DESCRIPTION The Banyan Tree's size and leafy shelter are valued in India as a place of rest and reflection, not to mention protection from the hot sun! It is still the focal point and gathering place for local councils and meetings. India has a long history of honoring this tree; it figures prominently in many of the oldest stories of the nation. A banyan is a fig tree and its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on structures like buildings and bridges or on host tree. "Banyan" often refers specifically to the species Ficus benghalensis, though the term has been generalized to include all figs that share a unique life cycle. Like other Fig species (which includes the common edible fig Ficus carica), banyans have unique fruit structures and are dependent on fig wasps for reproduction. The seeds of banyans are also dispersed by fruit-eating birds. 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE LIVING BEING The Tree Banyan tree is the most common fig tree of the tropical Asia. It is a large tree, spreading with its aerial roots. These roots coming out of the branches are at first as slender as cotton threads, gradually anchored in the ground, which eventually become accessory trunks and support the heaviest branches. The tree has smooth dark grey and variegated bark, which peels in patches. In its younger stages it is often epiphytic, that is, it grows on other trees, which are gradually strangled by its rope-like roots. It can grow too tremendous with and live for hundreds of years. It is fairly drought resistant but susceptible to damage by browsing. Banyan tree is the India's national tree and is so named after the traders or 'banyas' who conducted their business sitting under these trees. In many villages, the panchayat, or the gathering of village elders, takes place under a banyan. Leaves Leaves are broadly oval or elliptical in shape, appear between the month of February and March and sometimes again appear in September to October, leathery, smooth and shining when mature. It is dark, glossy green in colour. The leaf buds are covered by large scales, while the leaves develops the scales fall and leaving a ring round the stem at base of the leaf stalk. Young leaves have an attractive reddish tinge. Flowers The flowers are hidden within the figs. Figs come out in the angle between the leaf axils and the stem or branch; look like cherries; at first they are green and hard, finally they turn red and soft in texture; each fig contains a number of flowers, both male and female flower. Flowers are pollinated by fig wasps. Fruits Fruits - called figs are about 1.8cm in diameter orange-red turning scarlet when ripe. The fig is not a fruit, but it is some sort of pouch or a fleshy receptacle which contains hundreds of flowers. The fig ripen between February and May, when they become bright red and are very popular with birds, bats, squirrels, certain insects and monkeys. The seeds dropped in strange places and start growing from palm tree, gutter or the wall of the house. The tiny plant gets all its food from the air and water and after grow it will destroy the support. 2. GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING According to authorities, the name banyan, was given to a growing tree in the Persian Gulf, under which some banyas or Hindu traders used to assemble for worship and business. Hence, it is sacred to the Hindus and nobody will cause damage. Origin of the tree is not known. It is an evergreen tree with a spreading crown. Banyan is native to the India and Pakistan and is found upto an altitude of 1200 m in the western part of the Indian peninsula, but now it grows widely throughout tropical Asia. Almost all the villages of India, a huge banyan tree provides a meeting place for the community. It is an excellent avenue tree because of its shade. In India it is frequently allowed to grow near houses, temples, banks of the waterbodies, around villages and roadsides. Regardless of its origin, the tree needs lots of space, and the soil must be deep enough to let the roots grow down a long way. It is a large tree of about 20 m. heights with a well developed crown. It can grow in a wide variety of soils and it prefers deep sandy loam with a lot of moisture, it tolerate short spells of drought better than other evergreen species. 3. SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION The banyan tree belongs to the Moraceae commonly known as fig family – one of the most well-known members of the plant families. Members of the genus Ficus are usually treated as separate tribe within the family Moraceae because of their unique inflorescence and wasp-dependent system of pollination. Ficus benghalensis Linn. is the Latin name or binomial name of banyan tree. Classification of Banyan Kingdom : Plantae Division Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order : Urticales Family : Moraceae Genus : Ficus Species : F. benghalensis This tree reaches very large proportions spreading by aerial roots which eventually become accessory trunks; about 200m in diameter. 