that
is not the same tomorrow’, with reference perhaps, to this world which is ever
changing. There is a superstitious belief that the plant gives off oxygen at
night but this belief is not supported by any scientific fact. The sacredness
of the Aswattha is mentioned in the Mahabharata:‘Aswattha, having its roots
above and branches below is eternal. Its leaves are the Chhandas. He who knows
it, knows the vedas. Downwards and upwards are stretched its branches which are
enlarged by the qualities; its sprouts are the objects of sense. Downwards, its
roots leading to action are extended to this world of men”. According to the footnotes
given by Roy in his translation of the Mahabharata: “upwards and
downwards means from the highest* to the lowest of
created things.
Enlarged by the qualities i.e. the qualities
appearing as the body, the senses etc. The sprouts are the objects of sense,
being attached to the senses themselves as sprouts to branches. The roots
extending downwards are the desires for diverse enjoyments”. Detailing the
sacredness of Aswattha, it is said that its form cannot be known or its end, or
its beginning, or its support. “Cutting with the hard weapon of unconcern, this
Aswattha of roots firmly fixed, then should one seek for that place repairing
wither one returneth not again... thinking, I will seek the protection of that
primeval Sire from whom the ancient course of worldly life hath flowed”.
Hindus associate the tree with the three gods
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. The tree is considered to be a Brahman and worshipped
daily after the morning bath. If an elderly member of the family dies, special
offerings are made to it during the full thirteen days of mourning. If a boy
dies during his thread ceremony, he is supposed to haunt the Aswattha tree. The
Aswattha is allegorical. Each tree is bolievcd to arise from an unperceived
root which is emblematical of the body i.e. it springs from the god-head. In
the Gita, the tree is supposed to typify the universe. This perhaps is because
the figs of the tree are eaten by birds and its, seeds pass through the
alimentary canal of the birds unharmed and take root at most unimaginable
places like the roof or walls of a house or even on another tree. The root
after going into the crevices of the house or into the bark of other trees then
becomes invisible. Aswattha has aerial, hanging adventitious roots which come
down to earth and act as props to the trees; the slender petioles cause its
leaves to tremble readily in a breeze, making a characteristic fluttering sound.
The tree is considered to be Vishnu himself and at
the same time Vishnu is believed to have been born under it. That is the reason
why the tree or its branches are never cut unless it is for worship. A ceremony
called Aswattha Pratishta or the consecration of the Aswattha is performed to
transform the tree into a divinity by-inducing Vishnu into it Brahmanas believe
that untold blessings will be showered upon anyone who performs this ceremony.
According to the Mahabharata, the man who worships Aswattha daily worships the
whole universe. When Krsna stole the clothes of the maidens, ho took them to an
Aswattha tree.
Even though the tree is mainly associated with
Vishnu, some consider Siva as the patron deity of the tree. Brahmanas worship
the Aswattha during their daily evening prayer. They go to the tree and facing
east repeat a prayer and sing hymns in praise of the tree which says, “Oh
Aswattha tree! You are a God. You are king among trees. Your roots represent
Brahma, the Creator; your trunk represents Siva, the Destroyer and your
branches, Vishnu the Preserver. As such you are the emblem of Trimurti. All
those who honour you; in this world by performing Upanayama, walk round you,
adoring you and singing your praise; obtain remission of their sins in this
world and bliss in the next. I praise and adore you. Pardon my sins in this
world and give me a place with the blessed after death”. The worshipper then
walks round the tree 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 or more times but always in multiples of
seven.
Elwin tells us that sometimes the roots of Aswattha
represent Brahma; its bark represents Vishnu and its branches Mahadeva.
