Written by London Swaminathan
Post No. 15,904
Date uploaded in London –22 June 2026
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
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HINDU MONALISA IN SCULPTURE.
Indians from very early times have discovered and realised the mysterious link of sympathy and attraction which exists between plant life and human life. They know that plants also have feelings like human beings.
A well-known verse in Sanskrit illustrates how human reacts with plants:
“The Priyangu creeper blossoms when touched by a woman, the Bakula tree flowers when sprinkled by a mouthful of wine by a woman, the Asoka when struck by a damsel’s foot adorned with anklets, the Tilaka by a mere glance, the Kurabaka when embraced, the Mandara by the cracking of a joke, the Campaka by a meaning and soft smile, the Cuta/mango tree by the breeze blown from the mouth, the Nameru by a song and Karnikara by a woman dancing in front of it. It is however , always a young and beautiful woman alone can exert this benign influence.”
It is also noteworthy that the five arrows of the God of Love (Manmata) with which he subjugates the whole universe are fashioned out of five flowers.
Aravindamasokascha cuusaayakaah tam cha navamallikaa
Nilotpalam cha panchaite panchabaanasya
The Five Flower Arrows
Each arrow represents a specific flower and governs a particular state of emotion or sensory experience:
1. Aravinda (Lotus)
o Associated Emotion: Fascination, exhilaration, or a sense of youthful cheer.
2. Aśoka (Ashoka Flower)
o Associated Emotion: Disturbance or excitement, sometimes causing an outpouring of emotion.
3. Cūta (Mango Blossom)
o Associated Emotion: Delusion or infatuation; “losing one’s mind” to desire.
4. Navamālikā (Jasmine)
o Associated Emotion: Burning desire, anguish, or restlessness.
5. Nīlotpala (Blue Lotus)
o Associated Emotion: Stupor, immobility, or deep, absorbing love.
DEVI HOLDING FIVE FLOWERS.
Thus the human world and the plant world are said to act and react on each other in various ways. This is called Dohada.
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What is Dohada?
Dohada literally refers to the cravings of a pregnant woman and in this context the desire of trees, just before they bloom, for some kind of contact with a woman. Women can thus trigger their flowering by a sort of ritual that varies for each tree.
In classical Sanskrit literature, the Ashoka tree (Saraca asoca) and its relationship with women is a famous motif.
Following verse describes the beautiful, ancient poetic belief that the tree requires the touch of a woman’s foot to bloom.
Apakrīṇāśokaḥ sahate caraṇāhatiṃ sarojadṛśām |Vilasitabakulo vanitāmukhavāsī madyapāta iva ||
“Even the sorrow-less Ashoka tree endures the kick from the lotus-eyed lovely woman’s feet; just like an intoxicated person who is delighted by the fragrance of a woman’s breath.”
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Dohada (दोहद).—[dohamākarṣa dadāti dā-ka] in Sanskrit Dictionary:
1) (a) The longing of a pregnant woman; प्रजावती दोहदशंसिनी ते (prajāvatī dohadaśaṃsinī te) R.14. 45; उपेत्य सा दोहददुःखशीलतां यदेव वव्रे तदपश्यदाहृतम् (upetya sā dohadaduḥkhaśīlatāṃ yadeva vavre tadapaśyadāhṛtam) 3.6,7. (b) The desired object itself.
2) Pregnancy.
3) The desire of plants at budding time (as, for instance, of the Aśoka to be kicked by young ladies, of the Bakula to be sprinkled by mouthfuls of liquor &c.); महीरुहा दोहदसेकशक्तेराकालिकं कोरकमुद्गिरन्ति (mahīruhā dohadasekaśakterākālikaṃ korakamudgiranti) N.3.21;R.8.63; Meghadūta 78; see अशोक (aśoka).
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Kalidasa on Trees
1. The Meghaduta (Kalidasa)
In his famous Khanda-Kavya (lyric poem), Kalidasa uses the dohada of the Ashoka tree to express the sorrow and separation of the Yaksha’s beloved in Alaka.
raktāsokam̉ namayati patāduttamāyāsahastāt
“The red Ashoka bends down under the touch of the foot of the best of women…”
2. The Vikramorvashiyam (Kalidasa)
In this celebrated play, Kalidasa mentions the kurabaka tree which requires the embrace of a woman to bloom. The text is also noted for its early use of Doha (or Duha) verse forms, which are closely related metrical couplets used in Prakrit and Apabhramsha.
ASOKA TREE
3. The Classical Poetic Paradox
In classical Sanskrit drama and poetry, the ultimate wonder for a poet is when spring arrives but these beloved trees bloom naturally, without the instigation of a woman’s foot, voice, or embrace. A well-known anonymous sloka encapsulates this dohada tradition:
nāliṅgitaḥ kurabakas tilako na dṛṣṭo
no tāḍitaś ca caraṇaiḥ sudṛśām aśokaḥ |
sikto na vaktram adhunā bakulaś ca caitre
citram tathāpi bhavati prasavāvakīrṇaḥ ||
नालिङ्गितः कुरबकस्तिलको न दृष्टो
नो ताडितश्च चरणैः सुदृशामशोकः।
सिक्तो न वक्त्रमधुना बकुलश्च चैत्रे
चित्रं तथापि भवति प्रसवावकीर्णः॥
Meaning: The Kurabaka was not embraced, the Tilaka was not looked at, nor was the Ashoka struck by the feet of beautiful-eyed women. The Bakula was not sprinkled with the nectar of a mouth in the month of Chaitra (spring), and yet it is astonishingly covered in blossoms.
8th verse in the vasanta section of the 18th chapter of the Kavirahasya in the Kavyamimamsa – Rājaśekhara
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Kalidasa in Raghuvamsa
Remembering the favour you have done by trampling this Ashoka tree to blossom perfectly, to the chime of jingling anklets, that too impossible to get for other trees, it is mourning for you by shedding flower-tear-rain. [8-63]
स्मरतेव सशब्दनूपुरम् चरणानुग्रहमन्यदुर्लभम्|
अमुना कुसुमाश्रुवर्षिणा त्वमशोकेन सुगात्रि शोच्यसे॥ ८-६३
smarateva saśabdanūpuram caraṇānugrahamanyadurlabham|
amunā kusumāśruvarṣiṇā tvamaśokena sugātri śocyase || 8-63
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Shalabhanjika
This literary concept of the dohada is intimately tied to the Shalabhanjika motif—the depiction of women engaging in garden sports and interacting gracefully with tree branches. It symbolizes the sacred bond of woman and nature.
Tags- Shalabhanjika, Dohada, Plants and women, Five flower arrows,
Kick the trees, Hug the trees, Spit on the trees! They will blossom!
–subham—
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