4. MYTHS AND FOLKTALES The banyan is one of the most familiar trees of India and it is found almost all the villages of country. In India the tree is called the `Kalpavriksha’ ‘tree of immortality’, `tree of eternal life’, and `tree of creation’ by bringing its branches spread on earth to bring blessings to humankind. Various mythological tales and religious texts converse about many Hindu sages and Buddhist monks have sought the meaning of life and attained nirvana under the Banyan tree. The most popular and delightful folk tale is the one of the three good friends, a monkey, an elephant and a partridge who lived under the great banyan tree in the Himalayas. After living in a world of chaos they decide they needed a leader and the partridge emerged the winner. How? His answer to the question on how well he knew the banyan tree was "long ago there grew another great banyan tree far from here. I used to eat the fruits of that great tree. The banyan (Ficus benghalensis) is a huge tree famous for its leafy branches and cool shadow. Some of its branches take roots in the soil and grow out as separate trees. The banyan is the tree of immortality. Even in the time of deluge, when the whole world is flooded with water, it stands out prominently as the eternal tree giving protection to Lord Krishna in his child form. It is mentioned in Aitareya Brahmana that a certain king was asked to drink its milk, leaving aside the juice of the soma plant. In the Remayan of Valmiki-the celebrated sage of Tamasaand in the Uttar Ram Charit of Bhavabhuti, this tree has been mentioned as the undying tree (akshay vat) which was situated on the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati at Prayag (Allahabad), U.P. The descendent of this original immortal tree still stands in the fort at Allahabad. It was believed in ancient and medieval times that suicide committed at this place, by throwing oneself from the top of this tree into the deep waters of the Ganges, will lead to salvation. Hence pilgrims coming on their pilgrimage from different parts of India to this place used to commit suicide here. It is an historical fact that after the death of a certain Rashtrakuta king his queens, nurnbering no less than one hundred and fifty, committed suicide here.1° The Chinese traveller Huan Tsang has mentioned the existence of this tree at Prayag in his travels. It is said that when Satyavan was cutting the branches of this tree, he accidentally stabbed his wife Savitri and she succumbed to her injury. Creation of the banyan tree in India mythology Kashyapa Muni attained enlightenment under this tree (Wilson, Vishnu Purana., p. 166). Buddha is believed to have sat under the banyan tree for seven days, absorbed in his newfound realization after attaining enlightenment (Gupta, 1991). The first Tirthankara of Jaina religion Aadhinatha or Rishabhanatha, who was the founder of Jainism, received his gnyana or perfect knowledge under the banyan tree. Thus, it is also sacred to the Jains (Bhattacharya, 1974). To Hindus the banyan tree is important in socio-religious ceremonies throughout the country and the aerial roots are symbolic of the mattered hair of Dakshinamurthy (Shiva). It is considered as a Kalpavriksha, i.e. a wish-fulfilling tree, and people tie pebbles on it. It is also worshipped by women in memory of Sati Savitri who brought her dead husband to life by worshipping the Nyagrodha or banyan tree (Dagar, 1995). According to Vamana Purana, the banyan tree was created by a yaksha who was the chief of all yaksha ganas. According to Koorma Purana, Shiva lives in this tree and thus its fruits are eaten by the people of Ramyaka Varsha. In India, planting this tree has been a popular custom since ancient days. It is one of the nine trees whose wood is used to feed the sacrificial fire. This tree is specially worshipped on the twelfth day of the Jyestha month (Birdwood, 1986). One who worships the banyan tree is assured of prosperity. RITUALS AND BELIEFS The banyan is symbolic of Lord Shiva and is therefore held sacred. It is also sacred to Vishnu, Brahma, Maheshwara, Kali, Lakshmi, Kubera, yaksha and yakshis (Gupta, 1971). Banyan trees are sacred in South Asia, particularly to Hindus and Buddhists. The tree features in many myths. The tree represents eternal life because it supports its expanding canopy by growing special roots from its branches. These roots hang down and act as props over an ever widening circle, reflecting the Sanskrit name bahupada, meaning 'one with many feet'. Banyan and symbolism In Hinduism the banyan tree represents immortality and there are many stories about it in ancient literature. In a song called the 'Bhagavad Gita' or 'Song of the Lord', Krishna uses the banyan tree as a symbol to describe the true meaning of life to the warrior hero Arjuna. Banyan is viewed by Hindus as the male plant to the closely related peepul or bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa). It is regarded as a sin to destroy either of these trees. It is commendable