According to certain tribesmen like Muria’s, the tree is not worshipped as ft
is considered to be an untouchable. The tree is regarded as a symbol of the
male and is ceremoniously married to a neem tree which is symbolic of the
female. In villages in India, usually these two trees are grown side by side
with a platform built round them. On the platform inter-twined or coiled snake
stones are placed which are symbols of fertility. This symbolic association of
the sexes is reversed in Rajasthan and Punjab where the Neem (Azadirachta
indica) tree is considered a male. Since women in purdha donot show their face
to strange men, women in these areas cover their face with a veil on passing a
neem tree. In Orissa a marriage is performed between the Vata (Ficus
bengaltnsis) tree which is considered as the male and the Aswattha which is
considered as the female, the tree is frequently planted near a Vata tree so as
to mix their foliage and stems from a superstitious notion that they are of two
different sexes and their growing together is regarded as an emblem of
marriage. The tree is invested with the triple cord like Brahmnn and with the
same attendant ceremonies as the thread ceremony of a Brahmana. The Aswattha is
also sometimes married to the Kadali tree (Musa sapientura), the two trees are
grown so close and their trunks intertwine so much that they look like one.
The tree is considered sacred by some tribes of the
Ganjam district of Orisa. According to them before the creation of the world,
Kittung and his sister used to live in a gourd. When the gourd broke, the two
started living on the Kurabeli hill. This was at a time when there were no
trees on this earth. When summer came, the sister complained of the intense
heat as mere were no trees to give them shade. About this time, a squirrel bit
off four fingers of the left hand of the Kittung while he was asleep at night,
leaving only the third middle finger. On hearing his sister complain of the
heat, the Kittung cut off his maimed left hand and put it on a stone which grew
into the Aswattha tree called the Onjerneban tree by the tribal people. The
apex of the leaf is prolonged into a long projection which to the tribal people
represents the middle finger of the Kittung’s hand. The tribes make offerings to
Ratusum in cups made of its leaves. The sacredness of the Aswattha tree comes
perhaps from the old vedic ritual of kindling the sacrificial fire at religious
ceremonies by friction between two peculiarly shaped pieces of wood, one of
which was the Aswattha wood and the ceremony was called ‘the birth of Agni’.
The vessels containing Soma rus were made of the Aswattha wood. Till today,
women worship the tree by circumbulating round it, wrap cotton yarn round its
trunk and water its roots.
A story in the Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana
mentions the importance of Aswattha in the ritual of kindling the sacred fire
of Homa. Pururavas, son of Ila and Buddha saw the heavenly nymph Urvasi
sporting with her friends and instantly fell in love with her. She also fell in
love with him and both lived together happily for many years. Urvasi had to
ultimately return to her heavenly abode as an Apsara cannot live for ever with
a mortal. Pururavas became inconsolable at his loss and the Gandharvas took
pity on him. Since it was not possible for Urvasi to live with him on earth,
these semi-divine beings decided to include Purwavas among them by msking him
an immortal. They gave him the divine fire and by wishing to be united with Urvasi
before it, he could become an immortal. Pururavas left the fire in the forest
and went on an errand. On his return he found the fire and the pan turned into
the Aswattha tree and the Sami (Acacia suma) tree respectively.
In fact the Aswattha was growing out of the Sami
plant. Having lost the fire, Pururavas could not wish for permanent life with Urvasi.
So he approached the Gandharvas again who asked him to make thefire drill or
Arani from the wood of the two trees into which the fire and the pan had been
converted and with the fire thus produced, wish for a permanent life with
Urvasi and the wish would be granted. Pururavas first made the fire drill with
two twigs of the Sami plant but it was not the right type of fire; then he took
two twigs of Aswattha but still did not succeed. Ultimately he made the drill
by using the upper wood of Aswattha and the lower of the Sami plant for making
the fire and the fire thus produced was the right type of fire and by wishing
before it, he obtained his wish.
Since the fire is produced by friction between the
As wattha and the Sami plant in the sacred Horns ceremony, the analogy between
this and the intercourse of sexes is apparent. Aswattha is the male, 5am/ is
the female and the Agni thus produced is the child. Agni once hid himself in
the Aswattha tree and because of this temporary home of Agni devatta, Aswattha
tree became sacred. (See Acacia suma). The importance of sacrificial fires as
initiatory rites to the final attainment of immortality has been accepted by
Hindus since very early times. Their, origin lies in the philosophy that the
mere mortal must realise the necessity to strive after higher and finer values
and not hanker after merely earthly passions. Homa is performed at practically
all important sacred functions such as the investiture of the sacred thread, at
the hair cutting ceremony, marriage and sraddha ceremonies etc., when an
offering of curds, ghee, rice etc. are made to it.
