Plant Mythology (Set of 3 Books)

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Plant Mythology in Veda

Sacred Plants of India

Plant Myths and Traditions in India

The present work is based on my doctoral thesis that was awarded in 1980s. When my father began to teach me Vedabhäşya after fully memorizing the Krsna Yajurveda, I developed an admiration towards the subject of utility of trees and plants in Vedic rituals. Out of curiosity, I undertook a special study of the trees in "Vidyaranya Bhäşya" that increased my level of interest significantly. In 1978-79, 1 presented a paper "The Trees of Taittiriya" in A.P. Oriental Conference held at Visakhapatnam. To my luck, Dr. R.N. Dandekar, Director, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune who was attracted by the subject matter, asked me to pursue the same for my Ph.D. In fact, having registered as a Research Scholar under guidance of Prof. P. Srirama Murti, Dept. of Sanskrit, Andhra University, I was in search of suitable research problem. Dr. Dandekar, further, persuaded my guide to get the topic of plants pursued by me and he obliged me. I could bring out a successful thesis only because of the backing of knowledge of Vedabhäṣya provided by my beloved father. "Sangasvadhyāyabhaskara" Sannidhanam Lakshmi narayana Murthy, Awardee of "Räshtrapati Puraskara".

Though the thesis was published in 1989, very soon it has gone out of print. There has been an increasing demand. The Dept. of Research & Publications, S.V. Vedic University in their pursuit of publishing books of Vedic Sciences came forward to bring out the present book with the title of "Plant in Veda" which is based on a chapter of my thesis.

Rituals have played a significant role in the way of life of the people of ancient India. The main purpose of rituals is to serve the interests and welfare of the people'. Though the performance of rituals is confined to certain categories of people, the results thus achieved are enjoyed by all. In olden times, even powerful kings considered the sages, as harbingers of welfare to the state, because of their regular performance of Vedic rituals. It is pointed out by the great poet Kalidasa -

"Oh! Sage Vasistha! the oblations you offer to the Fire result in rain for the crops withering due to scarcity of water?"

History records that rituals like Aśvamedha and Rajasuya were being performed by kings to maintain the sovereignty of the State and to establish aristocracy.

The Vedic ritual is a source of achieving ends not only to human beings but also to gods and sages. Aditi performed a ritual and got Devas as sons. Several Brahmana texts tell us that Devas could occupy Svarga, empowered by the performance of a ritual. The deities do often perform rituals Prajapati performed Dvädaśähakratu, appointing the presiding deities of Rtus as priests.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages

About the Book

Trees and plants have long been held sacred to communities the world over. In India they feature in our myths, epics, rituals, worship, and daily life. There is the pipal, under which the Buddha meditated; the banyan, in whose branches hide spirits; the ashoka, in a grove of which Sita sheltered; and the tulsi, without which no Hindu house is considered complete. Before temples were constructed, trees were open-air shrines and many were symbolic of the Buddha himself.

Sacred Plants of India lays out the sociocultural roots of the plants found in the Indian subcontinent, while asserting their ecological importance. Informative, thought-provoking, and meticulously researched, this book draws on mythology, botany, and the ancient religious traditions of India to assemble a fascinating account of India’s flora.

About the Author

Nanditha Krishna is a historian, environmentalist, and writer based in Chennai. A PhD in ancient Indian culture, she is the director of the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre. She has pioneered the documentation of the ecological traditions of India, restored over fifty sacred groves, and established schools, the C.P.R. Institute ofIndological Research, and the Shakunthala Jagannathan Museum of Folk Art. Her published works include Sacred Animals of India, The Book of Demons, The Book of Vishnu, Madras Then Chennai Now, Balaji-Venkateshwara, Ganesha, Painted Manuscripts of the Sarasvati Mahal Library, Arts and Crafts of Tamilnadu, and The Art and Iconography of Vishnu-Narayana, besides numerous research papers and newspaper articles. She is a professor and research guide for the PhD programme of the University of Madras and has received several prestigious national and international awards.

M. Amirthalingam is a botanist and environmental education officer at the C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre. He has researched and published the books Sacred Groves of Tamil Nadu, Sacred Trees of Tamil Nadu, Temple Tanks of Chennai, and Flora and Fauna of Valmiki’s Ramayana, besides research papers and articles in various journals, magazines, and seminar proceedings. He is currently working on the All India Coordinated Research Project on Sacred Grove Ecosystem Service Assessment in the inland plains of Tamil Nadu sponsored by the ministry of environment and forests, Government of India.