for a person to plant a young banyan close to a peepul, and is done with a ceremony similar to that of marriage. It is customary to place a piece of silver money under the roots of the young banyan. Banyan is mentioned in the Buddhist Jataka tales. In the tale of Satyavan and Savitri, Satyavan lost his life beneath the branches of a banyan. Savitri courageously entered into a debate with Yama, the God of Death, and won his life back. In memory of this couple, in the month of Jyestha during May and June, the tree is celebrated. Married women visit a banyan and pray for the long life of their husbands. The tree is associated with the life of the 15th century saint Kabir. A giant tree is said to have sprung from a twig he had chewed. People of all religions use its great leafy canopy to meditate or rest. Minor deities such as yakshas (tree spirits), Kinnaras (half-human, half-animal) and gandharvas (celestial musicians) are believed to dwell in the branches on banyan trees. Ghosts and demons are also associated with its branches. Because it is believed that many spirits are harboured in the banyan, people do not sleep under it at night TOTEMS AND TABOOS The Hindus worship the objects like Cobra, holy bull, banyan tree, thorny shami, Tulsi and so on, was originally nothing but Totemism. Big trees like mango, banyan, neem and specially the gomari tree, which is regarded as the totem of the Tiwas tribe or Lalungs of Assam (Bashya, D., Dancing for Mother Nature, The Telegraph, Febraury 16, 2004). Vata-Savitri dry which falls on the Jyestha full-moon they worship a banyan tree or its boughs. Some women in performing this vrata live for three days on fruits, tubers and milk (Maharashtra Gazetteer). The Mandla Kols of central India have a number of totemistic septs. The Bargaiyan are really called after a village called Bargaon, but they connect their name with the bar or banyan tree and revere it. At their wedding a branch of this tree is laid on the roof of the marriage-shed, and the wedding-cakes are cooked in a fire made of the wood of the banyan tree and served to all the relations of the sept on its leaves (R V Russell, R.B.H. Lai, 1995, “The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India”, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi). A village of the Satara district, a family of the Selars who within living memory had the banyan tree as their devak (Abbott, J., 2003, Keys of power: A study of Indian Religion and Belief, Kessinger Publishing). 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. According to W. H. R. Rivers, Veves daughter-clan are then distinguished from each other through secondary and obviously totemic names, such as Shark, Owl, Banyan Tree, Sacred Creeper and so on (The History of Melanesian Society.). The full-moon, day of Jyestha known as Vata-paurnima is observed by married women as a day of fast and prayer by worshipping the banyan tree so that their husbands' lives may be prolonged. In the state of Maharashtra and Pujarat, women worship this tree to honour the memory of Savitri on the 15th day of the dark half of the month of Iyesth (May-June). In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar also women offer their puja (worship) to this tree and recite the story of Bat-Savitri. SACRED AND PROFANE LOCALES OF IMPORTANCE PROVERBS, RHYMES, RIDDLES AND OTHER VERBAL ARTS In South India, there are several popular saying about the Banyan tree: ‘ariven ariven aavilai pulivilaipol irukkum’ – Tamil Proverb (I know, I know (ie., I know it well) the leaf of the banyan tree is like that of the tamarind tree) “Aalum velum pallukkurudhi” – Tamil Proverb The splint of the aala maram (Banyan / Ficus benghalensis) and karuvelan tree (Arabian gum tree / Acacia arabica) gives good in strengthening the teeth). “aalpol thazhaithu arugupol verodi; moongilpol cutramusiyamal vaazhnthiruppeer” May you flourish as an aalamaram (Banyan / Ficus bengalensis), putforth roots and spread as the creeping stems of the arugampul (Bermudagrass / Cynodon dactylon), and prosper being encircled by kinsmen as thickly crowded moongil (Bamboo / Bambusa arundinacea). ’Anda nilalillamal ponalum, per aalala vriksham’ – Tamil Proverb (Though he gives no shade for you to resort to, his name is `Banyan tree’) "As the wide-spreading naygrodha (Sanskrit for banyan) 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 naygrodha germinates from the seed, and becomes just a shoot and then raises into loftiness, so the created world proceeds from Thee and expands into magnitude."