Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c7.36

v1.c7.36

Tree worship is also a common feature in popular Hinduism. The *aśvattha* tree (*Ficus religiosa*) is always sacred to the Hindu. The sacredness of this tree to the Buddhist is due to the fact of Buddha having obtained his religious enlightenment while meditating under it. On those mondays, on which the new-moon falls, circumambulations and offerings of various things are made to the *aśvattha* tree by many Hindu women. In South India, each Śiva temple has some particular tree which is peculiar to that temple and goes by the name of *sthala-vriksha* or the tree of the place. For instance, the *kadamba* (*nauclea kadamba*) tree is the *sthala-vriksha* of the famous Mīnākṣī-Sundarēśvara temple at Madura; the *jambu* tree is the *sthala-vriksha* of the temple of Jambukēśvara at Tiruvānaikkāval near Trichinopoly. The *tuḷasi* plant (*ocimum basilicum*) is held in high esteem in association with Vaiṣṇavism, and regular *pūja* is daily offered to this plant in many Hindu homes even to-day. The leaves of this plant are as sacred and pleasing an offering to Viṣṇu as those of the bael tree are to Śiva.