Foreword

India is a highly biodiverse country and at least four major factors are responsible for our rich endowment of plant and animal genetic resources. These are: cultural diversity (including spiritual values), culinary diversity, curative diversity (a wide variety of medicinal plants), and ecosystem diversity. Among these factors, spiritual values have contributed much to saving many important plants and trees. This book contains a fascinating account of numerous sacred trees and groves. The book also describes the efforts made from ancient times to invest on selected trees a sacred aura. The sthala vriksha is a good example of this tradition of celebrating our biological heritage.

While reading this book, I was reminded of the following poem by Joyce Kilmer:

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

In 1976, I undertook a study of the oldest trees of India. I wrote to the Chief Conservators of Forests of all states and requested information on the oldest living tree in their state. Most of the replies related to banyan trees including the famous banyan tree of the Theosophical Society, Chennai. Several of the famous banyan trees were also associated with saints and temples. Temple trees such as Excoecaria agallocha of the famous Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram have probably been worshipped because of their importance to life and livelihoods. For example, the temple tree of Chidambaram, which is a mangrove, might have been chosen because mangroves serve as bioshields against coastal storms and tsunamis.

My study of the oldest tree of India revealed that a tree belonging to the species Morus serrata may be the oldest one (over 1200 years). Adi Shankara meditated beneath this spectacularly large mulberry tree in the valley of Joshimath. The age of this tree could be measured only from the year when Adi Shankara preached under it. Thus, there has been a strong correlation between our spiritual history and the history of sacred trees (Indian Farming, February 1977). We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Nanditha Krishna and M. Amirthalingam for capturing the wonderful biological and spiritual heritage of our country in this beautiful book.

Introduction

Sacred trees form an important part of the ecological heritage of India. Most temples, towns, and villages-and sometimes even Sikh temples and Muslims dargahs-are associated with trees. Some plants are sacred to the individual deity; others are sacred to the place. Sometimes, the tree is an integral or even larger part of the sanctity of the shrine; towns and cities and dynasties have been named after sacred trees.

Several plants have been worshipped in India from time immemorial. Wherever the tulsi grows-from the Indo-Gangetic plains to the shores of the Indian Ocean at Kanyakumari-it occupies a position of pride in the central courtyard of the house, tended carefully by the housewife. Apart from the elaborate myths connecting it to Lord Krishna, the tulsi plant has several medicinal properties (Figure 1). The leaves are swallowed to prevent colds, headaches, stomach disorders and even heart problems, and are used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine. Tulsi is often powdered and drunk. as a tea, or just eaten as fresh leaves. To protect and revere this plant with so many medicinal properties, it was designated as sacred, a fitting tribute to its role in providing invaluable healthcare.

The worship of plants is an ancient phenomenon in India. It is probably the oldest form of worship. The association of a single tree with a sacred sthala or sthan is reflected in the chaitya vriksha andsthala vriksha (explained below) of literature and society. The plants that were sanctified reveal the socio-economic and health concerns of ancient peoples. Some were sanctified for their economic role, some for their produce, some for providing homes for animals and birds, and others for their medicinal and air-purifying qualities. The process reveals the people’s knowledge of their environment and its conservation.

Tree worship is documented in all ancient societies all over the world. The earliest form of worship was probably the veneration of the tree. When people turned to food production, the Mother Goddess or the Earth Mother became the chief deity. Fertility, creation, and the world of plants and animals became her blessings to her devotees. The worship of the tree was the adoration of her creative abilities, symbolizing fertility so essential for the survival of the early people. Spirits-good and bad-were believed to reside in trees. If the trees were worshipped, then the resident spirits were pleased. As sacred forests were replaced by agriculture, a single tree was left, which was designated as the sacred tree.

The earliest temples were little more than images placed under trees. Later, the tree and the image were enclosed by a fence made of wood, followed even later by stone. The temple was a later construction. Numerous references are made in literature to trees as abodes of gods. They sheltered the object of worship: a deity, a fetish, a weapon, or any other. As the open-air shrine beneath the tree was replaced by a shrine or temple for the deity, the tree became the sthala vriksha of the temple; the tree was associated with the deity and became an inseparable part of the local mythology. The sthala vrikshas of India constitute the single genetic resource for the conservation of species diversity. The sthala vrikshas once played a major role in local ecology and their worship celebrates our biological heritage.

