THE MANGO 85 



Dymock, Warden, and Hooper (Pharmacographia Indica) 

 give the following resume of its position in the intellectual life 

 of the Hindus : 



" The mango, in Sanskrit Amra, Chuta and Sahakara, is said to be a 

 transformation of Prajapati (lord of creatures), an epithet in the 

 Veda originally applied to Savitri, Soma, Tvashtri, Hirangagarbha, 

 Indra, and Agni, but afterwards the name of a separate god presiding 

 over procreation. (Manu. xii, 121.) In more recent hymns and 

 Brahmanas Prajapati is identified with the universe. 



44 The tree provides one of the pancha-pallava or aggregate of five 

 sprigs used in Hindu ceremonial, and its flowers are used in Shiva 

 worship on the Shivaratri. It is also a favorite of the Indian poets. 

 The flower is invoked in the sixth act of Sakuntala as one of the five 

 arrows of Kamadeva. In the travels of the Buddhist pilgrims Fah-hien 

 and Sung-yun (translated by Beal) a mango grove (Amravana) is 

 mentioned which was presented by Amradarika to Buddha in order 

 that he might use it as a place of repose. This Amradarika, a kind of 

 Buddhic Magdalen, was the daughter of the mango tree. In the Indian 

 story of Surya Bai (see Cox, Myth, of the Arian Nations) the daughter 

 of the sun is represented as persecuted by a sorceress, to escape from 

 whom she became a golden Lotus. The king fell in love with the flower, 

 which was then burnt by the sorceress. From its ashes grew a mango 

 tree, and the king fell in love first with its flower, and then with its 

 fruit ; when ripe the fruit fell to the ground, and from it emerged the 

 daughter of the sun (Surya Bai), who was recognized by the prince as his 

 long lost wife." 



When introduced into regions where climatic conditions are 

 favorable, the mango rapidly becomes naturalized and takes 

 on the appearance of a wild plant. This fact, together with the 

 long period of time during which it has been cultivated through- 

 out India, makes it difficult to determine the original home of the 

 species. 



Sir Joseph Hooker (Flora of British India) considered the 

 mango to be indigenous in the tropical Himalayan region, from 

 Kumaon to the Bhutan hills and the valleys of Behar, the 

 Khasia mountains, Burma, Oudh, and the Western peninsula 

 from Kandeish southwards. He adds, "It is difficult to say 

 whether so common a tree is wild or not in a given locality, 



