Tansen and Tamarind Tree! Ghosts in Tamarind Trees! (Post No 2666)

tansen tomb

 

Research Article by london swaminathan

 

Date: 26 March 2016

 

Post No. 2666

 

 

Time uploaded in London :– 16-32

 

( Thanks for the Pictures)

 

DON’T REBLOG IT AT LEAST FOR A WEEK!  DON’T USE THE PICTURES; THEY ARE COPYRIGHTED BY SOMEONE.

 

(for old articles go to tamilandvedas.com OR swamiindology.blogspot.com)

 

puLi,tamarind

STORY OF FAMOUS TAMARIND TREES

 

1.There is a tamarind tree in Gwalior at the tomb of Tansen, the great singer of Moghul period. People believe that whoever chew the leaves of the tree will get a sweet voice. This, they believe due to the presence of the tomb of Tansen.

 

Nammalvar and Tamarind Tree

2.There is another famous tamarind tree at Azvar Tirunagari in the far south of Tamil Nadu. Maran Sadagopan, later known as Nammazvar, one of the 12 great Tamil Vaishnavite saints, was deaf and dumb from his birth. He became very eloquent after 16 years and sang the best verses among the Azvars. His fame was known to the world through another saint named Madurakavi. When he went towards North India in search of a Guru, a beam of light lead him to far south Tirukkurukur (Alwar Tirunagari) where he met Nammazvar. Like Buddha attained wisdom under the Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa), Nammazvar attained wisdom under this tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica).

 

Tirumangai and Tamarind Tree

3.There is one more story of another tamarind tree linked with another Vaishnavite saint known as Tirumangai Azvar. He wanted to refurbish and build a new temple for Vishnu at Sri Rangam. He needed lot of money for it. Someone gave him an idea to plunder the golden Buddha statue at Nagapattinam. When he went there he sang a verse to change it into a statue of base metals and leave the gold cwith him. Thus he got the gold and on his way to Sriranagam, he was very tired and slept under a tamarind tree after hiding the gold under the bush. He ordered the tamarind tree not to sleep during night. Tamarind trees used to close their leaves in the night which the Tamils think they have gone to sleep. He overslept and the farmers came to their fields to plough the land. At once the tamarind tree shed all the leaves on him and woke him up. He thanked the sleepless tamarind tree and went on his way. This happened at Tirukkannankudi.

 

Ghost in Tamarind Trees

4.Like many cultures around the world Tamils also attribute lot of things to trees. There is a common belief that ghosts reside on tamarind trees. So people never sleep under these trees. Though there is no scientific evidence to suggest the bad effects of a tamarind tree, it is believed the acidic leaves never allow other plants to grow under it. Moreover it may emit more carbon di oxide than other trees. During day time it is other way round. Plants take carbon di oxide from the atmosphere and emit oxygen.

tamarind

5.Tamarind Trees that never sleep!

Several temples in Tami Nadu have tamarind trees that never sleep i.e. they never close their leaves during night. Normally they should close. There are two explanations to it. One is that certain type of tamarind trees do not close the leaves like other trees. Another explanation is that it is a miracle of god of that particular shrine.

6.True Ghost story!

Sri Anantha Rama Dikshitar was the most famous religious speaker of yesteryears. He had created his own style of delivery which became very popular. He was a great devotee of Krishna of Guruvayur who cured his disease of leprosy completely. He wrote about the greatness of his forefathers in the 8th part of his book Jayamangala Stotra. Here is a true ghost story:

If a Brahmin commits suicide or involves himself in big crimes he becomes a ghost known as ‘Brahmarakshas’. One of the wealthy families had a big problem from a Brahmin ghost. Wife of one of the rich men of Sengalipuram village was possessed with this particular ghost. The family underwent lot of difficulties due to this. Her husband spent enormous money to drive away this ghost. One famous magician did a big puja and threatened the ghost to leave with some ‘bali’ (sacrifice). Immediately the ghost told him that it did not want anything other than a blessing from the eldest in the family who is known as Big Muthanna. His actual name was Vaidhyanatha Dishitar. All of the family members went to him and begged to come to the spot and ‘bless’ the ghost so that it would be released from the bondage of ghosthood. Though he hesitated to do such non-religious things in the beginning, he came forward to save a family. The ghost immediately told him it would leave the house. The magician asked what proof they would get to know that it had left. It told him that it would leave the tamarind tree at the backyard in the night and they can hear the noise of breaking branches. To every one’s amazement, the ghost left with a big noise in the night and when they went to the garden in the backyard in the morning they saw a big broken branch of the tamarind tree. Then the lady of the house had no ghost problem at all. (This is a rough translation of what Sri Anantharama dikshitar gave in Tamil in his eighth volume of Jayamangala Stotra).

