Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion Companion Volumes Charming Beauties and Frightful Beasts: Non-Human Animals in South Asian Myth, Ritual and Folklore Edited by Fabrizio M. Ferrari and Thomas W.P. Dähnhardt Soulless Matter, Seats of Energy: Metals, Gems and Minerals in South Asian Traditions Edited by Fabrizio M. Ferrari and Thomas W.P. Dähnhardt Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion Plant Life in South Asian Traditions Edited by Fabrizio M. Ferrari and Thomas W.P. Dähnhardt Published by Equinox Publishing Ltd. UK: Office 415, The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 2BX USA: ISD, 70 Enterprise Drive, Bristol, CT 06010 www.equinoxpub.com First published 2016 © Fabrizio M. Ferrari, Thomas W.P. Dähnhardt and contributors 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13 978 1 78179 119 6 (hardback) 978 1 78179 120 2 (paperback) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ferrari, Fabrizio M., editor. | Dähnhardt, Thomas W.P., 1964- editor. Title: Roots of wisdom, branches of devotion : plant life in South Asian traditions / Edited by Fabrizio M. Ferrari and Thomas W.P. Dähnhardt. Description: Bristol, CT : Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016005258 (print) | LCCN 2016006633 (ebook) | ISBN 9781781791196 (hb) | ISBN 9781781791202 (pb) | ISBN 9781781794494 (e-PDF) | ISBN 9781781794500 (e-epub) Subjects: LCSH: South Asia–Religion. | South Asia–Religious life and customs. | Plants–Religious aspects. | Plants–Folklore. | Plants–Mythology–South Asia. Classification: LCC BL1055 .R66 2016 (print) | LCC BL1055 (ebook) | DDC 202/.12–dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016005258 Typeset by S.J.I. Services, New Delhi Printed and bound by Lightning Source Inc. (La Vergne, TN), Lightning Source UK Ltd. (Milton Keynes), Lightning Source AU Pty. (Scoresby, Victoria). Contents List of Figures vii List of Tables x Introduction xi Section One: Nature, Landscape, Devotion 1 A Modern Kalpavr̥kṣa: Sathya Sāī Bābā and the Wish-Fulfilling Tree 3 Antonio Rigopoulos 2 ‘Pagoda Tree’: Plants and Other Foliate Motifs on Indian Coins through History 29 Shailendra Bhandare 3 Divine Flora, Divine Love: The Place of Natural Scenery in the Ultimate Vision of Kr̥ṣṇa Bhakti 55 Graham M. Schweig Section Two: Devotion, Ecology, Ritual 4 Perfumed Islam: The Culture of Scent at the Nizamuddin Basti 79 Mikko Viitamäki 5 The Bodhi Tree and Other Plants in the Pāli Tipiṭaka 98 Antonella Serena Comba 6 Wood, Water and Waste: Material Aspects of Mortuary Practices in South Asia 118 Albertina Nugteren vi Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion Section Three: Ritual, Power, Myth 7 The Herbal Arsenal and Fetid Food: The Power of Plants in Early Tantric Exorcism Rituals 145 Michael Slouber 8 Tree-Hugger: The Sāmavedic Rite of Audumbarī 165 Finnian M.M. Gerety Section Four: Myth, Food, Nature 9 Caryota urens: From Vegetable Manifestation of God to Sacred Tree of the Shamans of Odisha 193 Stefano Beggiora 10 Rice and Rice Culture: Cultivation and Worship of a Divine Plant in Western Odisha 211 Uwe Skoda 11 Agriculture, Floriculture and Botanical Knowledge in a Middle Bengali Text 241 Fabrizio M. Ferrari General Index 270 Index of Botanical Species 279 Figures 1.1. The meditation tree in Puttaparthi, 1980 5 1.2. The path leading to the wish-fulfilling tree in Puttaparthi, 1980 16 1.3. The wish-fulfilling tree in Puttaparthi, 1980 17 2.1. Silver punch-marked coin, Godavari Valley, Maharashtra, c. 350–300 BCE, with ‘palm frond’ as one of the punches 33 2.2. Copper punch-marked coin of Bhumidatta, a king in Eastern Malwa, c. 150 BCE, having a tree topped with a parasol as the central punch 35 2.3. Coin of Gomitra, a king in the Western Gangetic Valley, Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, c. 100 BCE, showing venerated trees in 3-D perspective on both sides. The obverse has a palm tree within a railing 35 2.4. Uninscribed copper cast coin of Kaushambi region, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, c. 100 BCE, with a parallel-branched stylized tree within railing depicted on the reverse 36 2.5. Silver drachm of Amoghabhūti, the king of the Kuṇinda people, Himachal Pradesh, early decades of the first century BCE, showing a tree within railing with a host of other religious symbols 36 2.6. Copper punch-marked coin of the city state of Erikachha (modern Erach in Eastern Uttar Pradesh), c. 150 BCE, with two punches showing sacred trees, one clearly being a palm 37 2.7. Cupro-nickel coin of Agathocles, Indo-Greek ruler in Greater Gandhara, c. 195–185 BCE, showing a panther in front of a grapevine in reference to the myth of Dionysus 38 2.8. Uninscribed