From: Vrin Parker Mailing-List: list vediculture@yahoogroups.com Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 06:53:12 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [world-vedic] PARIJATA PARIJATA: This plant is no longer available on earth. It was a divine plant that grew in the gardens of Indralok. It became a source of tension between Indra and Krishna, and Lord Krishna finally brought this plant to earth on the request of his consort Satyabhama. This plant is said to have again ascended to Indralok when Lord Krishna left for his heavenly abode. The legend is as follows: Indra planted the Parijata tree, one of the products of the churning of 'Ocean of Milk', in his garden. Narada, who delighted in sowing discord, brought a flower of this tree to Dwaraka and presented it to Krishna. He waited to see to which of his wives Krishna would give the flower. Krishna gave it to Rukmini whereupon Narada went straight to Satyabhama, Krishna's other consort wearing a sorrowful look. On her enquiry why he was sad, the sage replied that he had presented Krishna with a flower of the Parijata tree thinking that he would present it to her, his favorite wife, but was grieved to find that he had given it to Rukmini instead. Satyabhama's jealousy was roused, and she asked Narada as to what could be done to spite Rukmini. The sage advised her to ask Krishna to bring the Parijata tree itself to Dwaraka, and plant it near her abode. After giving this advice he went back to the celestial region, and informed Indra that thieves were about, and that he should guard Parijata tree with care. Satyabhama repaired to the 'anger chamber' and when Krishna came to her and tried to console her, she replied she would not be satisfied with anything less than the Parijata tree itself. Krishna proceeded to Amrawati with Satyabhama, stole into Indra's garden and uprooted the Parijata tree. Mounted on Garuda, he escaped with the tree but Indra, warned by Narada, followed him. A battle followed and Indra was defeated and Krishna brought the tree to Dwaraka. Now he had to face the problem of fulfilling his promise to Satyabhama without offending Rukmini. He solved the problem by planting the tree in such a position that while its base and trunk lay within Satyabhama's garden, its branches extended over the adjoining palace of Rukmini, scattering flower early in the morning. N.B. The parijata tree is believed to be 'Har Singar' (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) which shed its flowers at nighttime when they exhale exquisite fragrance. From: Vrin Parker Mailing-List: list vediculture@yahoogroups.com Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 06:41:50 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [world-vedic] Stories of Parijata: Tree of Heaven http://members.aol.com/parijata/parijata.html Part 2: Stories of Parijata by Christopher McMahon. somanath@aol.com With regards to the parijata tree this story is often narrated in certain communities. Once a royal princess fell in love with the sun god-Surya Dev. She was enamored of his brilliance and beauty as he daily passed through the sky from east to west in his fiery chariot. Her devotion attracted his attention and for a while he favored her with his attention but after awhile he was distracted with other interests and she was deserted. In despair she killed herself and from her cremated ashes the parijatak tree arose. Since she was rejected by Surya Dev, the flowers of the tree only bloom at night. Then before the sun rises the flowers fall so its rays will not strike her. Based on this story the tree was given the species name 'arbortristis' which means 'tree of sorrow'. Another story surrounding the trees' origin is found in several ancient Indian scriptures called the Puranas. It is said that when the celestial beings, at the behest of Hari-the Preserver of the Universe, churned the cosmic ocean to obtain certain boons that would help alleviate suffering and protect the powers of good from the powers of evil one of the parijatak tree appeared as one of the divine treasures. Its perfume was said to permeate the entire universe. Because the tree holds such a elevated place in India's sacred lore, the tree is revered by devote Hindus. The story, on one level, clearly illustrates that trees, flowers and fragrance represent some of the finest boons for humankind. After the parijatak tree emerged from the ocean of existence it taken to the heaven worlds and planted in the pleasure garden of Indra - the lord of the gods. One day a great sage of ancient times named Narad Muni in his meditations visited this garden and saw this lovely tree emitting its divine perfume. Using his yogic powers he gathered up some of these ethereal blossoms and brought them back to the physical plane and gave them to Rukmini, the favorite wife of the renowned avatar of Vishnu, Lord Krishna, who was at that time dwelling in Dwaraka in north India. The flowers were so lovely and the fragrance so delicate that Satyabhama, another wife of Lord Krishna, became desirous of possessing that celestial tree and having it planted in her own garden. She was jealous of the attention Krishna was showing to Rukmini and wanted him to give more time to her. She implored him to obtain the tree for her. To satisfy her desire he entered into a state of deep meditation and in that state plucked up the tree from the garden. Before leaving that place he was accosted by the keepers of the garden and was told he would incur the wrath of Indra as the tree belonged to his wife Sachi. But Satyabhama would not be put off by any obstacle and said that the tree was the common property of all and had as much place on earth as it had in the heavens. As a result Krishna waged a great war with Indra and his celestial army. In the end Krishna's strength prevailed and Indra was forced to retreat. At that time Satyabhama taunted him as being a coward but decided to give back his celestial tree. Krishna also consented to return the tree to its celestial abode. But Indra said that there was no shame in being defeated by the avatar of Vishnu and that the tree should be taken to earth and planted in Dwaraka where its fragrance could be enjoyed by all the people of the earth. Thus the first parijatak tree was planted and its divine fragrance was said to spread for three furlongs. Its aroma was charged with so much power that it would help people enhaling it to remember events of their past lives. In this instance also we can see that the sages were explaining to the people that fragrance was a valuable means of accessing stored memories. In the East memory has a much more comprehensive meaning than in the West as it can include past lives as it is believed that the soul takes countless births on its journey to perfection but the same basic principle is explained in this story as is encountered in western literature regarding how fragrance stimulates memories of past events in one's life. The above mentioned stories come down to us out of India's rich cultural and spiritual heritage and are charged with tremendous meaning. The key to understanding can only be obtained by deep thought and contemplation and even this process may not totally unlock their secret as much is lost in translation or in change in the story over a period of time. Still, on a very basic level we can say that sages were trying to create in the minds of the people a powerful remembrance of the plants that surrounded them so that they would learn to observe them minutely and learn to love and appreciate them. If a person could be encouraged to do this then they would definitely learn that every created object had numerous qualities that could prove beneficial in the form of foods, medicines, condiments, construction materials, cosmetics, and the like. Knowing this a simple hearted person would want to nourish, protect and propagate such plants so that their would be a constant supply of its beneficial products for one and all to use. It is in this way that a refined social consciousness was developed that did not depend on any external agencies but rather on the individual's efforts to keep the environment healthy and intact. To return to the main page type in this URL: http://members.aol.com/somanath/fragrant.html Copyright (C) 1998 by Christopher McMahon. All rights reserved. somanath@aol.com