404 FREAKS OF PLANT LIFE. 



This flower was supposed to bloom in the garden of 

 Indra, in Heaven, and the two wives of Krishna are 

 said to have quarrelled for the exclusive possession 

 of this flower, which their husband had stolen from 

 the celestial garden. Since it was stolen by Krishna 

 it has been under a curse, and dwells upon the earth 

 as one of the least of the flowers, and is never used 

 for worship. This accounts for its absence from the 

 long catalogue of sacred flowers. 



In the Hindu mythology, Kamadeva is the god of 

 love, the analogue of Cupid, and is represented with 

 his bow and arrows. The myth alleges that these 

 arrows were tipped with five flowers, all of which are 

 therefore held sacred to this god. They are (i) the 

 champa {Michelia champacd), a tulip-shaped yellow 

 flower, with a strong aromatic smell, of the magnolia 

 family, supposed by some to have been introduced 

 into India from China : (2) the mango flower {Mangi- 

 fera Indicd) : (3) the bulla (Pavonia odorata), a sweet- 

 scented flower of the mallow family : (4) the flower 

 of the clearing-nut (Strychnos potatorum) : and (5) 

 the nagkesur (Mesua ferred), with flowers white 

 externally, and yellow filaments inside the corolla, 

 having an odour resembling that of the wild briar. 

 Some other authorities exclude the clearing -nut 

 flower, and substitute that of the bela (Jasminum 

 sambac), with beautifully fragrant white flowers. The 

 screw pine {Pandanus odoratissimus) is also, for some 