die-struck copper coin, commonly attributed to Taxila, c. 100–50 BCE, with representation of vine and bunches of grape 39 viii Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion 2.9. Copper coin of Indo-Scythian ruler Azes, c. 58–35 BCE, with depiction of a ‘tree spirit’ or yakṣī emanating out of the branches of a Pipal tree on the reverse 39 2.10. Silver tetradrachm of Indo-Scythian king Azilises, c. 70–60 BCE, with the motif of ‘Gajalakṣmī’ standing on a lotus, being lustrated by two elephants supported on long-stemmed lotuses 40 2.11. Gold dinar of Chandra Gupta II (c. 375–415 CE), with the depiction of Lakṣmī seated cross-legged on a large lotus bloom and holding a long-stemmed lotus in her hand 41 2.12. Gold mohur of Akbar (1556–1605 CE), minted at Asirgarh, with deployment of delicate floral and foliate motifs as a backdrop for the depictions on obverse and reverse 42 2.13. Silver rupee of Shahjahan (1627–1658), minted at Daulatabad, with intricate floral designs that act as a ‘bed’ for the letters of the Persian calligraphy to lie on 42 2.14. Gold mohur of Jahangir (1605–1627), struck at Agra with floral borders decorating elegant Persian inscriptions 43 2.15. Silver rupee of Farrukhsiyar (1712–1719), minted at Multan, with a floral sprig appearing on the reverse as a decoration that doubles as a ‘mint identifier’ 45 2.16. Gold mohur of Jaipur state, struck in the name of Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, with the ‘tree’ or jhāṛ symbol which became a specific identifier for the state 46 2.17. Silver rupee of Ranjit Singh, Mahārāja of the Punjab (1799–1839), with the symbol of the ber leaf on reverse, Amritsar mint 47 2.18. Silver ½-rupee of Indore state, struck during the reign of Ahilya Bai Holkar (1767–1795), with the emblem of the bel leaf and liṅga, as a sign of her devotion to Śiva 48 2.19. Silver rupee of Phulgaon mint, struck during the reign of Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II (1796–1818), with the symbol of a Hibiscus flower added to the reverse design 49 2.20. Gold two-mohur coin of the East India Company showing the allegory of ‘British Empire in the East’ through the ‘lion and palm tree’ design of John Flaxman, 1835 50 2.21. Reverse of the rupee of King Edward VII’s reign, 1910, with ‘Jugendstil’-style lotuses flanking the central denomination inscription 51 2.22. Obverse of one-rupee coin of independent India, 1950, with wheat stalks flanking the denomination 52 List of Figures ix 2.23. Reverse of a 25-paise coin, 1985, issued under the FAO coinage scheme with slogan ‘forestry for development,’ showing a stylized tree in context with forest produce and fauna 52 6.1. Logs for cremation pyres, Bhaktapur, June 2011 120 6.2. Straw bundles used for cremation pyres, Bhaktapur, June 2011 124 6.3. Slowly burning cow-dung pyre, Chengu Narayan, June 2011 128 6.4. Cremation in process, Panauti, June 2011 131 6.5. Mokshda braziers, Delhi, 2014 134 6.6. Mourners preparing a cremation pyre, Pashupatinath, June 2011 137 6.7. Priest and mourner performing rituals, Pashupatinath, June 2011 137 8.1. Nampūtiri brahmins in the Jaiminīya tradition perform the audumbarī rite as part of the Atirātra-Agnicayana in Panjal, Kerala, April 2011 172 8.2. The Nampūtiri udgātr̥ dresses the post with ‘grass with its tips pointing upwards’ 174 8.3. The audumbarī fully dressed with grass, muslin and grass string wrapped around 175 9.1. The collection of sap from the jaggery palm, Pottasing area, 2005 197 9.2. Anital, Odaser village, 2012 201 9.3. Kuramboi with gourd under her arm, Regingtal village, 1999 207 10.1. Harvesting paddy, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 219 10.2. Collecting paddy spikes after the harvest, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 225 10.3. Threshing paddy, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 227 10.4. Mān measuring container made of bell metal, decorated with elephant – also considered Lakṣmī’s bāhan or divine carrier, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 228 10.5. Worshiping Goddess Lakṣmī accompanied by elephants in front of a paddy heap, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 230 10.6. Aghriā house shrine decorated for Lakṣmī Pūjā, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 231 10.7. Detail of house shrine showing Lakṣmī khatli, with a bunch of paddy draped in red cloth representing Lakṣmī, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 232 10.8. Women drawing jhoti on the threshing floor, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 235 10.9. Lakṣmī Pūjā: women worshiping Lakṣmī in the form of paddy on the threshing floor, Sambalpur district, northwestern Odisha, 2001 236 Tables 5.1.