- Quote from Vishnu Purana. COMPARE AND CONTRAST WITH THE POPULAR PAN-INDIAN EXPRESSIONS PERFORMANCES AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS The sacred banyan is also useful in a variety of crafts, from lacquer work to to leather dressing. This is a useful product from the lac insect, which feeds on the banyan. Banyan fibres and wood have also been put to use. Lac and shellac One important product is dark brown resin. The resin called lac is secreted by several small insect species which parasitise various host trees. One of the host trees is banyan. Both shellac and lac dye can be produced from this raw material. Shellac is made into a varnish for paper or it is used in French polishing of furniture. Lac dye was traditionally used to colour wool and silk. The colour varies between purple, red, brown and orange, often depending on the mordant used. However, today lac dye has been largely overtaken by synthetic dyes. Now it is the shellac which is valued most in India and the dye is washed away during shellac production. Wood and fibre The wood of the banyan is moderately hard and is not considered to be of much value as timber. It is durable under water and may be used for well curbs, boxes and door panels. When carefully cut and seasoned, it can be used for furniture. The wood of the aerial roots is stronger and more elastic; it is used for tent poles, cart yokes, banghy poles and carrying shafts. This makes the roots useful as carrying poles, cart yokes and tent poles. The aerial roots also make good toothbrushes. In the Economic Botany Collection at Kew there are some partly processed fibres from banyan bark which is ready to make into paper. A modern craft is greeting cards, using banyan leaves as part of the design. South Asian art has featured banyan trees throughout history. One example dating from the 2nd century BC is a stone pillar found in the Vidisha region (now the state of Madhya Pradesh). The pillar is carved in the shape of a banyan tree and is hung with a conch shell, a lotus flower, vases filled with coins and bags tied with string. The tree is enclosed by a latticed railing. This sculpture is believed by some to be the wish-giving tree known as the kalpavriksha featured in the Buddhist Jataka tales. Others consider it to be the sacred tree or sthalavriksha hung with treasures, which is associated with shrines of such deities as Kubera, the God of Wealth. In contemporary India, the banyan is the national tree. Its interlinked roots and branches are often used as a symbol to describe the country's unity within its diversity. Prologue: The very large span in seven of the eight aishvaryas (as different from corresponding siddhis which men attain through sadhana) that Bhagavan possesses is indicated in sloka 90 of the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, along with its significance to the cosmic creation play. Bhagavan is of course Vishnu and Vyapaka, a great spanner of extremes. This sloka has 12 names in it, numbering 839 to 850. 839. Bhagavan is anu: the very first, very minute singularity that was created by his srshtisankalpa. (animaa) 840. He is brhat, huge, the vast expanse of all his creation. (mahimaa) 841. He is krsha: light, weightless. (laghimaa) 842. He is sthoola: vast and expansive in size, reaching out everywhere. (praapti:) 843. He is gunabhrt, holding within himself all the attributes of all his creation. ( Ishitvam) 844. He is nirguna: not having any of the attributes of his creation in his parabrahmasvaroopa, namely before the srshtisankalpa, thus having unlimited ability to do srshti exactly as per his sankalpa (vashitvam) 845. He is mahaan, great, in being able to translate every sankalpa of his into desired result. ( praakaamyam). It is to be noted that garimaa, the eighth aishvarya, namely extreme heaviness or denseness is not indicated separately. The singularity, namely the first creation that expanded, would have after all been extremely dense before it started expanding! There are five other names in the sloka. They are connected to the first seven too. 846. Bhagavan is adhrta: unsupported by any of his creation. Even when he is served it is the serving being that needs him. 847. He is svadhrta: totally self-supported. 848. He is svaasya: highest in status, higher than all muktas 849. He is praagvamsha: before and ahead of the sentient beings he created. The lines of those that would seek him as the Truth formed only because of his sankalpa 850. He is vamshavardhana: He does create and increase these lines of beings, so that some would help others to succeed in finding him as the Truth. It is possible to scale down these aishvaryas to the level of saadhakas who would acquire siddhis. It is possible also to look for and admire the presence of some scaled down divine properties in life forms different from us, considered wrongly by us as inferior to ourselves. Please try to look at the names in the above sloka and to apply them to the huge fig trees of India, for example the banyan tree. Anu can refer to the extremely minute size of the seed, in which form the tree exists to begin with. Brhat refers to its vast size when reasonably grown and growing further. krsha can refer to the slenderness of the shoots and sprouts and the aerial rooters. Sthoola of course indicates the large increase in size that all these undergo. Gunabhrt the tree is, because it has a lot of attributes that enable its growth and its usefulness to beings other than itself. Nirguna can refer to the hidden state of all these attributes