Indian
Culture and Traditions
Sacred Trees Of The Hindus
By Dr. Satish Kapoor
By Dr. Satish Kapoor
Trees being nature’s major processors of solar energy which is
vital for our existence, and yielding flowers, fruit, wood or medicine, have
been worshipped by the Hindus as a matter of gratitude. Manu believed that they
were conscious like humans and felt pleasure and pain. Indian sages and seers
eulogized asvattha or peepal (Ficus religiosa), gular (Ficus glomerata), neem
(Azadirachta indica), bel (Aegle marmelos, bargad or banyan (Ficus
bengalensis), Asoka (Sereca indica), amala (Phyllanthus emblica), Arjuna
(Terminalia Arjuna) and many other trees which acquired social and religious
sanctity with the passage of time.
Bel, rudraksa (seeds of Elaeccarpus) and ber (Zizyphus jujuba) are
considered dear to Lord Siva, sala (Shorea robusta) and pipal to Lord Visnu;
kadamba (Anthocephalus cadamba) to Lord Krsna; mango (Mangifera indica) to Lord
Hanuman, asoka to Kamadeva; silk cotton (Bombax malabaricum) to the goddess
Laksmi; and coconut or sriphala (Cocos nucifera) to Varuna or the lord of
waters, and to many other gods and goddesses.
The five trees (panca-vrksa) which adorn Lord Indra’s garden
(Nandana) in his paradise (Svarga) are: (1) mandara (Erythrina stricta) with
scarlet flowers in horizontal clusters at the ends of branches; its shade
relieves one of physical ailments and mental stress; (2) parijata (Nyctanthes
arbor-tristis) with bark of gold, leaves of copper color, and fragrant,
rejuvenate fruit; it arose out of the ocean of milk and was taken away by Indra
to his paradise from where it was brought to Dvaraka by Lord Krsna at the
instance of his wife Satyabhama. After the passing away of the Lord and the
submerging of Dvaraka in the ocean, it was taken back to heaven; (3) samtanaka,
a tree of wonder having leaves which promote fertility in men; its
identification remains obscure; (4) haricandana or sandalwood (Santalum album)
well known for its fragrance and cooling effect, it keeps evil spirits at bay;
and (5) kalpa vrksa or kalpa taru, the tree of eternity which emerged as a
result of the churning of the ocean of milk; it was lifted to Svarga by Indra,
and is frequently mentioned in Sanskrit literature for its wish-fulfilling
quality.
The Pauranic lore has it that Brahma metamorphosed into a palasa,
Visnu into a pipal and Rudra into a bargad after being cursed by Parvati, the
wife of Lord Siva. Neem is customarily believed to be the abode of the goddess
Sitala; pipal of the goddess Laksmi (on Sundays), amala of both lord Visnu and
Lord Siva, and Sami (Ficus benjamina) of Lord Hanuman, the son of the wind-god.
Deodar (Polylathis longifolia) is believed to be the adopted child of Lord
Siva. Pipal is said to form a link between earth and heaven. The flowers of
five trees-asoka, mango, navamal lika (Ixora parviflora), pink lotus (Nelumbe
nucifera) and blue lotus (Nymphae stel-lata) –adorn the tip of the bow of Kama,
the god of love. Kadamba reminds one of Lord Krsna’s flute and bargad of Lord
Siva’s matted hair which reflect in the tangled roots of the tree.