 

 

 

HYMN OF THE GOLDEN AGE

bharati new

This post is in both English and Tamil. Ten verses of Nammalvar are given below in English and Tamil.

பாரதி – நம்மாழ்வார் – கிருதயுகம்!

கட்டுரை எண் 952 தேதி 3 ஏப்ரல் 2014
தொகுத்து எழுதியர் லண்டன் சுவாமிநாதன்

Dawn of Golden Age

Of the Twelve Great Tamil Vaishnavite saints known as ‘Alvars’, Bharati liked Nammalvar and Andal very much. He has translated some of their hymns way back in 1910s. He was greatly influenced by Nammalvar. Alvar’s revolutionary theme of bringing Golden Age (Krta Yuga) in our own time attracted him very much. He wanted to destroy the Iron Age (Kaliyuga) and its associated evils. He wanted to destroy slavery in all forms and attain freedom. Though Nammalvar meant only spiritual freedom in his hymns, Bharati used it for political freedom as well. When Tsar of Russia was dislodged he hailed it as the dawn of Krta Yuga. In three other songs he praised Krta Yuga and swore that he would establish Krta Yuga on earth. No doubt he brought a Golden Age into Tamil literature through his inimitable poetic style. As long as his poems exist there is every possibility of establishing a real Golden Age in India.

பாரதியாருக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த ஆழ்வார் நம்மாழ்வார். கலியுகத்தைக் கொன்று கிருத யுகத்தை மீண்டும் இப்பூவுலகில் கொண்டுவருவேன் என்று ஆழ்வார் பாடியது, பாரதியை மிகவும் கவர்ந்தது. பாரதி புரட்சிக் கவியன்றோ. ஆகவே தனது கண் முன்பே ஒரு யுகப் புரட்சியை உண்டாக்க வேண்டும் என்று அவர் விரும்பியதில் வியப்பொன்றும் இல்லை. கிருத யுகத்தைக் கொண்டுவந்தே தீருவேன் என்ற இக்கருத்து பாரதியாரின் பாடல்களில் பல இடங்களில் பரிணாம வளர்ச்சி பெற்றுள்ளது. ஆயினும் அவரால் கிருதயுகத்தைக் கொண்டு வர முடிந்ததா? என்ற கேள்வி நமக்குள்ளே எழத்தான் செய்யும். ஆம், அவர் கிருத யுகத்தைக் கொண்டு வந்தார் என்றே நான் உறுதிபடச் சொல்லுவேன். தமிழ் மொழி என்னும் உலகத்தில் அவர் ஒரு கிருத யுகம் படைத்துவிட்டார்! அவருக்கு முன் இருந்த காலத்துக்கு ஒவ்வாத கவிதை நடைகளை விலக்கி விட்டு, கவிதை உலகில் ஒரு கிருத யுகத்தைப் படைத்து விட்டார்! அவருடைய பாடல்கள் எதிர் காலத்தில் உண்மையான கிருத யுகத்தைப் படைக்கும் ஆற்றல் பெற்றவை என்பதிலும் இருவேறு கருதுக்கு இடமே இல்லை.

nammalvar

அவர் பாடல்களில் பரிணமிக்கும் கிருதயுகம்: இதோ சில வரிகள்:

பாடல் 1
“மொய்க்கும் கலியை நான் கொன்று
பூலோகத்தார் கண்முன்னே,
மெய்க்கும் கிருத யுகத்தினையே
கொணர்வேன், தெய்வ விஃதியிதே”
பாடல் 2
கிருத யுகத்தினைக் கொணரும் சக்தி இந்து மதத்துக்கு உண்டு என்று ‘ஹிந்து மதாபிமானத்தார் சங்கத்தார்’– என்ற பாடலில் சொல்கிறார்:–