in the very small seeds. Mahaan the banyan certainly is. As it grows often without any help from us it is adhrta and svadhrta. Towering above ordinary mortals to great heights, the fig tree is certainly svaasya. One seed accidentally carried in a bird’s aliment or a pilgrim’s dress can populate whole new regions creating vamshas and is thus both praagvamsha and vamshavardhana. Was this in Vedavyasa’s mind when he was in the third quarter of the 88th sloka, that the names of the three largest fig trees of Bharatavarsha spilled out as two names of Bhagavan from Bhishma’s lips, the first one, the 827th in the Sahasranama, nyagrodhodumbara, being a compound word from nyagrodha the banyan and udumbara the cluster fig, and the second, namely the 828th, ashvattha indicating the sacred fig? (Parashara Bhattar (1) explains the 827th name to mean Bhagavan being in an exalted state and being simultaneously available to a being in any low state whatsoever. The 828th name means Bhagavan being the antaryami even in beings which may not have a tomorrow.) Or were the fig trees given these three names because of their divine attributes, by Vedavyasa? Three gentle giants of the Ficus genus or Fig species occur freely in India, growing almost without human effort and making a huge difference to the landscape, · Ficus benghalensis (otherwise known as Ficus indica), · Ficus racemosa (alternately Ficus glomerata) and · Ficus religiosa. Popularly known as banyan, gular and pipal in northern India, these trees go by the names aal, atthi and arasu in Tamilnadu and Kerala. Their formal names in Sanskrit are as already seen, Nyagrodha, Udumbara and Ashvattha. Within the plant kingdom, these trees belong to the class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons, a class of flowering plants generally characterized by having two cotyledons and net-veined leaves, with vascular bundles borne in a ring enclosing pith) in the broad division of Magnoliophyta or angiosperms (angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue namely xylem and phloem, and also ovules, which develop into seeds, enclosed within an ovary, hence the term angiosperm, meaning "enclosed seed." Their flowers put them in the order Rosales or Urticales (like roses). Their fruits place them in the family Moraceae (like mulberries). I mentioned that the fig trees grow almost without human effort. The figs (fruits) are eaten by both birds and mammals. Fig seeds are dispersed by birds such as the Indian Mynas and studies have shown that seeds that pass through the digestive system of the bird are likely to germinate better and to sprout earlier than the ones reaching the ground directly. In the case of banyans, one may read about it in (2) 1. Nyagrodha Ficus benghalensis, also known as Bengal fig, Indian fig, East Indian fig, Indian Banyan or simply Banyan, also as barh/borh, nyagrodha and Vada/Vata , Aal or Peraal, is a species of fig endemic to Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Of the two Sanskrit names, Nyagrodha and Vatavrksha, the latter is understood all over India. The banyan can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. Ficus benghalensis produces propagating rooters which grow downwards as slender, initially leaf-free, vine-like growths. Once these reach the ground, they take root and grow into woody trunks that can become indistinguishable from the main trunk. Hindus believe that the soul of a deceased person needs to be supported in its onward journey towards eventual liberation through the time-honored ritual called shraaddha, which is performed at regular periodicity, and at least once a year by the son of the departed person, with the help of priests versed in the lore. The holy city of Gaya on the Ganga has been held as the most appropriate Shraaddha Kshetra. If the modern Indian finds that he has to make special plans well ahead of time if he needs to go to Gaya, in olden days it would have been still more difficult for a person living in a distant part of India to pack up and proceed to Gaya once every year or more often, after his parents passed away. This must have led to a relaxation through a ritualistic procedure during shraaddhas performed at home or in permitted nearby public places. Thus one meditatively reflects on the shraaddha venue itself as Gaya. The symbolism is confirmed through a respectful ritual-walk consisting of a few steps, first towards the south and then back to starting point, then similarly towards the north and back. While taking the southward steps, the shraaddha-karta believes he is walking towards the Vishnu paada temple in Gaya. (Lord Vishnu as Janaardana is considered shraaddha-samrakshaka, the protector of shraaddhas and is believed to receive offerings during the shraaddha from the karta, along with Lord Brahma, Visvedevas and the ancestors of the karta including the recently departed.) The northward steps are supposed to take the karta to a banyan tree of yore, believed by many to be immortal, and therefore referred to in the Shraaddha texts as