Some trees are considered sacred due to their association with
prophets and holy men. The barged, for example, is sacred to Hindus because the
sage Markandeya took shelter on its branches during the deluge; Lord Rama lived
in a grove under five banyan trees near Nasik when he was in exile; and lord
Krsna played around it during his childhood. Sala is sacred to Buddhists
because Lord Buddha took birth and passed away under it; so are pipal and
bargad, as the Lord meditated under them for gaining supreme realization. The
trees considered sacred in the Jaina tradition were associated in some way with
the Tirthankaras: bargad with Rsabha Deva, sala with Sambhavanatha and
Mahavira, bel with Sitalanatha, kadamba with Vasupujya, pipal with Ananta,
Asoka with Mallinatha, and bakula with Neminatha. Ber (jujube) is viewed with
reverence by the Sikhs because Guru Nanak Dev planted a sapling of it on the
banks of the river Bein when he was at Sultanpur Lodhi. Guru Gobind Singh
stayed under a jujube tree in a village
of Seeloana in Ludhiana district. Both the sites have been
converted into shrines. The ritha tree, under which Guru Nank Dev sat during
his sojourn in the Himalayas, began to bear sweet
fruit, and now a shrine has come up centred around it. The ber under which Baba
Buddha (1506-1621) used to sit supervising the excavation of the sacred pool at
the Amritsar Golden Temple
has also become an object of worship for the devotees.
Specific directions for the plantation of sacred trees are
mentioned in the Vrksa Ayur-veda: bargad should be planted in the eastern side
of the house; bel and peepal in the west; mango and amala in the south; Asoka
in the southeast; and itti, a wave-leafed fig tree, in the north. Auspicious
stars for planting them all are Svati, Hasta, Rohini, Sravana and Mula.
The day, time, month or occasion of worship of sacred trees has a
mythical, astrological or utilitarian basis. Amala and pipal are worshipped
especially in the month of Kartika (October-November), bel and gular in Sravana
(July-August), kadamba in Asadha (June-July), Sami in Asvina
(September-October), bargad in Jyestha (May-June), and so on. A number of
festivals and vratas are also observed in their honor as per the table given at
the end of this article.
Due to their ecological value and efficacious properties, trees
continue to be used in the religious and social ceremonies of the Hindus. The
trunk of banana is used to erect welcoming gates and its leaves to make the
ceremonial pavilion. The five most sacred leaves of peepal, gular, pilkhan
(Ficus lacor), bargad and mango-are ubiquitously employed in making prayers and
offerings. On auspicious occasions, mango leaves are tied to a string and hung
on doors; leaves of palasa and bargad make workable plates and bowls during
community feasts. Leaves of some other trees are also customarily offered to
deities of bel to lord Siva, of banana and arjuna to Lord Ganesa, and of
amaltas (Cassia fistula) to all the gods and goddesses. The red flowers of the
Indian coral tree are used in the worship of Lord Visnu and Lord Siva; of kaner
(Nerium indicum) in the worship of Lord Siva and the Sun-god; of ketaki (Yucca
gloriosa) in the worship of Laksmi, and of panas or breadfruit (Artocarpus
integrifolia) in the worship of Lord Visnu.
The use of some flowers is prohibited in worship rites-of sirisa
or parrot tree (Albizzia lebbeck) in the worship of Lord Ganesa and vijaya sala
(Pterocarpus marsupium) in the worship of Lord Siva. Supari or areca nut which
symbolizes Lord Ganesa is commonly used in various rites. Banana is offered to
Lord Visnu and Laksmi on the eleventh day of the bright half of Pausa
(December-January) and to the Sun god on the sixth day of the bright fortnight
of Kartika (October-November). Mango and bel fruits are also included in the
worship material-the former is offered to all gods, the latter especially to
Lord Siva.
The wood of sacred trees like bel, bargad, sami, palasa and pipal
is never used as fuel as it invites the wrath of gods. But it is employed, in
other ways, in sacrificial rites and ceremonies. Sandalwood is turned into
paste and applied to the forehead. The wooden seat used during the sacred
thread ceremony is made of mango or palasa; the brahmacarin is also made to
walk with a stick of palasa. During the sacred thread ceremony the brahmacarin
has to perform sacrifice using pipal twigs called samit. After a person dies,
twigs of bel are placed near the central pillar of the house and those of neem
scattered near the corpse.
Sacred trees are invoked on special days for long life, for the
expiation of sins, for averting mishaps, or for the fulfillment of a particular
wish. Young girls are symbolically wedded to the pipal tree or bel fruit to
avoid future widowhood. Tree trunks are tied with thread and circumambulated
108 times and adorned with vermilion and sandal-paste; earthen lamps are
lighted under them-and the effect of all these is considered equal to a
thousand sacrifices. The Saivites count prayers by using rosaries made of
rudraksa berries.