The sacred tree had many names: kalpa vriksha (tree of life which grants wishes), chaitya vriksha (tree shrine), and sthala vriksha (tree of the sacred site). There are many places that are named after sacred plants like Vrindavan, forest of the vrinda (tulsi or basil plant), near Mathura in the north, or Kanchipuram, town of the Kanchi (river portia tree), near Chennai in the south. Clans likeKaushika, Pallava, and Kadamba were named for grass, leaf, and flower respectively.

Sacred trees are generally associated with Hindu deities, Jaina Tirthankaras, and the Buddha. During the medieval period, each temple had its sthala pur ana or story of the sacred site written, which emphasized the sacred characteristics of the tree and the water body associated with the temple.

Trees were revered for anyone of four primary reasons: for their medicinal qualities, such as the neem and the tulsi; for their economic value, such as the Alexandrian laurel which was used to build catamarans and ships off the Coromandel Coast; for their ecological importance, such as the mangrove in Chidambaram; and for their sociocultural role, such as the banyan, the meeting place of theBania or business community.

From the Jacket:

Trees and plants play an important part in the myths and customs of India. Many are considered holy, often for reasons that are lost in the mists of antiquity - they are associated and identified with gods, planets, months, etc. - certain plants are used as protection against witchcraft and the evil eye - some plants bring luck and are offered in the temples - and others play an important part in other religious rites. These tradition and myths form an important aspect of the Indian's mental background and Dr. Gupta, has performed a most useful service in bringing together all those are known on these subjects from the older Indian Literature to modern research.

The author discusses the forty-five most important trees and plants and describes the myths and customs connected with each. Specimens of Indian sculpture illustrating the various myths are reproduced on numerous plates.

About the Author:

Dr. Gupta is an established writer on Hindu mythology. She has published a large number of books, Vishnu and His Incarnations; Legends around Shiva; Surya the Sun God; Karttikeya, the Son of Shiva; From Daityas to Devatas in Hindu Mythology; and a comprehensive volume on Festivals , Fairs and Fasts of India. Her most recent book Plants in Indian Temple Arts is a survey of Plants sculptured on Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina temples. A Botanist by profession Dr. Gupta did her Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Delhi and another Ph.D. from the Faculty of Oriental Archaeology, Martin Luther University, Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.

In India trees and plants have been adored not only with devotion but have been affectionately fondled and almost treated as members of a family. Kalidasa mentions kindly spirits like vanadevatas, who had been companions of Sakuntala in the forest, almost shedding tears when she left her sylvan home for her residence in the palace of her husband, the king, and hastened to give her presents of silken garments and jewels worthy of a princess. When Sita was abandoned by Lakshmana in the forest at the command of Rama, Sita's sorrow stirred the trees and plants, and along with animals and birds, they too expressed their grief by shedding flowers like large drops of tears. Parvati makes no difference between her fond son Kumara and a Devadaru sapling almost chosen as her pet offspring, and she lovingly reared it by watering it with pitchers of water as with her own breast milk. When Aja laments for Indumati, the prince cannot refrain from mentioning with a pang the yet unfulfilled marriage of the two trees that the queen had brought up so lovingly in the hope of getting them married. This idea of getting trees paired in marriage bespeaks the almost human way in which they were treated. The creeper entwining the tree, spoken of by poets as the beloved clinging to her lord, is a poetic expression of this sympathy for plants, treated almost in human form. In the Vishnusahasranama, Vishnu is mentioned as the very embodiment of imposing trees like Udumabara, Aswattha, Asoka and Nyagrodha. Siva is himself conceived as a yupa post fashioned in Khadira or Sami wood. Sami has fire inside it. Rudra is also the embodiment of fire. Poets love to use the word Sthanu for Siva and Aparna (lit. leafless) for Parvati to suggest that even the dry tree trunk (sthanu) bears shoots in association with Aparna (saparna). Oshadhis or medicinal plants respond to the light of the moon as effectively as the humans in their joy for moonlight. In the Vedic hymns the oshadhis have been conceived as sentient and in the Puranas the vanadevatas are described as lovable sylvan deities. The simple faith of the Cheta in the Mrichchhakatika assumes that the (watchful) eye of the vanadevata is as effective as that of the sun and moon that are witnesses of the good and bad deeds of people on earth. This is a primitive belief that accounts for a true and honest life in the simple and unsophisticated folk of nearly 2000 years ago.

Dr. (Mrs.) Shakti M. Gupta has to be thanked for writing a delightful book on plant myths and traditions in India, describing individual plants with their scientific nomenclature and the myths and stories associated with each one of them as well as usage and traditions peculiar to them. This is a book of immense interest and I am sure it will be welcomed by all those who desire to know the Indian outlook on life in general and on the vegetable kingdom in particular, as an exceedingly important group among sentient objects that won the hearts of their human neighbours. The Dohada, the Vriksharopa, the Pratishta of the Pipal tree, the worship of the Chaityavriksha and other similar beliefs make it essential that the psychological approach towards plants in India should be studied in books like this. I am glad that Dr. Gupta has prepared a very interesting study in the true Indian spirit of affection towards plant life.