Akshayavata. The Vishnupaada shrine and Akshayavata may be visited by Hindus once or more in their life time if feasible, and shraaddha offerings to ancestors made at these two venerable sites. There are conflicting claims that the akshayavata exists slightly north of the Prayag at Allahabad, inside a fort. Kumbhamela pilgrims are allowed into the fort one day in a year to have a look at it, it is reported. What they are shown inside is described differently by different visitors. In any case, any vata tree is sacred to Hindus because of the association with the vatapatrasaayi manifestation of Bhagavan Vishnu, visualized by Rishis on penance mode. When all creation is reabsorbed by him, He is seen lying relaxed on a leaf floating in an ocean of sorts, and the leaf appeared to the Rishis to be a vata leaf. The Dakshinamurti manifestation of Mahadeva Shiva has been described by seers as preferring a vata tree’s shade for his silent teaching sessions. The banyan is therefore considered sacred in India, even when it does not shelter a little or larger temple underneath, and is venerated on its own. It is worshipped especially on a full moon day in summer when the full moon occurs near the last star of the constellation Scorpio but definitely before the beginning of Sagittarius. The banyan is one of the most ‘sheltering’ trees in our tropical country, with a large and soothing shade, and was thus found extremely useful by travelers in olden and even not-so-far-away days, on foot, oxcarts, or for horse riders - traveling for hours or days. Traditionally it was found almost ubiquitously on roads and in village centers, the latter very useful for any formal or informal gathering to be conducted in a cool place or even for any poor person or a traveler to sleep under. The Pandya King Adhiveera Rama, who was known for his didactic verses in chaste Tamil, is known to have wondered, ‘A single seed from a little fruit of the Aal tree (Banyan) is not even as big as the egg of the smallest fish in the pond. It is able, however to grow into a mighty tree which can shelter a royal entourage, complete with large elephants, chariots and elegant horses apart from all the royal attendants! The respect for this and other trees of this nature is thus linked both to the use and the sacred associations. The Indian Banyan is quite appropriately the National tree of India. (3) The Great Banyan in the Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, is considered to be one of the largest trees in the world in terms of area covered. Two other well known large trees of this species are one in UP near Varanasi and another in Karnataka near Bangalore, the latter known locally as Doddamara which in Kannada simply means large tree. The circumference of the whole complex of trees grown from the one central ancestor - still very much alive and all connected to it via the rooters visible well over human height - is measured in kilometers. The Aalamaram (banyan tree) in the Theosophical Society’s premises in Adyar, Chennai used to be a regular place to visit for the young and old at Chennai when I was young. I had the shocking experience of hearing of its death due to a mysterious disease, some twenty years or so ago. On the banks of the Narmada stood a celebrated specimen, supposed to be that described by Nearchus, the admiral of Alexander the Great. This tree is believed once to have covered an area so immense, that it was known to shelter no fewer than 7000 men, and though much reduced in size by the destructive power of floods, the remainder was described by James Forbes (1749-1819) in his Oriental Memoirs (1813-1815) as nearly 2000 ft. in circumference, while the trunks large and small exceeded 3000 in number. (4) Shri L D Kapoor’s CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic medicinal plants (5)has pages devoted to the great Indian figs, and talks about medicinal properties of the banyan bark and some other parts of the tree. In actual practice, however, atthi or gular bark is used more than the other two, and we will read about it in the section that follows on Udumbara (gular/atthi). Meanwhile, it is of interest to note that the encyclopedia refers to the nyagrodha word as the Tibetan rather than Sanskrit name of the tree. It is possible that the nyagrodha word, common to Sanskrit, some Prakrits and Pali would have gone to Tibet too along with the earliest Buddhist pracharaks. The use of small twigs fashioned out of the banyan rooters, with one edge fanned out like a brush by being hammered by a stone, has been prevalent for several centuries in India to clean teeth. The habit persists in some villages even now. Twigs from the vel and the vembu (neem ) trees were also used similarly. In all three cases the exudation from within the twigs was also believed to be beneficial to the teeth. The first line of a couplet in praise of the compositions of the Tamil poets Avvaiyar and Tiruvalluvar refers to this belief when it says the aal and the vel provide strength to teeth. (Aalum velum pallukku