Kautilya laid down that those who cut even small branches or
sprouts of trees yielding fruit and flowers, or providing shade in parks,
places of pilgrimage, hermitages, and cremation or burial grounds should be
sternly dealt with. In ancient India,
people offered prayers and performed other rites to expiate themselves from the
crime of harming or up-rooting a holy tree. To plant a pipal, banyan or some
other sacred tree at a holy place or on the roadside continues to be regarded
by the Hindus as an act of virtue. The Brhat Parasara Smrti (10.379) admonishes
in this context: He who plants and nurtures the following trees will never see
hell: one each of the holy fig (pipal), margosa (neem) and banyan (bargad), ten
tamarind trees and three each of wood apple, the holy bel, myrobalan and five
mango trees. The Hindu religious mind was thus keen on environmental stability.
Important
Festivals or Vratas Related to Trees
|
Name
of the Tree
|
Related
Festival or Vrata
|
Time
of Celebration and Rituals
|
|
Amala
|
Amala
Ekadasi
|
11th day
of Phalguna sukla; bath with water soaked in amala fruit; eating it;
worshipping it; and worship of Radha-Krsna.
|
|
Amra or
Mango
|
Amra-puspa
Bhaksana Vrata
|
1st day
of Caitra sukla; eating of mango blossoms and worship of Kamadeva.
|
|
Asoka
|
Asoka
Pratipada
|
1st day
of Caitra sukla; only women worship the Tree; they also observe fast seeking
longevity.
|
|
Bakula
|
Bakula
Amavasya
|
Bakula
flowers are offered to the manes, seeking Their blessings.
|
|
Vata or
Bargad
|
Vata
Savitri Vrata
|
Jyestha
purnima or amavasya day; having fasted for three previous days, married women
worship the bargad tree by circumambulating, tying with the sacred protective
thread (raksa sutra), and listening to the sacred Savitri-Satyavan story;
some women stay awake during the night and omplete the vow feeding a brahmin;
in western parts of India, devout women observe this vow for five consecutive
years
|
|
Bilva or
Bel
|
Bilva
Tri-ratri Vrata
|
On a
Tuesday of Jyestha purnima when the cons-tellation is Jyestha; worship of the
bel tree for three consecutive nights as per Hemadri’s injunctions in the
Skanda Purana; the vow compr-ises bath with water mixed with mustard seeds,
partaking of sacred sattvic food (havisyanna),adorning the tree with two
pieces of red cloth and placing the image of Uma-Mahesvara beneath it; homa
is performed and 1,008 bilva leaves are offered; Brahmins are fed.
|
|
Bilva or
Bel
|
Sravana
Krsna Ekadasi
|
Ceremonial
offering of water to the bel tree.
|
|
Bilva or
Bel
|
Bhadra
Sukla Caturthi
|
Offering
of trifoliate leaves of bel to Lord Ganesa
|
|
Bilva or
Bel
|
Bilva
Nimantrana
|
Asvina
sukla sasthi; summoning the tree-goddess and worshipping the Devi.
|
|
Bilva or
Bel
|
Bilva
Saptami
|
Asvina
sukla saptami; a twig of bel, bearing two fruits, is offered to Devi.
|
|
Bilva or
Bel
|
Bilva
Navami
|
Asvina
sukla navami; bel leaves are offered to Siva.
|
|
Karavira
or Kaner or Oleander (Nerium indicum)
|
Karavira
Vrata
|
Jyestha
sukla prathama tithi; kaner roots and branches are bathed and adorned with
red cloth; offerings of seven cereals (sapta dhanya) and fruit are made
followed by fasting; Savitri, Satyabhama, and others performed this when they
were in trouble
|
|
Kadali or
Kela
|
Kadali
Vrata
|
Vaisakha,
Magha or Kartika sukla caturdasia banana tree is planted and nurtured till it
bears fruit; wishing the welfare of one’s family, a person should worship the
tree with flowers, fruit, etc and circumambulate it.