மக்கள் எல்லாம் கவலை என்னும்
ஒரு நரகக் குழியதனில் வீழ்ந்து தவித்து
அழிகின்றார் ஓய்விலாமே
இத்தகைய துயர் நீக்கிக் கிருதயுகத்
தனை உலகில் இசைக்கவல்ல
புத்தமுதாம் ஹிந்துமதப் பெருமைதனைப்
பார் அறியப் புகட்டும் வண்ணம்…………
பாடல் 3

புதிய ருஷியா என்ற கவிதையில் ஜார் சக்கரவர்த்தியின் வீழ்ச்சியில் மகிழ்ச்சி பொங்கப் பாடுகிறார் பாரதி:–
“இடி பட்ட சுவர் போலக் கலி விழுந்தான்
கிருத யுகம் எழுக மாதோ!”
பாடல் 4

சொல் என்ற கவிதையில்
“வலிமை வலிமை என்று பாடுவோம் – என்றும்
வாழும் சுடர்க்குலத்தை நாடுவோம்;
கலியைப் பிளந்திடக்கை யோங்கினோம் – நெஞ்சில்
கவலை இருள் அனைத்தும் நீங்கினோம்” – என்று பாடுகிறார்.

நம்மாழ்வார் பாடல்களை பாரதியார் மொழிபெயர்த்தது, நமக்கு மேலும் சில உண்மைகளையும் காட்டுகிறது. பாரதியாருக்கு ஆங்கில மொழியில் இருந்த நல்ல புலமையும் அதில் எழுதும் துடிப்பு அவருக்கு இருந்ததும் இதில் தெரிகிறது. 1917ஆம் ஆண்டில் எழுதியது இது. நிறைய விஷயங்களை அவர் ஆங்கில மொழியில் எழுதியுள்ளார். ஆனால் அவரது தமிழ் கவிதைகள் என்னும் சூரிய ஒளிக்கு முன்பாக அவரது ஆங்கிலப் படைப்புகள் மங்கிவிட்டன.

இன்னோரு உண்மை ;’பிற நாட்டு நால்லறிஞர் சாத்திரங்களை மொழி பெயர்க்கவேண்டும்’ என்றும் நம்முடைய நூல்களை ஆங்கிலத்தில் மொழி பெயர்க்க வேண்டும் என்றும் பாடியும் எழுதியும் வந்தார். அவரே அதற்கு முன்னுதாரணமாகத் திகழ்ந்ததை நம்மாழ்வார் பாடல் மொழி பெயர்ப்புகள், ரவீந்திரநாத் தாகூரின் பாடல் மொழி பெயர்ப்புகள் காட்டுகின்றன. பன்னிரு ஆழ்வார்களில், அவர் ஆண்டாள், நம்மாழ்வார் ஆகியோரின் பல பாடல்களை மொழி பெயர்த்தார். அதில் பத்துப் பாடல்களை மட்டும் காண்போம்.

ramanujan_nammalvar-hymns
HYMN OF THE GOLDEN AGE
From Nammalvar’s Tiruvaymoli, (August, 1917, Arya)

நம்மாழ்வாரின் திருவாய்மொழி
பொலிக; பொலிக; பொலிக !
போயிற்று வல்லுயிர்ச் சாபம்;
நலியும் நரகமும் நைந்த;
நமனுக்கு இங்கு யாதும் ஒன்றும் இல்லை;
கலியும் கெடும்; கண்டு கொண்மின்;
கடல்வண்ணன் பூதங்கள் மண்மேல்
மலியப் புகுந்து, இசைபாடி,
ஆடி, உழிதரக் கண்டோம்.
1)’Tis glory, glory, glory! For Life’s hard curse has expired; swept out are Pain and Hell, and Death has nought to do here. Mark ye, the Iron Age shall end for we have seen hosts of Vishnu; richly do they enter in and chant His praise and dance and thrive.

கண்டோம், கண்டோம், கண்டோம்;
கண்ணுக்கு இனியன கண்டோம்;
தொண்டீர்; எல்லீரும் வாரீர்;
தொழுது தொழுது நின்று ஆர்த்தும்;
வண்டு ஆர்த் தண்ணந் துழாயான்
மாதவன் பூதங்கள் மண்மேல்
பண்தான் பாடி நின்று, ஆடி,
பரந்து திரிகின்றனவே.
2)We have seen, we have seen, we have seen, …… seen things full sweet in our eyes, come, ye all lovers of God, let us shout and dance for joy with oft-made surrendering. Wide do they roam on earth singing songs and dancing, the hosts of Krishna who wears the cool and beautiful Tulsi, the desire of the bees.