urudi) 2. Udumbara Ficus racemosa (syn. Ficus glomerata Roxb.) is popularly known in Australia as the Cluster Fig Tree. This is native to Australasia, South-East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Could it have been a part of the flora at a time when India and Australia were part of the same land mass? The cluster label is because the figs grow in clusters on or close to the tree trunk. The cluster fig serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the butterfly of northern Australia popularly known as the Two-brand Crow (Euploea sylvester). (6) The gular fig fruits are a favorite staple of the common Indian macaque., as indicated in the Wikipedia reference on Ficus racemosa, (7) which also mentions the Vietnamese name sung for the cluster fig. Nick Ray and Wendy Yanagihara, in their book on Vietnam have a glossary which also translates sung as the timber of a fig tree (8). It appears too that a few other fruit go by the name sung in Vietnam. Ayurvedic practitioners in Kerala use a decoction made from the bark of atthi (gular, ficus racemosa) to treat 50 different diseases including syphilis.(9) The preparations further made from the extract are both internally administered and applied externally for different requirements. Keralites and Tamils call this tree atthi and hold that it should not be planted within domestic compounds. As the tree is freely available in rural and urban neighbourhoods, this does not cause any problem of availability. In parts of north India, this tree enjoys an auspicious position and forms a major part of worship and religious festivals. The inspiration could have come from the reference to its sanctity in atharva veda. A hymn extols an amulet made from a small leafy piece broken from a branch of the tree. The hymn (AV xix, 31) goes somewhat this way: The Lord of amulets art thou, most mighty! In thee the Lord of wealth hath engendered riches; These gains are lodged in thee, and all other great treasures. Amulet, conquer thou: far from us banish malignity, indigence and hunger. Vigour art thou, in me too do thou plant vigour: riches art thou, so do thou grant me riches. Plenty art thou, so prosper me with plenty: Great House-holder, hear a householder's petition. (10) The tree is abundant in the northern plains. In the North Indian worship traditions, gular leaves are counted among the five most sacred leaves fit for prayer offerings and prayer hall decoration. Interestingly, four out of these five are figs and the fifth one mango. These include the three giants we are talking about apart from pilkhan (Ficus lacor). (11). There is also the belief that the crown that Raja Harischandra wore was fashioned out of the wood of this fig(udumbara) and set in a circlet of gold. The Raja’s throne too was made of udumbara wood. The king used to climb it respectfully on his knees, meanwhile calling on Devas whom he worshipped to climb it along with him. They obliged him, though unseen. Both the tree and the flower are referred to as the udumbara (Sanskrit, Pali) also in Buddhist lore. (12) Udumbara is sometimes used to refer to the blue lotus (Nila udumbara) flower. The udumbara flower that appears in chapters 2 and 27 of the Lotus Sutra, an important Mahayana Buddhist text, can only be the lotus and not the fig flower. The Japanese word udonge was used by Dōgen Zenji to refer to the flower of the udumbara tree in chapter 68 of the Shōbōgenzō ("Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma‎"). Dōgen places the context of the udonge flower in the Flower Sermon given by Gautama Buddha on Vulture Peak. (12) In historical times both Hindu and Buddhist ascetics on their way to Takshasila, travelling through vast areas of Indian forests used to consume the fruit during their travels. One challenge to vegetarians were the many fig wasps that one finds when opening a gular fig. One way to get rid of them was to break the figs into halfs or quarters, discard most of the seeds and then place the figs into the midday sun for an hour. Gular fruit are almost never sold commercially because of this problem. The goolar (gular) tree does not have the vast ground-span of the banyan, but is still an attractive fig tree with a crooked trunk and a spreading crown. Unlike the banyan, it has no aerial rooters. The most distinctive aspect of this tree is the red, furry figs in short clusters, which grow directly out of the trunk of the tree. Those looking for the flower of goolar should know that the fig is actually a compartment carrying hundreds of flowers. One might wonder how these flowers enclosed in a ball are pollinated. The flowers are pollinated by very small wasps that crawl through the opening in search of a suitable place to reproduce (lay eggs). Without this pollinator service fig trees cannot reproduce by seed. In turn, the flowers provide a safe haven and nourishment for the next generation of wasps. The difficulty in finding flowers on the tree before the fruit clusters appeared had led old time Tamils to think that they stay visible for a very small time and that it is difficult to sight them. Even these days in Tamil Nadu, when a friendly person visits you after a long time, you exclaim, ‘It appears that the Atthi has bloomed!’ As mentioned already, atthi/goolar is a tree commonly found in cities and towns. It has evergreen leaves, if it is close to a water source. Otherwise it sheds its leaves in January. Figs have been traditionally used by children to play. Thin sticks can be joined by inserting them in goolar figs to make interesting shapes. 3. Ashvattha Ficus religiosa or the Sacred fig, also Bo-Tree (from the Sinhala bo) (13) is a species of fig native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, southwest China and Indochina. Has its spread in some of these countries been as unscheduled luggage through itinerant Buddhist travelers from India? It is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to 30 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 3 m. The leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended tip; they are 10–17 cm long and 8–12 cm broad, with a 6–10 cm petiole. The fruit is a small fig 1-1.5 cm diameter, green ripening to purple. It is interesting to look at some of regional names of the sacred fig tree in India: Hindi: pipal (sometimes transliterated as: peepal, peepul, pippala, etc.) (pippala could have been an early alternate Sanskrit name too) Marathi: pimpaL (where L stands for the German ld sound) (close to pippala) Sanskrit: aśvattha vrksha Pali: assattha rukkha (related to the Sanskrit word) Tamil: arasa maram Malayalam: arayal (arayan and arasan both mean king in Tamil and Malayalam) Bengali asbattha, peepal (related to Sanskrit terms) Telugu: raavi, also raagi (raaya in telugu and Kannada also means king) Kannada: arali, ashwattha (the non Sanskrit name resembles the Malayalam name) Plaksha is another possible Sanskrit term for the sacred fig. According to Macdonell and Keith, however, it rather denotes the wavy-leaved Fig tree (Ficus infectoria) (14). In Hindu texts, the Plaksha tree is associated with the source of the Sarasvati River. The Skanda Purana states that the Sarasvati originates from the kamandala of Brahma and flows from a Plaksha on the Himalayas. Vamana Purana (32.1-4) also says that the Sarasvati was rising from a Plaksha tree (Pipal tree) (13). Plaksha Pra-sravana denotes the place where the Sarasvati appears. (Pancavimsa Brahmana, Jaiminiya Upanisad Brahmana, Katyayana Srauta Sutra. Also the Rigveda Sutras, namely Asvalayana Srauta Sutra, Sankhayana Srauta Sutra) (14) The Bodhi tree and the Sri Maha Bodhi propagated from it are famous specimens of the Sacred Fig. The known planting date of the latter, 288 BC, gives it the oldest verified age for any angiosperm plant. The Akshayavata does not have similar data about it, though it could be much older. (Where exactly is the akshayavata?) Ficus religiosa is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, and hence the name 'Sacred Fig' was given to it. Siddhartha Gautama is said to have been sitting underneath a Bo-Tree when he was enlightened (Bodhi), or "awakened" (Buddha). Thus, the Bo-Tree is a well-known symbol for happiness, prosperity, longevity and good luck. Today in India, Hindu sadhus still meditate below this tree, and in Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, the tree's massive trunk is often the site of Buddhist and animist shrines. In Tamilnadu, a large number of these figs called arasamarams are close to sacred ponds and shrines and have an image of Lord Vinayaka under their shade. Naga murtis are also installed and worshipped under the arasu tree. The Sanskrit name ashvattha is used also in Karnataka and the tree is identified with Lord Narayana. Many kannadiga families belonging to different castes like to name newborn male children Ashvatthanarayana. The very air in the shade of an arasu tree is believed in Tamil tradition to act against microorganisms which may prevent or interfere with the progress of pregnancy in women. Married women circumambulate the arasamaram and bow down to it asking for the favour of sat-santaana. Fallen twigs from an ashvattha tree are collected by newly initiated brahmacharis and are used as samit in ritual offerings to the sacred fire. Epilogue: Valmiki’s hero passed through panchavati during his vanavaasa and the vata name must have been the earliest for the mighty banyan. When was it named nyagrodha? Did both Vedavyasa and his proxy, (Bhishma in the recitation of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama) see the divine form of Narayana in the great Indian figs? Were nominal higher and lower statuses accorded to the banyan and the gular and were they named nyagrodha and udumbara? Did the antaryami resident in mortal beings become visible when they looked at the pipal? Ashvattha Narayana is Garbharakshaka Narayana. UdumbaraNarayana is Srshtipaalaka Vaidya Narayana Nyagrodha Narayana is Shraaddhasamrakshaka Narayana. The gentle giants look after us from before birth, through life and beyond death.