22 pPaat Tsore, Ts)egeT|ti/5 aasL "iQi^ricy, 



respect. It is frequently mentioned by the Roman poets as the 

 tree of Jove, to whom it was dedicated ; and near to Chaonia, a 

 mountamous part of Epirus, was a forest of Oaks, called the 

 Chaonian or Dodonaean Forest, where oracles were given, as some 

 say, by the trees themselves. The world-tree of Romowe, the 

 old centre of the Prussians, was an Oak, and it was reverenced as 

 a tree of great sanctity. 



The Indians adored the tree Asoka, consecrated to Vishnu; and 

 the Banyan, in the belief that Vishnu was born amongst its 

 branches.* 



The Soma-latd [Sarcostemnia aphylla), or sacred plant yielding the 

 immortal fluid offered to the gods on the altars of the Brahmans, is 

 regarded with extreme reverence. The name Amxita, or Immortal 

 Tree, is given to the Euphorbia, Paniaim Dadylon, Cocculus cordifolius, 

 Pinus Dcodava, Emblica officinalis, Terminalia citrina, Piper longuni, and 

 many others. The Holy Basil {Ocinium sanctum) is looked upon as a 

 sacred plant. The Deodar is the Devaddru or tree-god of the 

 Shastras, alluded to in Vedic hymns as the symbol of majesty and 

 power. 



To Indra, the supreme god of the Vedic Olympus, are dedi- 

 cated the Terminalia A rj una (the Tree of Indra), the Methonica superha 

 (the Flower of Indra), a species of Pumpkin called Indra-vdnmikd 

 (appertaining to Indra and Varu72a), the Vitex Negundo (the drink of 

 Indra), the Abrus precatorius, and Hemp (the food of Indra). 



To Brahma are sacred the Butea fvondosa, the Ficus glomerata, 

 the Mulberry (the seed of Brahma), the Clerodendron Siphonanthus, 

 the Hemionitis cordifolia (leaf of Brahma), the Saccharum Munga (with 

 which is formed the sacred girdle of the Brahmans), and the Poa 

 cynosuroides, or Kusa Grass, a species of Vervain, employed in 

 Hindu sacrificial rites, and held in such sanctity as to be acknow- 

 ledged as a god. 



The Peepul or Bo-tree (Ficus nligiosa) is held sacred by 

 Buddhists as the Holy Tree and the Tree of Knowledge. 



The Burmese Buddhists surround their Pagodas and religious 

 houses with trees, for which they entertain a high regard. The first 

 holy men dwelt under the shade of forest trees, and from that 

 circumstance, in the Burmese cultus, every Budh is specially con- 

 nected with some tree- — as Shin Gautama with the Banyan, under 

 which he attained his full dignity, and the Shorea robusta, under which 



* In the rites appertaining to the great sacrifice in honour of the god Vishnu at 

 the end of March, the following plants were employed, and consequently acquired a 

 sacred character in the eyes of the Indians : — Sesamum seed, leaves of the Ajvattha, 

 Mango leaves, flowers of the Sami, Kunda flowers, the Lotus flower, Oleander 

 flowers, Nagakesara flowers, powdered Tulasi leaves, powdered Bel leaves, leaves 

 of the Kunda. Barley meal, meal of the Nivara grain (a wild paddy), powder of Sati 

 leaves. Turmeric powder, meal of the Syamaka grain, powdered Ginger, powdered 

 Priyangu seeds, Rice meal, powder of Bel leaves, powder of the leaves of the Amblic 

 Myrobalan, and Kangni seed meal. — An Imperial Asseinblage at Delhi Thrxe Thousand 

 Years Ago. 