|
|
Kadali or
Kela
|
Yaksa-samantaka
Kadali Vrata
|
A golden
banana tree is worshipped and offered to a brahmin on any auspicious day.
|
|
Kevada or
Screw Pine (Panadanus odoratis- simus)
|
Kevada
Teej
|
Bhadra
sukla trtiya; soliciting unbroken married life, women offer Kevada leaves to
Lord Siva.
|
|
Neem
|
Sitala
Puja
|
Caitra
navaratras; goddess Sitala who is said to reside in the neem tree is
propitiated ritually; Pat Gosain festival in Bengal
means neem tree worship; neem leaves are eaten on Vaisakha sukla saptami.
|
This is not an exhaustive list but there are other festivals too.
Grow more Trees
Seven Sacred Rivers
By Vimla Patil
By Vimla Patil
LIFELINES OF INDIA’S CIVILISATION
In India,
a river is a mini-cosmos in concept. Every river is a mother deity who spawns
mythology, art, dance, music, architecture, history and spirituality. Each one
has a clear identity, appearance, value, style and spirit just like a beautiful
woman. In every age, diverse human communities have reinvented themselves on
river-banks with fascinating nuances….
‘Her shimmering gold-and-white garments dazzle like a thousand
suns. The jewels in her crown shine like the crescent moon. Her smiling face
lights up the whole world. In her hands, she carries a pot of nectar, a symbol
of immortality. Her lotus-fresh presence brings a sense of purity and joy to
all beings….’. At first glance, this reads like an over-the-top flowery
description of a beautiful woman coined by some besotted lover. But to those
conversant with the fascinating river-lore of India,
this is the mythical portrayal of the River Ganga, written by Sage Valmiki,
author of India’s
immortal epic Ramayan. It describes the celestial Ganga
as she descends from the heavens to the earth to bring salvation to mankind.
This story, known as Gangavataran, is such a fundamental tenet of Indian
culture that it has held countless generations of Indians in awe for
millenniums. The Ganga, arguably the most picturised and written-about river in
the world, has been called the Mother of India’s Spirituality and has been
immortalized in sculpture, art, literature, poetry, music and dance.
Following her descent to the mortal world to sanctify human
efforts to attain salvation, the Ganga is
perceived as mokshdayini, the Mother Goddess whose waters bring relief from
sin, sorrow and suffering. To wit, through the millenniums, the river’s banks
have been hallowed by a galaxy of saints and seers who either meditated or
built great institutions of spiritual research and teachings on her
embankments. Great poetic works, including Tulsidas’ Ramcharit Manas, which
continues to run in the veins of Indians for centuries, were written alongside
her tranquil flow in Varanasi.
Great cities like Haridwar, Rishikesh, Prayag and Varanasi were built on her banks and these
have become famous centres of art, music, textile weaving, literature and every
other artistic endeavour apart from spiritual pursuits. Haridwar and Prayag are
the sites of gigantic Kumbh Melas, which celebrate the relentless search of
human beings for immortality through the mythical pot of nectar, a motif that
repeats itself constantly in Indian mythology. From India’s
prehistoric ages, the Ganga, with her myriad tributaries, has not only been the
harbinger of rich harvests in India’s
plains, but also the precious lifeline of India’s cultural heritage.
However, Ganga is not the only river in India to be given pride of place in
the hearts of its millions. For millenniums, Indians have worshipped seven holy
rivers that crisscross the sub-continent, fertilising its sprawling plains and
watering its misty mountains and lush forests. These are the Ganga, the Yamuna,
the invisible Saraswati, the Narmada, the Godavari,
the Kaveri and the Sindhu. Since the Sindhu now flows through Pakistan, the Krishna has been added to the list
of the sacred rivers of India.
