trees

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TREES

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While on a journey to Sri Ahobilam, adiyEn was sitting

in a train ,looking out of the window at a dense

wood of trees,when it struck adiyEn as to what a

close association trees have had with us Sri

VaishanavAs-not merely in the ecological or

utilitarian sense, but in terms of their widespread

usage in various sampradAya granthAs. In this

offering, adiyEn would like to take the bhAgawatAs

through the shady and spiritually invigorating avenue

of sAmpradAyic trees.

 

Shall we begin our journey with trees in the vEdic

forest,for,after all,vEdAs are our moola pramAnam.

Says the TaithriOpanishad-“Yatha vrikshasya

sampushpithasya doorAth gandhO vAthi,Evam punyasya

karmanO doorAth gandhOvAthi”(Just as a tree in full

bloom,laden with flowers,spreads its fragrance

afar,similarly nishkAmya karma,by purifying the

antha:karanA, helps in brahma vidyA). The

Taitthiriya AranyakA speaks of a strange tree “oordhva

moolam avAk shAkham-vriksham yO vEda samprati”.This is

repeated almost verbatim in the following Geeta sloka

Oordhva moolam avAk shAkham asvattham

prAhuravyayam

ChhandAmsi yasya parNAni yastham vEda sa vEda

vith.

This is indeed a strange specimen-this tree has its

roots in the air and its branches embedded in the

soil, but a closer look at the GitA BhAshyA reveals

a beautiful allegory-this tree signifies SamsArA..

Since it has its origins in the chathurmukha Brahma

seated in his Sathya lOkA above the seven worlds,

this sAmsAric tree is said to have its roots above.

As the various constituents of samsArA like human

beings,animals,birds,worms and other sentient and

non-sentient beings live on the earth down below,,this

tree is said to have its branches in the soil. Since

the deep-rooted tree of samsArA cannot be destroyed

,except through tatva gnAnA, it is glorified as ‘

‘avyayam”.As samsArA grows and proliferates with the

aid of kAmya karmAs ordained in the vEdAs, this tree

is said to have shrutis as its leaves. One who knows

this aswattha tree, knows the vEdAs.This is because

the vEdAs, as the primary source of HitA, are the

guide for destroying the samsAra vrikshA.. As a

knowledge of the object to be destroyed is essential

for identifying the weapon with which to destroy, the

knower of the tree is said to know the vEdAs.

 

Going on to the ItihAsa Ratnam,Srimad RAmAyanA

abounds in references to trees(but then it must,set,

as it is ,in the dhandakAranyam and other wooded

areas).Shall we see a few of them that may be of

interest to us in the sAmpradAyic sense?

MareechA, though a RakshasA,has nothing but good

words for Sri RamA. The famous dictum ‘RamO vigrahavAn

dharma:’ comes not from the lips of any saint or

seer,but those of MareechA, who knows the Lords’s

pourusham and veeeryam, from having suffered at His

hands at the time of ViswAmitra yAga samrakshanam.

While recollecting (to RavanA) Sri RamA’s prowess with

the bow and arrow and his resultant terror,MareechA

says “ VrikshE vrikshE cha pasyAmi cheera

krishnAjinAmbaram-Griheeta dhanusham Ramam pAsa

hastham ivAnthakam”.(Due to abject terror,I see RamA

in every tree,clad in tree bark and deer skin,and

holding the bow,like the lord of death). Wherever

MareechA turns,he sees Sri RamA in every tree

,striking terror in him.If only we were able to do

this (see him in every tree or thing,I mean) and if we

were able to say with this benign RakshasA “Rama

bhootam idam sarvam lOkam pratibAti mE” we could

consider ourselves indeed fortunate.

In the AyOdhyA kAndA,we come across Sri Valmeeki’s

poignant description of trees in AyOdhyA, at the time

of Sri RamA’s departure for vanavAsA..”api

vrikshA:parimlAnA;sa pushpAnkura kOrakA;___Rama

vyasana karsithA:”(Trees in full bloom,laden with

flowers ,unable to bear RamA’s seperation,dried up and

withered ,when Sri RamA left for the

forests).Healthy,blooming trees were,all of a sudden,

reduced to standing poles with shrunken branches and

withered barks. This indicates that even achEtana

vasthus were capable of bhagawat gunAnubhavam and were

severely affected by bhagawat viyOgam. Alas, we can

only regret not being born as trees in Sri AyOdhyA.

In the KishkindA kAndA, it is again trees which help

to eliminate Sri SugreevA’suspicions about Sri RamA’s

prowess (Sugreeva:sankitaschAseet nityam veeryENa

RaghavE”). Chakravartthi Thirumagan drills seven

trees (that too, trees which were not in any alignment

) with a single arrow and follows this up with lifting

the carcss of Dundubhi with his left toe and throwing

it ten yOjanAs away.