திரியும் கலியுகம் நீங்கி,
தேவர்கள் தாமும் புகுந்து
பெரிய கிருதயுகம் பற்றி,
பேரின்ப வெள்ளம் பெருக,
கரிய முகில் வண்ணன், எம்மான்,
கடல்வண்ணன் பூதங்கள் மண்மேல்
இரியப் புகுந்து, இசை பாடி
எங்கும் இடம் கொண்டனவே.
3)The Iron Age shall change. It shall fade, it shall pass away. The gods shall be in our midst. The mighty Golden Age shall hold the earth and the flood of the highest Bliss shall swell. For the hosts of dark hued Lord , dark hued like the cloud, dark hued like the sea, widely they enter in, singing songs and every where they have seized on their stations.

இடம்கொள் சமயத்தை எல்லாம்
எடுத்துக் களைவன போலே,
தடம் கடல்-பள்ளிப் பெருமான்
தன்னுடைய பூதங்களேயாய்,
கிடந்தும், இருந்தும், எழுந்தும்,
கீதம் பலபலப் பாடி,
நடந்தும், பறந்தும், குனித்தும்,
நாடகம் செய்கின்றனவே.
4)The hosts of our Lord who reclines on the sea of Vastness, behold them thronging hither. Me seems they will tear up all these weeds of grasping cults. And varied songs do they sing, our Lord’s own hosts, as they dance, falling, sitting, standing, marching, leaping, bending.

செய்கின்றது என் கண்ணுக்கு ஒன்றே
ஒக்கின்றது – இவ்வுலகத்து
வைகுந்தன் பூதங்களேயாய்,
மாயத்தினால் எங்கும் மன்னி;
ஐயம் ஒன்று இல்லை; அரக்கர்
அசுரர் பிறந்தீர் உள்ளீரேல்
உய்யும் வகை இல்லை, தொண்டீர்!
ஊழி பெயர்த்திடும் கொன்றே.
5)And many are the wondrous sights that strike mine eyes. And if by magic Vishnu’s hosts have come in firmly placed themselves everywhere. Nor doubt it, ye fiends and demons, if such be born in our midst, take heed! Ye shall never escape. For the spirit of Time will slay and fling you away.
nammalvar__makers_

கொன்று உயிர் உண்ணும் விசாதி,
பகை, பசி, தீயன எல்லாம்
நின்று இவ்வுலகில் கடிவான்,
நேமிப்பிரான் போந்தார்;
நன்று இசை பாடியும், துள்ளி
ஆடியும் ஞாலம் பரந்தார்;
சென்று, தொழுது, உய்மின்; தொண்டீர்!
சிந்தையைச் செந்நிறுத்தியே.
6)These hosts of the Lord of the Discus, they are here to free this earth of the devourers of Life, Disease and Hunger, vengeful Hate and all other things of evil. And sweet are their Songs, as they leap and dance, extending wide over earth, go forth, ye lovers of God, and meet these hosts divine; with right minds serve them and be saved.

நிறுத்தி நும் உள்ளத்துக் கொள்ளும்
தெய்வங்கள் உம்மை உய்யக் கொள்
மறுத்தும் அவனோடே கண்டீர்;
மார்க்கண்டேயனும் கரியே;
கறுத்த மனம் ஒன்றும் வேண்டா;
கண்ணன் அல்லால், தெய்வம் இல்லை;
இறுப்பது எல்லாம் அவன் மூர்த்தி –
யாயவர்க்கே இறுமினே.
7)The Gods that ye fix in your minds, in His name do they grant you deliverance. Even thus to immortality did the sage Markanda attain. Let none be offended, but there is no other god but Krishna. And let all your sacrifices be to them who are but his forms.

இறுக்கும் இறை இறுத்து, உண்ண,
எல் உலகுக்கும் தன் மூர்த்தி
நிறுத்தினான் தெய்வங்கள் ஆக;
அத் தெய்வ நாயகன் — தானே;
மறுத் திரு மார்வன் அவன் – தன்
பூதங்கள் கீதங்கள் பாடி
வெறுப்பு இன்றி, ஞாலத்து மிக்கார்;
மேவித் தொழுது, உய்ம்மின் நீரே.
8)His forms he has placed in the various worlds as Gods to receive and taste the offerings due. He, our divine sovereign, on whose mole-marked bosom the Goddess Lakshmi rests – his hosts are singing sweetly and deign to increase on earth. O men, approach them, serve and live.

