According to Hindu scriptures, Aśvattha, ( sa, अश्वत्थ) or ''Sacred fig'' (''

Ficus religiosa ''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of Ficus, fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipa ...

''), is a sacred tree for the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s and has been extensively mentioned in texts pertaining to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, for example as ''peepul'' in

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

mantra I.164.20. In Buddhism, the Bodhi Tree under which Gautama Buddha gained enlightenment is also of the same species. Adi Shankara derives it from shva (tomorrow) and stha (that which remains). Ashva (horse) and stha (situated), meaning where horses are tied, is another derivation. Yama, while instructing

Naciketa Nachiketa (), also rendered Nachiketas and Nachiketan, is a character in Hindu literature. He is the son of the sage Vājashravas, or Uddalaki, in some traditions. He is the child protagonist of an ancient Indian, dialogical narrative, about th ...

describes the eternal Asvattha tree with its root upwards, and branches downwards, which is the pure immortal Brahman, in which all these worlds are situated, and beyond which there is nothing else ( Katha Upanishad Verse II.iii.1). Meanwhile, Krishna tells us that the Asvattha tree having neither end nor beginning nor stationariness whatsoever has its roots upwards and branches downwards whose branches are nourished by the Gunas and whose infinite roots spread in the form of action in the human world which though strong are to be cut off by the forceful weapon of detachment to seek the celestial abode from which there is no return (

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

XV.1-4). The former teaches that the Asvattha tree is real being identical with Brahman and therefore impossible to cut-off; the latter insists that the Asvattha tree must be regarded as unreal being identical with existence which needs to be cut-off. The fire sticks used in Hindu sacrificial fire like agnihotra also contain dried wood of ashvatha tree.

References

*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dallapiccola Individual trees Trees in mythology Trees in Buddhism Sacred trees in Hinduism {{Hindu-myth-stub

See also

References