Each of these rivers has a unique persona and quality attached to it. While the
Ganga is shimmering white-and-gold and represents purity or salvation (Moksh),
the Yamuna is blue like Krishna, who was born in Mathura, a holy city on her banks. Like him,
she represents romance (Shringar). The legendary Saraswati, white and elegant
like a swan, is now extinct and is called the river of knowledge (Vidya), being
associated with Brahma, the creator of the universe. The dark and elusive
Narmada, rising in the Vindhya-Satpura range in Central India, meets the
Arabian Sea in Gujarat. With few, if any,
tributaries, the Narmada is often referred to
as the virgin river associated with the quality of detachment and surrender
(Vairagya). The Godavari, rising in Gangadwar near Nasik
in Maharashtra, flows eastwards to the Bay of Bengal.
She is the saffron river of devotion (Bhakti), sanctified by the presence of
Ram, Sita and Lakshman, who spent much of their exile years from Ayodhya in the
forests along the river. Kaveri, the silvery river of wisdom (Dnyan or Gyan),
flows from the Sahyadri Hills in Karnataka to the Bay of
Bengal through Tamil Nadu. The Krishna, flowing from the Sahyadri
Hills in Mahabaleshwar to the Bay of Bengal is
green and represents courage and valour (Shourya).
The quality and appearance associated each of these seven rivers
have such a strong influence on the Indian psyche, that history, architecture,
art, music and dance and even social movements show their impact. Each river
represents a specific colour and image and Indian scriptures weave innumerable
legends around them.
The Yamuna is deeply entrenched in the wonderful saga of the birth
and childhood of Krishna. Krishna was born in Mathura, a holy city on
the banks of the Yamuna and taken across the raging river on a rain-stormy
night to Gokul, to be raised by his foster parents Nand and Yashoda. Here, in
the pastoral ambience of fragrant gardens and bowers, he grew up as the divine
child among cowherds and milkmaids. He romanced with the milkmaids in his Raas
Leela on moonlit nights on the banks of the Yamuna and gamboled in her dark
waters every day of his life. Yamuna, having touched the blue-toned Krishna, herself became blue in colour in all her
portrayals. So also, Krishna being the epitome
of romance and love, Yamuna became the river of romance. She was named as his
‘consort’ in Madhurabhakti – a religious cult concurrent with Sufism. Both
philosophies decree that ‘a devotee has only to raise the veil of ignorance to
face divinity’. The veiled Yamuna, clad in blue and purple robes and carrying
lotuses in her hands, became the Maharani of Krishna,
the beloved devotee of his wondrous miracles in Gokul. Through the ages, the
portrayals of Yamuna, including a huge number of miniature paintings, showed a
distinct Sufi influence. As the Maharani of Krishna,
she became the eternal bride. Even today, thousands of years later, pilgrims
and devotees who trek to Yamunotri – the origin of the river in the Himalayas – offer her bridal fineries with chunris,
bangles, tikas and other ornaments.
As she descends into the plains in Himachal Pradesh, Paonta Sahib,
the Gurudwara built by Guru Gobind Singh, stands majestically on her banks.
Here, legend says, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, lost his paonta or anklet in the
river while bathing. Nearby, the Tons
River, joining the
Yamuna, creates the romantic spectacle of Sahasradhara, where a thousand
streams dance down the rocky landscape to create a visual wonder. Further down
her flow, the awesome Taj Mahal, the world’s most resplendent monument, stands
on the banks of the Yamuna as a testimony to her romantic personality. The
Yamuna merges into the Ganga in Prayag.
The Saraswati, confluencing with the Ganga
and Yamuna in Prayag, has been extinct for ages, though she continues to live
in the hearts of Indians. Ever since India
attained Independence, teams of archeological
researchers have made relentless efforts to excavate several regions of India to find
its now-barren bed. Various experts have wagered the guess that she flowed
westward from the Himalayas and emptied into the Arabian Sea in Gujarat. Yet, those who wish to seek knowledge and find
her origin continue the search for the elusive river. Today, only a roaring
torrent named Saraswati can be seen in Mana village near Badrinath in the Himalayas, where she meets the Alaknanda at Keshav
Prayag.