மேவித் தொழுது உய்ம்மின் நீர்கள்;
வேதப் புனித இருக்கை
நாவில் கொண்டு, அச்சுதன்—தன்னை
ஞானவிதி பிழையாமே
பூவில் புகையும் விளக்கும்
சாந்தமும் நீரும் மலிந்து,
மேவித் தொழும் அடியாரும்
பகவரும் மிக்கது உலகே.
9)Go forth and live by serving our Lord, the deathless one. With your tongues chant ye the hymns, the sacred Riks of the Veda, nor err in the laws of wisdom. Oh, rich has become this earth in the blessed ones and the faithful who serve them with flowers and incense and sandal and water.

மிக்க உலகுகள் தோறும்
மேவி, கண்ணன் திருமூர்த்தி
நக்க பிரானோடு அயனும்
இந்திரனும் முதலாகத்
தொக்க அமரர் குழாங்கள்
எங்கும் பரந்தன; தொண்டீர்;
ஒக்கத் தொழ கிற்றிராகில்,
கலியுகம் ஒன்றும் இல்லையே.
10) In all these rising worlds they have thronged and wide they spread, those beauteous forms of Krishna – the unclad Rudra is there, Indra, Brahma, all. The Iron Age shall cease to be – do ye but unite and serve these.
நம்மாழ்வார் திருவாய்மொழி

Please read the related articles posted already in this blog:

Post No.915 ‘Nammalvar by Bharatiyar’ (posted on 18-3-14)

Contact swami_48@yahoo.com

Vaishnavite Saint NAMMALWAR

Nammalvar Tamil Poet

Post no 915 date 18th March 2014

(The Supreme Vaishnava Saint and Poet)
By C .Subrahmanya Bharati
(July 1915, ‘Arya’)

Maran, renowned as Nammalwar (“Our Saint”) among the Vaishnavas, and the greatest of their saints and poets, was born in a small town called Kuruhur in the southern most region of the Tamil country – Tiru – nel –veli (Tinnelvelly). His father, Kari, was a petty prince who paid tribute to the Pandyan King of Madura. We have no means of ascertaining the date of the Alwar’s birth, as the traditional account is unworthy and full of inconsistencies. (See my comments at the bottom:-swami)

We are told the infant was mute for several years after his birth. Nammalwar renounced the world in early life and spent his time, singing and meditating on God, under the shade of a tamarind tree by the side of the village temple. It was under this tree he was first seen by his disciple, the Alwar Madhura Kavi – for the latter is also numbered among the Great Twelve –“lost in the sea of Divine Love”. Tradition says that while Madhura –kavi was wandering in North India as a pilgrim, one night a strange light appeared to him in the sky and travelled towards the south. Doubtful at first what significance this phenomenon might have for him, its repetition during three consecutive nights convinced him that it was a divine summons and where this luminous sign led, he must follow. Night after night he journeyed southwards till the guiding light came to Kuruhur and there disappeared.

SwamiNammazhwar

Learning of Nammalwar’s spiritual greatness he thought that it was to him that the light had been leading him. But when he came to him, he found him absorbed in deep meditation with his eyes fast closed and, although he waited for hours, the Samadhi did not break until he took up a large stone and struck it against ground violently. At the noise Nammalwar opened his eyes, but still remained silent.

Madhura –kavi then put to him this enigmatical question, “If the little one (the soul) is born in to the dead thing (Matter), what will the little one eat, and where will the little one lie?”. To which Nammalwar replied in an equally enigmatic style, “That will it eat and there will it lie”.

Subsequently Nammalwar permitted his disciple to live with him and it was Madhura –kavi who wrote down his song as they were composed. Nammalwar died in his thirty fifth year, but he has achieved so great a reputation that the vaishnavas count him an incarnation of Vishnu himself, while others are only the mace, discus, conch etc., of the Deity.

