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Ficus religiosa

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Sacred Fig
Ficus religiosa
Leaves and trunk of a Sacred Fig.
Note the distinctive leaf shape.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Division:
Magnoliophyta
Class:
Magnoliopsida
Order:
Rosales
Family:
Moraceae
Genus:
Ficus
Species:
F. religiosa
Binomial name
Ficus religiosa

The Sacred Fig species of fig native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, southwest China and Indochina. It belongs to the Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as Bo-Tree (from the Sanskrit Bodhi: "wisdom", "enlightened", and as a Sinhalization of this the Sinhala Bo) or [1] Peepal (in India),.[2]

Description

Ficus religiosa is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to 30 metres (98 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended tip; they are 10–17 cm long and 8–12 cm broad, with a 6–10 cm petiole. The fruit is a small fig 1-1.5 cm diameter, green ripening to purple.

Religious sacredness

The Bodhi Tree at the Mahabodhi Temple. Propagated from the Sri Maha Bodhi, which in turn is propagated from the original Bodhi Tree at this location.

The Ficus religiosa tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Buddhism

Buddhist legend tells of Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating underneath the Bodhi tree, a Ficus religiosa. The site is in present day Bodh Gaya, northern India. The Bodhi tree and the Sri Maha Bodhi propagated from it are notable specimens of Sacred Fig. The known planting date of the latter, 288 BCE, gives it the oldest verified age for any flowering plant (angiosperm).[3]

In Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, the tree's massive trunk is often the site of Buddhist or animist shrines.

Not all Ficus religiosa can be called a 'Bodhi tree'. A 'Bodhi tree' must be able to trace its parent to another Bodhi tree and the line goes on until the first Bodhi tree under which the Lord Gautama Buddha gained enlightenment.

Hinduism

Sadhus (Hindu ascetics) still meditate beneath sacred fig trees, and Hindus do pradakshina (circumambulation) around the sacred fig tree as a mark of worship. Usually seven pradakshinas are done around the tree in the morning time chanting "Vriksha Rajaya Namah", meaning "salutation to the king of trees."

Vernacular names

Typical shape of the leaf of the Ficus Religiosa

The Ficus religiosa tree is known by a wide range of vernacular names in different locales and languages, including:

Sanskrit

Plaksa is a possible Sanskrit term for Ficus religiosa. However, according to Macdonell and Keith (1912), it denotes the Wavy-leaved Fig tree (Ficus infectoria) instead.

In Hindu texts, the Plaksa tree is associated with the source of the Sarasvati River. The Skanda Purana states that the Sarasvati originates from the water pot of Brahma and flows from Plaksa on the Himalayas. According to Vamana Purana 32.1-4, the Sarasvati was rising from the Plaksa tree (Pipal tree).[4]

Plaksa Pra-sravana denotes the place where the Sarasvati appears.[5] In the Rigveda Sutras, Plaksa Pra-sravana refers to the source of the Sarasvati.[6]

Uses

Traditional medicinal uses

Ficus religiosa is used in traditional medicine for about 50 types of disorders including asthma, diabetes, diarrhea, epilepsy, gastric problems, inflammatory disorders, infectious and sexual disorders.[7][8]

Cultivation

Ficus religiosa is grown by specialty tree plant nurseries for use as an ornamental tree, in gardens and parks in tropical and subtropical climates.

See also

Pipal tree at Nandan Kanan Park Bhopal.

Notes

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1971, p.1014
  2. ^ "Ficus religiosa — Peepal". Flowers of India. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  3. ^ "Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, OLDLIST". Retrieved July 3, 2011.
  4. ^ D.S. Chauhan in Radhakrishna, B.P. and Merh, S.S. (editors): Vedic Sarasvati, 1999, p.35-44
  5. ^ Pancavimsa Brahmana, Jaiminiya Upanisad Brahmana, Katyayana Srauta Sutra, Latyayana Srauta; Macdonell and Keith 1912
  6. ^ Asvalayana Srauta Sutra, Sankhayana Srauta Sutra; Macdonell and Keith 1912, II:55
  7. ^ Singh D, Singh B, Goel RK "Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Ficus religiosa: a review." J Ethnopharmacol. February 2, 2011
  8. ^ "Journal of Ethnopharmacology : Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Ficus religiosa: A review". ScienceDirect. Retrieved 2012-01-05.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ficus religiosa.
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