The Ganga, the Yamuna and the
Saraswati represent the trinity of divinities in Indian culture. Saraswati is
Brahma, the creator; Yamuna is Vishnu, the sustainer and Ganga is Shiva, the
destroyer. But most important, this divine trinity is seen as ‘one’ in the
confluence of the three rivers at Prayag.
The Narmada has been named the most beautiful river of India
by Western travellers like Bill Aitken in his book ‘The Seven Sacred Rivers’.
Deep, dark and mysterious, the Narmada flows from Amarkantak in the central
mountain ranges of India to
the Arabian Sea. The forests on her banks are
dotted with quaint temple-heritage cities and tribal villages. The river,
symbolizing detachment (Vairagya) and surrender, attracts devotees who do the
‘Parikrama’ of circumambulation of its flow from its origin to its emptying in
the sea and back – a distance of 917 kilometres. Pilgrims need more than a year
to complete this journey on foot. Describing the dense riverside landscape,
they record that on silent nights, as they lie down in the forest groves, they
often hear miraculous strains of flutes resonating in the stillness. This
‘music’ is caused by the wind rushing through holes made by birds in the clumps
of bamboos which line the river in some areas. On the banks of the Narmada are heritage cities like Mandu, where the tragic
love story of the Hindu dancing girl-turned-queen Rani Roopmati and her Muslim
poet-emperor husband Baz Bahadur unfolded. Legend says that Roopmati gave up
her life by drinking poison rather than be abducted by the king’s lustful
enemies. On Narmada’s banks too, stands Maheshwar, the beautiful city built by
Rani Ahilayabai, the celebrated Maharani of Indore,
who repaired thousands of temples across India, giving up her royal wealth.
The Godavari, rising in Gangadwar
near Nashik, represents devotion and its traditional colour: saffron. On her
banks are several legendary monuments dedicated to Ram, Sita and Lakshman in
addition to the Jyotirlinga temple
of Trimbakeshwar. Nasik
is also the site of the Kumbha Mela, which has been named the biggest bathing
festival on earth! The Godavari brings fertility to the plains of peninsular India and is
worshipped as the symbol of single-minded devotion to divinity.
The silvery Kaveri flows through the scenic forested slopes of the
Sahyadri and Nilgiri ranges. The river of wisdom, she is referred to as the
‘Dakshina Ganga’ or the Ganga of the South.
Sanctified by presence of Adi Shankaracharya, the greatest philosopher-seer of India, the Kaveri is the blessing of South India
as she originates in Talaikaveri and flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to
empty into the Bay of Bengal. Through the past
ages, the banks of the Kaveri have attracted great poets, writers, saints and
philosophers who have sought to interpret the many-splendoured culture and
spiritual wisdom of India.
Finally, the River Krishna, symbolizing valour, rises in the
boulder-strewn, verdant hills of Mahabaleshwar, and flows through Maharashtra
and Andhra Pradesh, bringing plentitude to her basin, before meeting the Bay of
Bengal in the east. Krishna, through the eyes of her undulating green waters,
has witnessed many epoch-making chapters of India’s history. The earliest
historical reference to this river is as ‘Kannavenna’, the southern boundary of
the Mauryan Samrat Ashoka’s vast empire in 236 B.C. With a strategy of peace,
non-violence and unparalled valour, Ashoka ruled his great empire to become one
of the world’s tallest grand monarchs. The Vijayanagar Empire flourished on her
banks in the 13th century and unfolded a golden era of India’s history.
From the 17th century, the Marathas, led by Chhatrapati Shivaji, fought many a
battle to free India from the clutches of the Moghuls. The Peshwas of
Maharashtra built grand monuments and temples on her banks, which even today
attract a procession of Bollywood producers to exploit the locations!
Rivers have been
the lifelines of India’s ancient, pulsating, throbbing civilization. They have
brought prosperity, culture, style, colour, values, wisdom, devotion,
knowledge, romance, wonder and above all, a priceless spiritual heritage to the
people of India for thousands of years!
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My
humble salutations to Sri Dr. Satish Kapoor ji,
Vimla Patil ji and hindu samskrit dot com for the collection)
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