Apsaras are said to inhabit the sacred Fig trees in
which their cymbols and lutes resound. Their favourite Fig trees are the
Nyagrodha, Aswattha, Udumbara and Plakshi (Ficus bengalensis, Ficus reiigiosa,
Ficus glomerata, Ficus lacor (also identified as Butea monosperma) In Bengal a
ritual called Aswatthapats-vrata is observed by women on the last day of the
month of Vaisakh (April-May). Five leaves of Aswattha are required for this
ritual and each leaf signifies a different stage of human life. For instance, a
new leaf for the birth of a son, a young green leaf for beauty and youth, an
old leaf for long life of the husband, a dry leaf for increase in happiness and
wealth, a withered leaf for precious wealth beyond expectation. The plant is a
symbol of fertility and is worshipped by women for the grant of a child. Buddhists
also consider the tree sacred as Prince Siddartha sat in meditation under this
tree and found enlightenment. The tree since then is known as the Bo or the
Dodhi tree and Siddartha came to be known as the Buddha. A tree planted in
Ceylon in B.C. 228 is still alive. A tree of Aswattha is believed to be growing
on the mythical island called Plaksha dvipa. The gods are said to sit under the
Aswattha tree in the third heaven. Krsna was sitting under an Aswattha tree
when Jara shot him in the foot with an arrow.
FICUS GLOMERATA syn FICUS
RACEMOSA
Sanskrit; Uclumbara
Hindi: Gular
The tree is held sacred by the Hindus and its wood
is included in the Homa ceremony. It is a highly medicinal plant and its fruit
is kept on the person to ward off evil. The roots of the plant arc considered
to be Brahma, its bark as Vishnu and its branches as Siva. The tree is compared
to Vishnu, in fact one of the names of Vishnu is Udumbara. The seat of god
Vivas wan, a vedic god worshipped at the end of the Soma sacrifice is made of
its wood and the throne of king Soma is carved of its wood. The staff of a
Vaishya, at his thread ceremony is made of it. The reason why the tree seldom
has any flowers is because on the Deepavali night, the gods gather on the tree
and pluck all its blossoms. In the Atharvaveda, it is mentioned that the
sacrificial post and the sacrificial ladle was made of it. According to Verrier
Elwin, the Dumariyan clan worship the tree for the gift of a child. Udumbara is
the Bodhi tree or the tree of Enlightenment of Kanaka Muni.
FICUS KRISHNII
Sanskrit & Hindi: Krishna
The sacredness of this tree is because of the
association of the tree with the Krsna legend. It is said that Krsna used to
make a cup of its leaves to steel butter and curds in them from the gopies with
whom he used to sing and dance in Brindavana. Since that time, the tree puts
forth leaves which have their lamina joined at the base forming a shallow cup.
FICUS BENGALENSIS syn FICUS
INDICA
Sanskrit: Nyagrodha,
Kalpa-vrksha
Hindi: Vata, vad, Bargad, Ber
English: Banyan
Nyagrodha symbolises Siva and is therefore held
sacred. The tree is called the crested one. The ability of the tree to support
its ever growing branches and weight by the development of adventitious roots
from its branches, roots which hang down and act as props over an ever widening
circle, represents eternal life and the tree is therefore, considered a symbol
of long life. It is worshipped and associated with godhead. The tree is also
considered as a symbol of Brahma and is worshipped on Vad-Savitiri day and on
Saturdays in the month of Jaistha (May-June) by women praying for the long life
of their husbands. Often the tree is grown in close proximity with another
tree, i.e. the neem (Azadirachta indica) tree. The intertwined branches of the
two trees, to the Hindus are Holy union and the tree being sacred, they object
to felling it.