“BibEda cha puna:sAlAn sapthaikEna mahEshuNA-Girim

rasAtalam chaiva janayan pratyayam tadA”.

 

Sri Sundara kAndA is replete with references to

trees. Sri ValmIki is at his poetical best when

describing Sri HanumAn’s departure to Lanka for

SitAnvEshanam,by taking a gigantic leap from the

Mahendra parvatham.The force with which Maruthi

pressed the hill with his feet, preparatory to

take-off, and the speed with which he launched into

flight, uprooted several trees ,which ,propelled by

the windstream, accompanied Vayuputra for some

distance and then fell into the ocean.

“ooru vEgOddhathA vrikshA:muhoortam kapim anvayu:

prastthitham deerGam adhwAnam swa bandhum iva

bandhavA:”

Sri Valmeeki likens this short journey of trees with

Siriya Thiruvadi to the practice of accompanying a

leaving relative for some distance (a send-off or

bidding adieu,so to say). Another interesting

upamAnam-“tadooru vEgOnmatita:sAlAschAnyE nagOttamA:

anujagmur hanoomantham sainyA iva maheepatim”(

Trees,pulled out by sri HanumAn’s speed,followed him

like soldiers following the King).

In Srimad RamAyanam, trees stand as mute witnesses to

good events as well as bad. We thus have Sri Seeta

imprisoned in a copse of AsOkA trees (AsOka

VanikA),and also, driven by the atyanta sOkam caused

by seperation from Sri RamA,trying to hang herself

from a tree branch.

“upastthitA sA mrudu sarva gAtree shAkAm griheetvAta

nagasya tasya”

“udbaddhya veNudgratanEna seegram aham gamishyAmi

yamasya moolam”.

Again,it is from the protective cover of a tree top

that Sri HanumAn recounted Sri RamacharitA to Sri

Seeta, to establish his bona fides as a

RamadootA.(“maduram avitatam jagAda vAkyam druma

vitapAntaram AstthitO hanoomAn”).One might say here,

without intending the least disrespect for

KapikunjarA, that Sri HanumAn has a special affinity

for trees,which is natural,considering his vAnara

janmA.. It comes to him very naturally to be in trees

(ParijAta taru moola vAsinam) and ,at the slightest

provocation, to uproot trees and use them as weapons,

as he does against the Ravana sEnA. In fact, much of

the war, waged by the Sri Vanara sEnA against the

rAkshasAs,was fought with the aid of trees as weapons.

Thus, trees have rendered yeomen service in sAdhu

paritrANam as well as dushkrit vinAsanam.

 

The Lord’s association with trees continues in

Sri KrishnAvatArA too.All the AzhwArs,especially

Thirumangai Mannan and Sri PeriAzhwAr, repeatedly

refer to the Divine Child’s exploits with the

marAmarAs.Tied to the grinding stone by Sri YeshOdA as

a punishment for his various misdemeanours, Sri

KrishnA ,in one of his numerous athimAnusha

cheshtithAs, goes for a walk on his knees,so to

say,dragging the grindstone with him, and in passing

through two closely located trees,fells them with

ease,thereby restoring to their original swaroopam two

gandharvAs who had been cursed to be trees. Sri

ParakAlan glorifies this event thus-“Nindra mAmarudu

itru veezha nadantha ninmalan nEmiyAn”,”puNar marudam

ira nadantha porkundru””,marameida mAmunivA”,etc. Sri

PeriAzhwar _”peru mA uralil piNippunDu irundu angu iru

mAmarudam iruttha ippiLLai”,etc.

The other major event of the avatAra relating to

trees-_ParijAtha Haranam-_Sri KishnA’s bringing of the

divine PArijAtha tree,at His consort’s entreaty,from

Indra lOka to the earth,is described thus by Sri

VishnuchittA-“ Karpagak kAvu karudiya kAdalikku

Ippozhuthu eevan endru

indiran kAvinil

Nirpana seidu nilA thigazh

mutratthuL

Uytthavan »

EmperumAn himself has been described as a tree by

various AzhwArs and AchAryAs.Sri PeriAzhwar

says”kArAnai idar kadintha karpagatthai”.”EnakkE

tannai tanda karpagam”are the words of sri

Nammazhwar.Sri Desikan describes Him variously as

“Jangama ParijAthA”,Sreemath Gridhra saras teera

pArijAtham”,Sri RangarAja

Harichandanam”etc,etc.Everyone is aware of

Nyagrodha,udumbara and aswattha being celeberated

tirunAmAs in Sri Vishnu sahasranAmam.

 

Though the tree-lined avenue is seemingly endless and

inviting(“The woods are lovely,dark and deep”),adiyen

would like to end here, for fear of testing the

readers’patience.The next time we see a tree,perhaps

it would remind us of its myriad divine associations.

dasan,sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

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