From the philosophical and spiritual point of view, his poetry ranks among the highest in Tamil literature. But in point of literary excellence there is a great inequality; for while some songs touch the level of the loftiest of the world poets, others, even though rich in rhythm and expression, fall much below the poet’s capacity. In his great work known as Tiru – vay – moli (The Sacred utterance)which contains more than a thousand stanzas, he has touched all the phases of life divine and given expression to all forms of spiritual experience. The pure passionless Reason, the direct perception of the high solar realm of Truth itself, the ecstatic and sometimes poignant love that leaps in to being at the vision of “Beauty of God’s Face”, the final Triumph where unity is achieved and “I and my father are one” – all these are uttered in his simple and flowing lines with a strength that is full of tenderness and truth.

tamarind tree

Tamarind Tree at Alwartirunagari (Kuruhur)

The lines which we have translated are a fair specimen of the great Alwar’s poetry; but it has suffered considerably in the translation, — indeed the genius of Tamil tongue hardy permits of an effective rendring, so utterly divergent is it from that of the English language.

A footnote about the enigmatical question and answer:

The form of the question reminds one of Epictetus’ definitions of man, “Thou art a little soul carrying about a corpse”. Some of our readers may be familiar with Swinburne’s adaptation of the saying, “ A little soul for a little bears up the corpse which is man”.

Source: AGNI and other Poems and Translations & Essays and Other Prose Fragments, C.Subrahmanya Bharati, Madras, Year 1980.

My comments: Bharati has translated some of the poems of Nammalwar and Andal. I will give them separately. Regarding the age of Alwars, Wikipedia gives fanciful dates around 4000 BC!!!!
Nammalwar is placed in the later part of the ninth century AD by the historians.

Contact swami_48@yahoo.com

Magic of Trees!

Picture shows Newton under Apple Tree

 

Hindu Saints composed Upanishads under the Himalayan Trees

Buddha attained wisdom under the Bodhi Tree

Vaishnavite saint Nammalvar attained wisdom under a Tamarind tree

Sanatkumaras attained wisdom under the banyan tree

Saivaite saint Manikkavasakar attained wisdom under a Kuruntha Tree

Sita Devi saw Hanuman under Asoka Tree

Hanuman lives under Parijatha Tree

Plato and Aristotle attained wisdom in the Olive groves of Greece

Issac Newton discovered Laws of Gravity under an Apple tree!

From time immemorial Hindus have been worshipping trees of wisdom .Three trees from the same genus Ficus  (belongs to the family Moraceae) have been mentioned in the Vedas, Upanishads and later Hindu scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu Sahsranama etc. They are Banyan Tree, Peepal tree and Udumbara tree. Brahmins performed their fire rituals (Yagas, Yagnas, Havans and Homas) with particular types of wood only- mostly Peepal ( also known as asvaththa, Bodhi ). Tamils called this peepal tree as the King of Trees (Arasa maram). They installed gods’ statues under Peepal or Banyan (Arasu and Aal in Tamil அரச, ஆல மரம்) only. Krishna says he is Asvaththa among the trees in Bhagavad Gita. Buddha who was born a Hindu followed the Vedic tradition and did his penance under this tree.

Hindus used these trees for some scientific reasons. More the leaves, more oxygen they produce in the day time. Ficus Indica (Banyan tree) and Ficus religiosa (peepal/aswaththa) are huge and produce more oxygen, so as Ficus glomerata (udumbara in Sanskrit and Aththi in Tamilஅத்தி). Sangam Tamil literature and Gatha Sapta Sati (Prakrit book of verses) describe the gods under these trees. Some of the trees themselves were considered sacred. Wood Nymphs are also described in these literatures. Sanskrit literature goes one step ahead and speaks about ‘love with the trees’. (The botanical terms for these plants are given at the bottom):

Picture shows Sanatkumaras and Lord Shiva under Banyan Tree

 

If you touch Saptaparna (ஏழிலைப் பாலை), it will bloom

If you taste Makizam (மகிழம்), it will bloom

If you scold (tiff) Pathiri (பாதிரி), it will bloom

If you laugh to Mullai (முல்லை), it will bloom

If you dance around Punnai (புன்னை), it will bloom

If you hug Kura (குராபக), it will bloom

If you kick Asoka (அசோகு), it will bloom

If you sing to Kurukkaththi (குருக்கத்தி), it will bloom

If you look at Mara (மரா), it will bloom

If your shadow touches Shenpaka செண்பகம், it will bloom.

