Elements of Buddhist Iconography c4.22

c4.22

The "Lord of the Forest" (vanaspati) is already in the Vedas a familiar symbol of the supreme deity in his manifested aspect. There may be cited, for example, *Ṛg Veda*, I, 24, 7, "King Varuṇa as pure act lifted up in the Unground the summit (stūpam) of the Tree"; I, 164, 20–21, "Two Fairwings (suparṇāḥ, birds, angels) in conjoint amity rest in the one same Tree; one eats the tasty fig (pippalam), the other looketh on and does not eat . . . there those Fairwings sing incessantly their part of lasting-life"; Varuṇa, Prajāpati, or Brahman manifesting as the moving spirit in the cosmic Tree is called a Yakṣa, cf. *Atharva Veda*, X, 7, 38, "A great Yakṣa proceeding in a seething on the back of the waters, in whom abide whatever Angels be, as branches of the Tree that are round about its trunk," and *Kena Up.*, 15–26, "What Yakṣa is this? . . . Brahman."