To some Oriyan tribes, the tree is the Sadru-shrine
of the gods and it is sacrilege to cut it. The taboo against felling it is so
great that if anyone cuts it in ignorance, he has to sacrifice a goat to the
gods living on the tree. Special offerings are made to the gods of the tree at
harvest time. At Guar and Karya ceremonies, cups are made of its leaves for pouring
libations. The tribesmen consider die tree as mother, for according to a story,
two orphan children were left under the tree and they were nourished by the
milk or the latex that -dripped from the tree and were thus saved from
starvation. The Nyagrodha tree has been referred in Hindu Mythology as the
Kalpa-vrksha or the wishfulfillmg tree... a tree that gives to the worshipper
food and drink, dresses and ornament, gift of children and even beautiful maidens.
“This anthropomorphic worship of the tree is represented in a Buddhist
sculpture from Besnagar. The tree has been depicted with its long, pendanc,
adventitious roots dropping untold wealth in the form of gold pieces, and the
vcssals placed beneath the tree over-flowing with them.
According to the Mahabharata the south of the Nila
and north of the Nishadha, there is a huge Jumvu (Syzgium cumini syn. Eugena
jambolcna) tree that is eternal and wish-fulfilling. In the Bhagavata Purana, -
Kadamba (Anthocephallus cadamba) tree is the Kaipa-vrksh. Sometimes the
Parijata (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) is also referred as the Kalpa-vrksha. The
tribal people Pardhans worship the tree because of the following reasons. When
Guru Jalranda of the Pardhans died, his body was buried by his sons under a
tree of Palasa (Butca frondosa). The sons used to light a fire on the grave
daily to keep away the wild animals from desecrating the grave. One day they
found a Nyagrodha tree growing out of the grave. The eldest son saw his father
in a dream that night who asked him to serve the tree as it had grown out of
their father’s bones and brains. According to the Pardhan’s, the adventitious,
hanging roots of the tree are the long and matted hair of the guru.
There are three trees associated v/ith Jie
attainment of Omniscience by the Buddha. Buddha sat for seven days under an
Aswattha tree, the tree of Enlightenment, growing on the banks of the river
Nairanjans, absorbed in the bliss cf his enlightenment. Then he arose and sat
under a Nyagrodha tree for seven days, absorbed in the bliss of his
illumination. At the end of that period he sat in blissful calm under a third
tree. The three trees are known as: The tree of Enlightenment; Tree of the
Goatherd; Tree of the serpent king Muchalinda respectively. The last tree is so
named because Muchalinda, the serpent king, protected Buddha with his hood from
a storm as Buddha sat in meditation under it. In Vishnu Parana, the tree is
compared to Vishnu. “As the wide spreading Nyagrodha tree is compressed in a
small seed, so at the time of dissolution, the whole universe is comprehended
in thee as its germ. As the Nyagrodha germinates from the seed and becomes
first a shoot and then rises into loftiness, so the created world proceeds from
thee and expands into magnitude”.
Nyagrodha planted in front of temples is tenanted
by either Krsna or Siva. The tree planted in public places like cross-roads,
village squares are tenanted by lesser divinities such as Yakshas, Kinnaras,
Gandharvas etc. The rustling of the leaves of the tree is attributed to the
deities residing on it. It grows on Pushkara dvipa, a special abode of Brahma.
The dvipa is surrounded by a sea of fresh water. Its milky juice is regarded as
a remedy for tooth ache, rheumatism and lumbago. Nyagrodha is the Bodhi tree or
the tree of Enlightenment of Kashyapa Muni. During the universal deluge at the
end of an epoch, Narayana slept on a leaf of Nyagrodha.
HIPTAGE MADABLOTA
Sanskrit & Hindi: Madhavi
lata
English: Hiptage
According to Vishnu Purana, Madhavi was the wife of
Madhav which is.’another name-for Vishnu and the plant has been named after
her. Symbolically she, the mother of the earth, is the creeping Vine and Vishnu
is the tree round which she clings for support. This plant which is a creeper
with large, white, fragrant flowers was well known to ancient Hindus and is
frequently mentioned in ancient Indian literature. In flower symbolism, the
Hindus compared the Madhavi lata to a frail young woman who clings for support
to her lord and master, symbolised by the strong mango tree. There is a
reference of the plant in Kalidasa’s famous play, ‘Sakuntala’. When the hermit
Kanva discovered that his adopted daughter Sakuntala had met Dushyanta, the msn
of her choice, he said to her that he hod for long, been looking for a handsome
mango tree referring obviously to Dushyanta and that now he would give his
Madhavi lata i.e. Sakunttila to him in marriage. Madhavi
lata is a plant of great medicinal value, particularly useful for dermatitis.
