Written by London Swaminathan
Date: 9 April 2018
Time uploaded in London – 20-43 (British Summer Time)
Post No. 4899
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There are many famous trees in Tamil Nadu. Some are famous because of its age or due to its holiness. The banyan tree in Adyar, Chennai is famous because of its huge size. It is damaged in several storms.
There are two holy trees in Perur near Coimbatore. They are called Iravap Panai and Piravaap Puli. In Tamil it rhymes very well. The rough translation of the words is The Palmyra Tree that never dies and the Tamarind Tree that is never born.
The story about the Palmyra tree is that its bark is used in medicines which will give one a long-life span. There is another explanation about its never dying nature.
The story about the Tamarind tree is that its seeds never grow. Even if it is sown it never germinates. It looks like both are not tested scientifically. But the belief is strong that the devotees visit the trees when they visit the temple.
There is a philosophical explanation as well. One would never be born again if he sees the Perur Lord Shiva like the Tamarind seed in the temple. And similarly devotees believe that those who worship Lord Shiva at Perur Temple will live for long.
So whether the trees have miraculous properties or not, the philosophy behind the trees teaches more than many philosophical works.
Neem Tree by Lalgudi Veda
In other words, William Wordsworth’s words have come true:
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
Kadamba Tree
Inside the world famous Meenakshi Sundareswar Temple in Madurai, still a tree is preserved inside a fence. It is a Kadamba tree, the local temple tree (sthala Vrksha). Once upon a time Madurai area was a forest of Kadamba Trees and then a Pandya king built a temple in the area when the devotees reported some miracle inside the forest.
Mango Tree Inside Kanchi temple.
At the Ekambareswar temple in Kancheepural there is a livin mano tree which is considred very old. Its age is given between 3500 and 5000 years. Though it is not possible scientifically one tree after another might have been planted using the seeds of the same mango tree.
Vridhachalam: 1700 year old Vanni Tree
In Vridhachaam there is a Vanni Tree inside the Pazamalainathar Temple which is said to be 1700 year old. It is possible they used the same tree for continuous propagation.
Every temple in Tamil Nadu has a holy tree known as the Sthala Vrksha (local Temple Tree). It is heartening to note that Tamils had this custom of cultivating or raising a particular tree in every temple.
Famous Tamarind Trees
I have already written about the famous Tamarind Tree of Nammalvar, another tree associated with Tirumanagai Alvar, real ghost in Tamarind tree according to Sri Anantharama Dishitar and the Tamarind tree associated with Tansen (See below for the links to my old articles.)
Tansen and Tamarind Tree! Ghosts in Tamarind … – Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com/…/tansen-and-tamarind-tree-ghosts-in-ta…
26 Mar 2016 – STORY OF FAMOUS TAMARIND TREES. 1.There is atamarind 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 …
https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/nammalvar/
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 treeat Azvar Tirunagari in the far south of Tamil Nadu. Maran Sadagopan, later known as Nammazvar, one of the …
Trees of Wisdom | Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/trees-of-wisdom/
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 …
sacred trees | Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/sacred-trees/
6 Nov 2017 – The famous Bodhi tree in Gaya (Bihar, India) and its sister trees in Sri Lanka, Tamarind tree of Tansen and Nammalvar, Banyan Tree of Lord Krishna and Panchavati (five Banyan trees) of Lord Rama are some examples. There are hundreds of trees like these throughout India Every Tamil temple has a tree …
tree worship | Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/tree-worship/
The famous Bodhi tree in Gaya (Bihar, India) and its sister trees in Sri Lanka, Tamarind tree of Tansen and Nammalvar, Banyan Tree of Lord Krishna and Panchavati (five Banyan trees) of Lord Rama are some examples. There are hundreds of trees like these throughout India Every Tamil temple has a tree worshipped in its …
Adi Shankara & Alangium hexapetalum | Swami’s Indology Blog
https://swamiindology.blogspot.com/2013/08/adi-shankara-alangium-hexapetalum.html
20 Aug 2013 – Adi Shankara, the greatest philosopher of India uses lot of similes from nature to illustrate Advaita philosophy. In one sloka he used four birds. I have written about it in my earlier post. One of his interesting observations is about a tree called Ankola in Sanskrit, Alinjil in Tamil andAlangium hexapetalum in …
Adi Sankara and Andal | Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com/tag/adi-sankara-and-andal/
But there is a strange coincidence between Andal and Adi Shankara.Andal has
composed two poems Thiruppavai and Nachiar Thirumozi. Adi Shankara mentioned a plant known as Azinjil in Tamil and Ankola in Sanskrit, in his hymn Sivananda Lahari. Though Andal did not mention this plant in her hymn Nachiar …
—SUBHAM—
Tamil and Vedas 