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 more than 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 under- stand. The only explanation for their association with religious beliefs can be that these plants, perhaps because of their resemblance to the emblem of a particular deity or the name of a sage associated with them, made the plants sacred. For this reason alone a large number of plants are considered sacred in India, and are called the Bodhi trees as certain sages received enlightenment under them. For instance Aswattha is the Bodhi tree of Sakya Muni or Buddha; Nyagrodha of Kasyapa; Udumbara of Kanak Muni; Sirisa of Krakuchhanda; Asoka of Vipaswi; Pundarika 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 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 distance.

The conservation of plants by worshipping them was very likely an important factor in making them sacred.

There are a large number of plants which are used by people all over India to get rid of the curse of 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 a plant called Dodheri by the Santhals of India is highly valued as its root is given in sickness attributed to witchcraft or the evil eye. Similarly, the nomadic tribes of Rajasthan tie, the leaves of Bilati- sij 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 Pindara is used as protection against Danunkisum, and a necklace made out of its bark, to protect the nursing mother. Similarly the plant Tridhara is supposed to possess power of warding off lightning strokes. Amalaka is a tree sacred to the Hindus and credited with magical pro- perties by the tribesmen. Seeds of Harmala 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. Prisniparni is used as a protection against sorcerers indulging in bringing about abortion. These like Bhela, Tendu and Nirgundi 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 is used in witchcraft against Kshatriyas and for medical purposes. In the Atharvaveda it is described as revertive because it wards off a spell by causing it to recoil on its user.

Though generally speaking the identity of plants with the deities belonged to the tradition of Aryan migration, such as the association of the Soma plant with the moon, a large number of plants that are asso- ciated with the deities belong to the traditional flora of India such as the association of Tulasi and Amalaka with Vishnu; Bilva with Siva and 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 ancient texts. In Matsya Purana' a legend mentions that Parvati planted a sapling of Asoka and the gods asked her the merit of planting trees. To this Parvati replied: "A Vapi is equal in fruit to 10 wells, a pond to 10 Vapis, 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 orchards is also mentioned in Agni Purana.

To the Hindus all plants having the trifoliate arrangement of their leaves like Varuna, are associated with the Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and its leaves are offered to all the three gods. Leaves of Bilva and Mandara also have trifoliate leaf arrangement but are offered to Siva only, the leaves being associated with the trident.

Apart from the above associations, a large number of other plants are also 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 Aparajit are used in religious ceremonies. Flowers for offering to Kali and Hanuman are japa. Inciden- tally this flower is also a favourite one for incantations in evil designs. The wood of Arka is used in homa and its flowers are offered to Siva and Hanuman. Siva is also offered flowers of Dhatura. Flowers of Sehund or Sij are sacred for Manasa, the snake goddess and offered at her temples by the tribal and hill people where snake worship is prevalent, particularly in Bengal and South India. The leaves of the Neem tree are used in the feast connected with the last rites of death by certain tribes of Orissa. The inflorescence of Khadira is used in ceremonies on auspicious occasions like marriages in South India and Gujarat. Kusa ghas is held sacred by the Hindus all over India. The odorous roots of Dhup is used as incense and its flowers are offered at shrines and temples. The sweet scented flowers of Daphne bholua as well as of Guma are offered at temples. The scented wood of Chandana or sandalwood 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 also to augument riches.

In ancient India, an elaborate ritual was laid for each sacred ceremony and plants formed an important niche in the ceremony. At the coronation of Yudhishthira after the battle of Kurukshetra;' "there were golden jars full to the brim with water, also jars made of silver, copper and earth, flowers, fried paddy, Kusa ghas, cow's milk, sacrificial fuel consisting of the woods of Sami, Pipala, Palasa, honey, clarified butter and sacrificial ladles made of Udumbara and conches adorned with gold." Garuda Purana mentions the ritual use of plants. Twigs of sacrificial plants such as Arka, Palasa, Khadira, Aparmarga, Pipala, Udumbara, Sami, blades of Durba and Kusa ghas soaked with curd, honey, clarified butter should be repeatedly cast into the sacrificial fire, in the homa ceremonies which are celebrated for the propitiation of the planets such as the Sun.