FLORAL ANTIQUITIES OF THE EAST. 
203 
succession of agents, all the worlds, and all creatures, 
both animate and inanimate.* The Brahmins, however, 
assign a reason for the sanctity of this plant more suited 
to the understanding of the vulgar; and affirm that 
Vishnu, the preserver, was born under its shade. Under 
this legend is couched an ingenious allegory, significative 
of the salutary shade afforded by its branches, impervious 
to the rays of the sun. On account of the reputed 
sanctity of the tree, pagodas or temples are commonly 
erected beneath, or contiguous to its shade; in some 
instances, one of these trees is planted within the area 
of the principal court of the pagoda.f The Yogis, or 
religious ascetics, practise their austerities near it for the 
same reason; and any injury done to a twig or leaf is 
considered as a crime scarcely less atrocious than murder. 
Both the other species of the ficus, though less remark¬ 
able in their growth than the ficus Indica, resemble it in 
the rooting of their extreme branches, and are held 
sacred, probably, for that very reason; though some 
ascribe the sanctity of the ficus religiosa to the brown 
colour of the female flowerets, which bears some allusion 
to the preserver Vishnu. 
But the most sacred of plants in the Indian mytho¬ 
logy is the lotos, equally revered by Hindoos, Egyptians, 
Chinese, and Javanese, and associated with the most 
remarkable events in their cosmogonies, traditions, and 
creeds. In the religious services, and in the Sanscrit 
hymns and legends, the lotos is a frequent subject of 
simile and comparison. Lacshmi, the goddess of plenty. 
Menu,” chap. i. 
f “As. Res.,” Vol. v., No. 20. 