An application made from it is considered highly beneficial in scabies. Its
bark is aromatic; used in medicine to cure rheumatism and asthma.
IMPERATA CYLINDRICA
Family Gramincac
Sanskrit & Hindi: Munja
ghas
The moon is considered a deity. According to Skands
Purana he is the son of Atri and Anasuya. He is considered a Brahmana and the
King of priests. But the most popular belief is (Bhagavata Purana, Mahabharata
and Vishnu Purana) that he sprang from the Ocean of milk when it was churned to
extract ambrosia. Brhadaranaika Upanishad makes him a Ksatriya and a pricely
knight. At first moon was a very pious being and performed the Rayasuya sacrifice
but he became arrogant and licentious. One day he saw Tara or Taraka, the wife
of Vrhaspati, the teacher of the gods and fell in love with her. He carried her
off and inspite of repeated requests by Vrhaspati, he refused to send her back.
This led to a serious quarrel in which the sage U§anas, supported by the
antigods and -danavas, daityas etc. sided with Soma. Indra, the lord of heaven
and most of the gods sided with Vrhaspati. A fierce battle ensued termed
Tarakamaya or Taraka war. Soma was cut into two by Siva’s trident. The earth
shaken by the fierce struggle, approached Brahma for protection, Brahma
approached by the Earth, decided to stop the war. He compelled Soma, the moon
to send Taraka back to her husband.
Taraka by that time was pregnant. Vrhaspati, her
husband did not desire her to carry the child any more and ordered her to get
rid of it. Taraka gave birth to a son of great beauty whom she deposited in a clump
of Munja ghas. Both Soma, the moon and Vrhaspati were fascinated by the beauty
and radiance of the child and claimed the child as theirs. Tara was ashamed to admit
the paternity of the child and kept quiet. At this the child was incensed and
said, “Unless, vile woman, you declare who is my father, I will sentence you to
such a fate as shall deter every female in future from hesitating to speak the
truth”. Brahma appeased the anger of the child and then asked Tara to speak the
truth. Tara, blushingly confessed that Soma was the father of the child. The
Lord of constellations then embraced his son and called him wise. Hence the
child was named Buddha and became the planet mercury. Since Buddha, the son of
Moon was deposited in a clump of Munja ghas, the plant became sacred. The
sacred thread of Brahmanas is made of the Munja ghas.
ISCHAEMUN AUGUSTIFOLIUM
Family Gramineae
Hindi: Sabai
A Birhor tribal legend explains the origin of the
grass. Some men murdered their only sister but she came back to life and
forgave them. The brothers felt ashamed of themselves and asked mother earth to
accept them back as they could not face their sister. The earth obliged and
swallowed them. The sister tried to save her brothers by catching hold of their
hair which alone remained above the earth. The hair later turned into Sabai
grass. Gadaba tribal legend is similar to the above story with regard to the brother
and sister relationship. In this story, it is the fear of curse attached to incest
which causes the tragedy and it is the girl who goes under the earth as she is
ashamed of her intimate relations with her brother. As the sister is being
engulfed by the earth, the brother tries to rescue her but manages to catch
only her hair before the earth closes and the sister is trapped under the earth.
Her hair which remained above the surface turned into Sabai grass.
