Probably Sibdas Babu would be able to enlighten us. About Joshimath I will anxiously wait for a response. Sometime back there was a link to the Valley of flowers with a beautiful travelogue, and link to pictures which were uploaded on some site. May be he could. Best wishes, akbhatt
On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 7:44 AM, Maitreyee Das <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > Hi Anand ji, > I saw one tree in the old Sankaracharya Math in Joshimath > near Badrinath, which they considered as the Kalpabriksha and hundreds of > years old(!). It was a very exclusive looking tree and belonged to neither > of the trees mentioned by you. If anybody who visited that place can shed > some light in this matter, I will be really grateful to him. There is > another tree in the Kalighat temple ( I saw it in many other temples also > like the famous Dakshineswar temple) in Kolkata which is also considered as > the Kalpabriksha and so everyday thousands of devotees worship it. This is a > big cactus like tree with thorns. For a very long time I was intrigued by > the true identity of this mythological tree. So your discoveries are really > interesting to me. Thank you for sharing them with us. > With high regards, > Maitreyee > > On Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 10:39 PM, Anand Kumar Bhatt <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > wrote: > >> Sometime back there was some discussion on Kalpavriksha, the >> mythological wish-giving tree. I had heard about a book named Plant >> Myths and traditions in india by Ms Shakti Sinha. Luckily somebody told me >> the name of the publisher and I could procure a copy. It is an interesting >> collection of mythology and tribal folklore associated with so many trees. >> Kalpavriksha has been variously associated with several trees according to >> various puranas, and mythological stories. These trees are : >> >> 1. Parijata or Harshingar (Nyctannnthes arbor-tristis) >> 2. Nyagarodha or Bargad….Banyan (Ficus Benghalensis) >> 3. Kadamba (Neolamarckia cadamba). Or is it Kaim (Mitragyna >> parviflora) which is claimed by many to be the real Krishna Kadamba >> 4. Mandara …Indian Coral tree (Erythrina variegata) >> >> >> >> Both Parijata and Mandara came out of the churning of Ocean of Milk >> (Kshirsagar) with Sumeru mountain as the churner, snake Vasuki as the rope, >> and Vishnu as the pivot for the churner in his Kachchap (turtle) avatar. The >> objective of the churn was to procure amrita, the drink of immorality. >> >> >> >> Parijata is the heavenly tree which symbolizes mind. One's desire is >> fulfilled if asked for sitting in its shade according to the mythology. >> >> >> >> Mandara also came out of the churning. Both were planted in Nandan Kanan, >> the garden of Indra. Parijata was taken away by Krishna for his wife >> Satyabhama. Later Mandara was desired by Rukmini and Krishna took that away >> as well. Mandara tree is also considered holy because of the trifoliate >> leaves signifying the trinity of gods, that is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. >> Bilvaptra or Belpatra is also arranged thus, and so is Butea monosperma >> (Palash). A famous saying in Hindi is 'dhaak ke teen paat'. However, mandara >> and bilvapatra are offered to Shiva only. And so far as palash is concerned, >> I do not find any mythology associaated with it, except that its wood can be >> used to make vessels tol store pujan articles and is also used as >> sacrificial fuel. Palash when in bloom is a lovely sight, and as it flowers >> during the time of Holi, the festival of colours, water boiled and cooled >> with palash flowers is used to throw colour at people. >> >> >> >> Ficus Benghaalensis or Nyagrodhais also known as desire fulfilling tree, >> and is supposed to give to the worshipper food and drink, clothes and >> ornaments, children and hold your breath, een beautiful maidens as well. >> Wish I had known earlier! >> >> According to Bhagvad Purana kadamba is Kalpavriksha. Kadamba is >> association of awine which was used to entertain Balram, the incarnation of >> Sheshnaag. However, Kadamba does not exude any juice, but its floeers are >> distilled to make a spirit. Kadambari is another name for wine. The trinity >> of exciting habits kadamb, kamini, kanchan, or sura, sundari, sangram (wine, >> woman and war) is the material for many a mythological story. >> >> Parijata, Palash and Mandara are not preferred as garden plants mainly >> because the trees are nothing much to look at. Banyan is a fine tree but can >> be used only in large parks. Kadamba of course is a graceful tree, but it >> likes humid and cool weather. Although now it has ben acclimatised all over >> the country. >> Sorry if it was boring and didactic. >> akbhatt >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> Anand Kumar Bhatt >> A-59, B.S.F.Colony, Airport Road >> Gwalior. 474 005. >> >> >> >> > -- Anand Kumar Bhatt A-59, B.S.F.Colony, Airport Road Gwalior. 474 005. Tele: 0751-247 2233. 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