XXX PROCEEDINGS. 



plants are sacred, and the remainder will be grouped together and 

 referred to as the plants are spoken of. 



Let us take Vishnu first as he is the most popular of all 

 Hindu deities in his various incarnations. He is the personifica- 

 tion of nature's preserving powers. When the whole earth was 

 covered with water he lay sleeping on a serpent, and while he 

 slept, a lotus sprang from his navel and from, it the great Brahma 

 sprang the Hindu god existant. His heaven is on Mount Meru 

 and his incarnations are ten. 



Siva, the second and only other great deity I shall here refer 

 to, represents the destructive power of nature, or perhaps I ought 

 to say its transforming and reproducting power, and hence is of 

 both terrible and pleasing dispositions. He is usually represented 

 as a white man with five heads and a third eye in each head, and 

 the heads are surmounted by a crescent moon, and the river Ganges 

 flows, as it were, from his fifth head. His most usual image is, 

 however, the "Linga" which is the sign of reproduction and which 

 is exceedingly common on many temple steps. His heaven is 

 Mount Kackasa. 



These are the two chief deities to which most of these trees 

 are sacred, but there are many more ; and to these, trees and plants 

 are also sacred. I shall first of all point out the plants sacred to 

 these two deities and then grouping the others, refer to them 

 together. I shall also say a few words about sacred trees which 

 are sacred, as it were, for themselves alone and yet have no doubt 

 a deeper idea beneath. 



The following plants are sacred to Vishnu alone: Ocymum 

 sanctum. 



To Siva: Aegle marmelos, Crataeva religiosa, Poinciana 

 regia, Zizyphus jujuba, Jasmimum sambac, Gardenia lucida, 

 Michelia Cliampaca, Ficus religiosa and Ficus Bengaliensis. 



To Siva and Vishnu together: Jasmimum sambac, Artemisia 

 vulgaris, Nerium odorum, Ixora coccinea, Origanum Marjoram. 



Ocymum sanctum, Vern. "Kalatulsi." Holy Basil. The 

 only plant dedicated to Vishnu, and a most important one it is, 

 though only an herb, erect, softly hairy, with ovate toothed leaves, 



