SACRED PLANTS OF INDIA. BARBOUR. SXXi 



small corolla purple in colour. The fruit is reddish, brown. 

 Sometimes the plant is purple all over. It is cultivated very much 

 round temples and in Brahmins" gardens, and is highly reverenced. 



"^Xothing on earth can equal the virtues of a Tulasi"' has been 

 Cjuoted often. Puja (that is invocations) is ofEered to it daily. 

 "When a Bralnnin is dying, one of the plants is brought and put 

 on a pedestal and puja is offered to it. A bit of the root is put 

 into the mouth of the dying man, and its leaves are sprinkled over 

 face, eyes, ears and chest. He is also sprinkled with a twig of it, 

 dipped in water, from hand to foot. At the same time his friends 

 say aloud "'Tulasi, Tulasi, Tulasi"" I and the man dies hapriy and 

 goes straightway and certainly to Swarga. To obtain nardon for 

 all one's sins, it is enough to look at this sacred plant. By 

 touching it a man is purified of all his defects. Salvation is 

 assured to any one who waters and tends it daily. A branch 

 offered to Tislinu in milk will be more pleasing to the god than 

 a thousand cows. A sprig of it dipped in saffron and offered to 

 the god at any time ensures the person's enjoyment of Vishnu's 

 happiness. To give a twig of it to anyone suffering cares and 

 anxieties, ensures a certain means of securing for him a satisfactory 

 ending to all his difficulties. It is much used in native medicine 

 with a supposed excellent results. Its leaves have a sweet aromatic 

 scent and the Brahmins use the plant as an aid to digestion after 

 meals, and after ablutions to prevent getting chills, as it is supposed 

 to have cordial-like effects. 



Aegle marmelos. Tern. '■'Bel."' Ball Fruit. A fairly large 

 tree found every where in India and as common in some parts of 

 the jungle as near villages and temples. Its thorns and its 

 flowers are in panicles. The fruit is about the size of an orange, 

 round and smooth with a pulpy interior: and when dried, the 

 appearance is rather honey-combed. The fruit is a well known 

 remedy for dysentery, and it is used a good deal. It is bitter, 

 however. This tree is sacred to Siva. 



Crataeva religiosa. Tern. "'War^v-an." Is found near many 

 temples in Central India and Bengal. A tree with long petioled 

 leaves and ovate leaflets. Flowers in- racemes, white or buff with 

 long purple filaments. Fruit large and round or oval. The leaves 