MANGIFERA INDICA
Family Anacardaceae
Sanskrit: Amra
Hindi : Aam
English: Mango
The mango tree is considered sacred both by the
Hindus and the Buddhists. Lord Buddha was once presented with a grove of mango
trees under which he used to repose and since then the Buddhists consider the
tree holy. According to a Burmese legend, a gardener presented Buddha with a large
mango fruit. The fruit was cut and prepared by his favourite disciple Ananda,
for Buddha to eat. Afterwards Buddha handed the stone-of the fruit to Ananda to
plant it in a suitable place. When Ananda had planted the stone as directed,
Buddha washed his hands over it and suddenly a beautiful white mango tree
sprang from it bearing flowers and fruits. This story is represented in a
sculpture at Bharhut. Hindus consider the plant of great religious
significance. They consider the plant as a transformation of the god Prajapati,
Lord of all creation. Therefore, on all religious and sacred days, Hindus use
its twigs as tooth brushes and its leaves as spoons for pouring libations, Villagers
in India believe that the mango tree puts forth fresh green leaves at the birth
of a son. So a tradition is being perpetuated and mango leaves are festooned
across the doorways of a house where a son is born. The plant being considered
auspicious, its leaves are also hung over the doorways of a house where
marriage ceremonies are performed, perhaps in the hope that [he young married
couple would beget a son.
The- origin of the tree is seeped in mythology. The
daughter of Surya deva, the Sun God was being persecuted by an enchantress. She
threw herself into a pond and changed into a lotus flower to escape-the evil
designs of the enchantress. A certain king saw the flower and desired to
possess it. But before the king could take possession of it, the enchantress
burnt it and from the ashes of the lotus arose the mango tree. The king saw the
tree ladden with the mango fruit and decided to keep the fruit with him. When the
fruit ripened and fell to the earth, from it came out the daughter of the Sun
God, whom the king recognised as having been his wife in an earlier birth. In
aboriginal India, the bride and the bridegroom have to circumvent a tree before
the marriage ceremony can be performed. For this purpose the bride smears the
Mahua (Bassia latifolia) tree with vermilion, walks round it and then embraces
it. The bridegroom performs a similar ceremony with the mango tree.
According to an Oriyan tale, the tree was created
by the Kittung from the thigh bone of a goat sacrificed to him, a bone left
behind accidently by the worshipper. The tree is also associated with the
Kinchesum, a god accepting human sacrifice in the tribal world of India. It is
also a favourite tree for people committing suicide by hanging. The Gadaba and
Kond tribes associate the mango with the human testicles as the seed of the
fruit resembles them. According to a Bonda story, death came to the world through
the mango. Gadaba and Bondo mourners at a funeral have to step over the mango
bark before they can return home. Gadabas also use mango branches in a
prophylactic rite to avert disease from a village. Practically all the tribes
in India observe a Mango fruit festival, before which it is taboo to
eat the fruit. The wood of the tree being sacred, it is
included in the funeral pyres as well as in the sacred ceremony of Homa. The
flowers of Mango are dedicated to the moon to whom they are offered on the
second day of Magh (Feb-March), and also to Madan, the god of love. The mango
tree in Brahmasaras is in the’s’hape of Brahma. He who waters it will lead the
Prtrs to salvation. During his separation from Parvati, Siva sat under an Amra
tree and through the grace of Lalita was ultimately married to Parvati when he
went to mount Kailash.
MORINGA POLEIFERA
Family Moringaceae.
Sanskrit & Hindi: Amarphal
English: The Immortal fruit.
Amarphal or the Immortal fruit is a creeper which
bears very unusual fruits. The fruit is approximately 500 mm long and 100 mm in
circumference and ripens slowly from August to October. Its upper portion resembles
a pine cone and its skin which is edible falls down by itself. The rest of the
fruit continues to grow and ripens for a very long time. As the fruit continues
to ripen after it has been cut from the creeper, it is called Immortal or Amar.
According to a story, the fruit revolutionised the
life of Raja Bhartarihari of ancient India. An ascetic gave the fruit to the
Raja. The Raja decided to present the fruit to his wife Bhanumati. Unknown to
the king, the queen had a paramour and she in turn passed the fruit to him. But
this man in turn was not faithful to the queen and gave the fruit to a
prostitute. Since the king in ancient India was considered to be the earthly
representative of god, the prostitute felt that only a king deserved such a
rare treat and’gave the fruit to him. On receiving back the fruit which he had
presented to his wife, the king got a rude shock on realising his wife’s infidelity
to him. He decided from that day to forsake her and his kingdom and became an
ascetic.