Picture shows Sita under Asoka Tree

Paalai= Wrightia Tinctoria or Alstonia Scholaris; Makizam= Mimusops eEengi; Paathiri =Stereospermum Suaveblens; Mullai= Jasminium Auriculatum; Punnai= calophyllum inophyllum; Kura= holarrhena antidysenterica; Asoka = Saraca Indica; Kurukkaththi= Hiptage Madabloata; Mara=Shorea Talura; Shenpakam= Michelia Champaka.

Veppa maram=Azadirachta Indica

Puliya maram= Tamarindus Indica

Picture shows Kuruntha Tree and Saint Manikkavasakar

(Kanchi Shankaracharya, Paramacharya swamikal who attained Samadhi at the age of 100, had said the above in one of his lectures. Greatest of the Indian poets, Kalidasa, refers to these trees in several places.)

Great Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar added one more to this list Anicham flower that is not satisfactorily identified yet. If you smell it, it withers.

Udumbara/Aththi/Ficus glomerata: This tree was worshipped by the Romans according to the Bible. North Indians worship it as Dattatreya.

There are hundreds of golden sayings about trees in our scriptures:

“Asvattha  is the manifestation of Vishnu, Palasa (Butea Monosperma)of Brahma, Nyagrodha (banyan) of Shiva and Udumbara of Yama”—Mahabharata (Xiii-1-49-101)

Recently India has started exporting Neem (margosa வேம்பு) tree leaves to Japan for its medicinal properties. Japanese drink neem based water instead of green tea.Tamils have been using Neem (Veppa Maram in Tamil வேப்ப மரம்) for ages to stop the virus of small pox. If one takes it from young age in the prescribed quantity, even snake bite wouldn’t affect the person. One kilo neem leaves fetch Rs100.

Red sandal wood is exported to Japan for nuclear plants. They stop the radiation spreading like the metal lead. Sandal’s cooling effect is praised by Tamil and Sanskrit literature.

Picture shows Nammalvar under Tamarind Tree

Scientific facts: 121 Drugs from plants!

Different size trees produce different amount of oxygen. It differs from 200 pounds to 400 pounds per tree a year. Man of average size consumes 400 pounds oxygen per year. Ocean algae ( Katal Paasi in Tamil கடல் பாசி) produces 90 percent of world’s oxygen!

Tropical forests are considered “Lungs of Earth”. The US National Cancer Institute has identified 3000 plants that are active against cancer cells. 121 prescription drugs sold today are produced from plants. Vincristine, extracted from the plant Periwinkle is one of the worlds most powerful anti cancer drugs.

Trees help us to fight cancer, small pox, may be even AIDS. Let us respect, worship and save TREES.

A Sanskrit sloka describes the relationship between the women and the trees. It is slightly different from the list given above:

Nalinkithak kuraapakas thilako na drushto

No thadithscha charanai sudrasaam asoka:

Siktho na vakthram athunaa bahulaas cha saithre

Chitram thathaapi bhavathi prasava avakirna

Picture shows a tree hugger

Meaning: பெண்கள் உதைத்தால் பூக்கும் அசோக மரம், பெண்கள் சிரித்தால் பூக்கும் செண்பக மரம், பெண்கள் பேசினால் பூக்கும் நமேரு மரம், பெண்கள் தழுவினால் பூக்கும் குராபக மரம், பெண்கள் பார்த்தால் பூக்கும் திலக மரம்).

Read my earlier posts on trees: Indian Wonder: 1.The Banyan Tree (Hindus worship Banyan Trees);  2.இந்திய அதிசயம்: ஆல மரம்; 3.ஒன்றுக்கும் உதவா உதிய மரமே 4.நெல்லிக்காய் மகிமை; அவ்வையாரும் ஆல்பிருனியும் அருணகிரிநாதரும் 5.பொம்பளை சிரிச்சா, உதைச்சா, பார்த்தா போச்சு 6.இளநீர் மகிமையும் தென்னையின் பெருமையும் 7.கலித்தொகையில் ஒரு அதிசயச்செய்தி 8. Lie detectors in the Upanishads 9. Three Apples that Changed the World 10. Two Mangoes that changed the Tamil World 11.வியப்பூட்டும் அதிசய மரங்கள்

Pictures are taken from various websites. Thanks. contact: swami_48@yahoo.com

**************