Riya Sen [Guru] Reward Points : 93800 Member Since : Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Parijat is considered as a divine tree and also known as the sad tree . Parijat is also used in making different face pack , as it procures a gaudy shine to the face and gives guaranteed remedy to a variety of skin ailments. I want to know more about the flower and its uses. It is believed that Lord Krishna brought this heavenly tree to earth. What is the myth or history behind this?
Posted On : 4/7/2009 2:10:25 AM
Siddharth Ray Reward Points : 61200 Member Since : Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Interesting question Rituporna...The myth follows for you... When Krishna s wife Satyabhama saw the Parijat tree, she was fascinated by it. Krishna had no other alternative but to get it from heaven. But this was not easy and he had to fight a fierce battle with Indra, the king of the heaven. Finally, Indra allowed Krishna to take the tree back with him. Krishna brought the tree to his capital city of Dwarka and planted it near Satyabhama s palace. However, his other queen, Rukmini, was dearer to him. She was jealous and Krishna had to ask Narad to bring some Parijat flowers from heaven which he presented to Rukmini. But Rukmini was still angry. So Krishna had to devise a trick. Although the tree remained near Satyabhama s palace, its flowers began to fall in front of Rukmini s palace. Parijat flower have four to eight petals arranged above a vibrant orange tube in a pinwheel pattern. These highly fragrant flowers open at night spreading their fragrance in the surrounding area with an intensely sweet floral aroma. Just as the dawn breaks, they drop one by one, forming a carpet of snow-white petals, an enchanting sight that can take anyone s breath. These flowers blossom between August to December. In India, Parijat grows in the outer Himalayas at the height of about 1400 meters, and are found in tracts of Jammu & Kashmir, Nepal to East of Assam, Bengal, Tripura extended through the Central region up to Godavari in the South. Besides India, they are found in Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Pakistan. Parijat flowers are also used in making different face pack , as it procures a gaudy shine to the face and gives guaranteed remedy to a variety of skin ailments. The scent of the flower is so fresh that its aroma is captured for making agarbati and attar . In Asia, the orange colour of the flower is often used to dye the silk and cotton clothing for Buddhist monks. In north east India especially in Assam these flowers are sold in the vegetable markets and people buy them for its medicinal values. They make a soup of these flowers and take it the morning for robust health.
Considered to be a divine tree, Parijat is not without its share of tales of its romantic origin. Close to the heart of the lovers that of a princess Parijataka , who was in love with the sun. She tried a lot to win the heart of Sun, but when he rejected her she committed suicide and a tree sprung from her ashes. Unable to stand the sight of the lover, the tree flowers only at night and sheds them like tear drops before the sun rises. That is how they are, even today Parijat is also known as Harsinghar in Hindi and Shefali in Bengali. It bears the botanical name of Nycatanthes Arbortristis. Nyctanthes which means night flowering and Arbortristis means The sad tree or The tree of sorrow as in the early morning when it has dropped its flowers, the tree appears to look sad. Flower lovers wake up in the early morning to collect them and generally place them in a flat dish to make their rooms fresh and fragrant. Parijat flower have four to eight petals arranged above a vibrant orange tube in a pinwheel pattern. These highly fragrant flowers open at night spreading their fragrance in the surrounding area with an intensely sweet floral aroma. Just as the dawn breaks, they drop one by one, forming a carpet of snow-white petals, an enchanting sight that can take anyone s breath. These flowers blossom between August to December. In India, Parijat grows in the outer Himalayas at the height of about 1400 meters, and are found in tracts of Jammu & Kashmir, Nepal to East of Assam, Bengal, Tripura extended through the Central region up to Godavari in the South. Besides India, they are found in Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Pakistan. There is no doubt that a garden looks empty without Parijat. It contributes to the distinctive beauty of a garden. Parijat also has medicinal properties. The juice of its leaves is bitter and saline in taste and provides effective relief in the treatment of several types of inflammation and fever including malaria, the intermittent fever, common cough and cold. It also provides an assured remedy for various body disorders ranging from common cough and cold to arthritis and sciatica. The juice of its leaves when mixed with little sugar is a good medicine for treatment of stomach ailments of children. Its flowers, though bitter in taste act as appetizer and soothe the stomach. In the treatment of skin diseases and constipation, the seeds of the Parijat tree are used.
Posted On : 4/8/2009 1:52:36 AM
Maniam PS [Guru] Reward Points : 142500 Member Since : Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Night-flowering Jasmine is a species of Nyctanthes, native to southern Asia, from northern Pakistan and Nepal south through northern India and southeast to Thailand. It is a shrub or a small tree growing to 10 m tall, with flaky grey bark. The leaves are opposite, simple, 6-12 cm long and 2-6.5 cm broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are fragrant, with a five- to eight-lobed white corolla with an orange-red centre they are produced in clusters of two to seven together, with individual flowers opening at dusk and finishing at dawn. The fruit is a flat brown heart-shaped to round capsule 2 cm diameter, with two sections each containing a single seed.The tree is sometimes called the tree of sorrow , because the flowers lose their brightness during daytime the scientific name arbor-tristis also means sad tree . The flowers can be used as a source of yellow dye for clothing. The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal, India, and for Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. In Hindu mythology, there is a story involving Lord Krishna about a parijat and Krishna s two wives, Satyabhama and Rukmini. Satyabhama wanted this Parijat tree from the Heaven to be planted in her garden. Rukmini too, took a fancy to the flower. Krishna, wanting to keep both his wives happy, planted this tree so that the flowers fell in Rukmini s garden while the tree remained in Satyabhama s garden. The tree was planted in the garden of Indra, the Lord of Heavens. Even as Krishna stole a branch of the tree he was spotted by Indra. However, Indra desisted from placing a curse on Krishna since he was an incarnation of Vishnu. Still, Indra put forth a curse on the stolen branch that it will never bear fruit even though the flowers may bloom on the tree. Since the day the tree was planted at Barabanki the wives garden , it flowers but does not reproduce, because it has no seeds and the branch cannot take root.
Parijat Or The Sad Tree In India