MUSA SAPIENTUM
Family Musaceae
Sanskrit: Rambha, Kachii
Hindi : Kela
English: Plantain, Banana.
In the Vishnu Parana, a salutation to Vishnu is as
follows: ‘As the bark and leaves of the Kadali tree are to be seen in its stem,
so thou art the stem of the universe and all things are visible in thee’. Kadali
plants are considered auspicious by the Hindus, particularly by the followers
of Vishnu and Siva, as the plant is believed to be the incarnation both of
Parvati, the wife of Siva and Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu. The Kadali plants,
particularly its leaves are considered sacred for purposes of religious
ceremonies and entire plants are placed at the entrance of houses of marriage,
also to decorate the pandels erected for marriage ceremonies to symbolise
fertility and plenty. Kadali fruit is offered to the deities at the temples.
The plant is worshipped in the month of Kartik (Oct.-Nov.) by women desirous of
having male progeny. The plant is a symbol of fecundity and a bride is given
the banana fruit to assure her having male progeny. The image of the goddess
Nanda Devi is carved out of its trunk. The Plantain deity identified with
Lakshmi and Parvati is an agricultural deity called
Navapatrika. A life size statue is carved out of
the Kadali plant and dressed like a bashful bride with Bilva (Aegle marmetos)
fruit as her breasts, supported by a piece of sugar cane (Saccharum
officinalis). The leaves of the plant twisted like a bow represents the head
and hair of the deity. Kachu (Arum colocasia), Haridra (Curcuma indica),
Jayanti (Hordeum vulgare), Dadima (Punica granata), Ashoka (Saraca indica),
Dhanya (Oryza sativa), represent the different parts of her body. This
Navapatrika is worshipped as Lakshmi. She is also placed in front of a Bilva
tree and worshipped for invocation of Durga. The Navapatrika or the nine plants
is the symbol of goddess Durga, sometimes also associated with the Sun-God. It
is worshipped mainly by women for the gift of a child’s prosperous life and a husband.
According to an Oriyan tribal story the plant was
the creation of Bimma. As the plant bore nourishing fruit and every part of it
was useful, Rama became jealous of Bimma’s creation and cursed it to die after
producing only one bunch of flowers. But this is not a fact. Banana plant is a
perennial plant and ‘produces flowers and fruits season after season. The
banana fruit is offered by certain tribes of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh to gods Kittungsum
and Mardisum and is used in all religious and marriage ceremonies. The reason
why the Plantain bears fruit without pollination is described in a very
interesting Gadaba story. Long, long ago, there were five sisters called Mango,
Tamarind, Fig, Jamun and Plantain. When the sisters came of age, their father
was worried about finding many, many children. When Plantain was asked what she
desired, she said: ‘I certainly want children but not a husband. And I also
want to get old soon and not have to wait for a long time’. In course of time,
Mango, Tamarind, Fig and Jamun got married and bore so many children that their
husbands ran away in sheer fright. The girls in their next life were born as
trees and bore many fruits which symbolically are the children they bore in an
earlier birth. Plantain did not marry but produced children and grew old. And
that ‘is why, till to day the Plantain plant bears fruit parthenogenetically
i.e. without pollination and the fruits do not bear any seeds.
A story in the Mahabharata says that before the
outbreak of the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Krsna went as a
mediator. The Pandavas did not want to go to war against their cousins, the
Kauravas. But the Kauravas were adamant and would not listen to the sane advice
given by Krsna, even after he had predicted the destruction of the entire race.
Defeated at his mission of bringing about a rapproachment between the two rival
sections of the family, Krsna went to the house of Vidura who was a half
brother both to the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Vidura was not at home and his
wife Viduri, offered Krsna the Kadali fruit. She was so enraptured by the
presence of Krsna who had graced her threshold that absent mindedly she threw
away the Kadali- fruit and offered only the banana peel to Krnsa. Krsna had
noticed this but kept on eating the banana peel as they were offered to him
with a pure heart and unflinching devotion.
