Kalpavriksha
Kalpavriksha (Devanagari: कल्पवृक्ष), also known as kalpataru, kalpadruma and kalpapādapa, is a mythological, wish-fulfilling divine tree said to fulfill all desires. It was mentioned in Sanskrit literature from the earliest sources onwards. Sage Durvasa meditated under the Kalpavriksha.
The kalpavriksha originated during the Samudra manthan or "churning of the ocean of milk" along with the kamadhenu, the divine cow providing for all needs. The King of the gods, Indra returned with this tree to his paradise.
A kalpavriksha is mentioned in the Sanskrit work Mānāsara as a royal emblem. In Hemādri's work Caturvargacīntama, the kalpavriksha is said to be a tree of gold and precious stones.[1]
Identification with other trees
Since the kalpavriksha is not a tree of this world, there is no attested Sanskrit source conclusively identifying this mythological tree with any real, known tree. However, Kalpavriksha as a tree of plenty can figuratively refer to a source of bounty.
Different trees are referred to as the Kalpa Vriksha.
- At Mangaliyawas near Ajmer, Rajasthan, there two-revered trees (Male and Female) that are more than 800 years old. Known as Kalpavrikshas, these trees are worshipped on an amavasya day in the Hindu month of Shravan.
- According to the Padma Purana, this tree is the Parijat, another symbolic tree, often identified with the Night-flowering Jasmine (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis).
- At Joshimath in Uttaranchal, renowned as the residence of Adiguru Shankaracharya, there is a large, ancient mulberry tree known locally as the kalpavriksha. This tree is a Morus tree, or mulberry.
- Some persons refer to the Banyan tree as the Kalpavriksha.
- In certain parts of India, especially coastal areas, the Coconut tree is referred to as Kalpavriksha or kalpataru because of its ability to amply provide for human needs.
See also
- Akshayavat, a sacred fig banyan in Hindu mythology
References
- ^ Archaeology and Language IV; Language Change and Cultural Transformation, Edited by Roger Blench, Matthew Spriggs, Routledge 1999