Flowers And Flower-Gardens Part 24

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF INDIAN FLOWERS, COMMONLY USED IN HINDU CEREMONIES.[098]

A'KUNDA (_Calotropis Gigantea_).--A pretty purple coloured, and slightly scented flower, having a sweet and agreeable smell. It is called _Arca_ in Sanscrit, and has two varieties, both of which are held to be sacred to Shiva. It forms one of the five darts with which the Indian G.o.d of Love is supposed to pierce the hearts of young mortals.[099] Sir William Jones refers to it in his Hymn to Kama Deva. It possesses medicinal properties.[100]

A'PARA'JITA (_c.l.i.toria ternatea_).--A conically shaped flower, the upper part of which is tinged with blue and the lower part is white. Some are wholly white. It is held to be sacred to Durga.

ASOCA. (_Jonesia Asoca_).--A small yellow flower, which blooms in large cl.u.s.ters in the month of April and gives a most beautiful appearance to the tree. It is eaten by young females as a medicine. It smells like the Saffron.

A'TASHI.--A small yellowish or brown coloured flower without any smell.

It is supposed to be sacred to Shiva, and is very often alluded to by the Indian poets. It resembles the flower of the flax or Linum usitatissimum.[101]

BAKA.--A kidney shaped flower, having several varieties, all of which are held to be sacred to Vishnu, and are in consequence used in his worship. It is supposed to possess medicinal virtues and is used by the native doctors.

BAKU'LA (_Mimusops Etengi_).--A very small, yellowish, and fragrant flower. It is used in making garlands and other female ornaments.

Krishna is said to have fascinated the milkmaids of Brindabun by playing on his celebrated flute under a _Baku'la_ tree on the banks of the Jumna, which is, therefore, invariably alluded to in all the Sanscrit and vernacular poems relating to his amours with those young women.

BA'KASHA (_Justicia Adhatoda_).--A white flower, having a slight smell.

It is used in certain native medicines.

BELA (_Jasminum Zambac_).--A fragrant small white flower, in common use among native females, who make garlands of it to wear in their braids of hair. A kind of _uttar_ is extracted from this flower, which is much esteemed by natives. It is supposed to form one of the darts of Kama Deva or the G.o.d of Love. European Botanists seem to have confounded this flower with the Monika, which they also call the Jasminum Zambac.

BHU'MI CHAMPAKA.--An oblong variegated flower, which shoots out from the ground at the approach of spring. It has a slight smell, and is considered to possess medicinal properties. The great peculiarity of this flower is that it blooms when there is not apparently the slightest trace of the existence of the shrub above ground. When the flower dies away, the leaves make their appearance.

CHAMPA' (_Michelia Champaka_).--A tulip shaped yellow flower possessing a very strong smell.[102] It forms one of the darts of Kama Deva, the Indian Cupid. It is particularly sacred to Krishna.

CHUNDRA MALLIKA' (_Chrysanthemum Indiana_).--A pretty round yellow flower which blooms in winter. The plant is used in making hedges in gardens and presents a beautiful appearance in the cold weather when the blossoms appear.

DHASTU'RA (_Datura Fastuosa_).--A large tulip shaped white flower, sacred to Mahadeva, the third G.o.dhead of the Hindu Trinity. The seeds of this flower have narcotic properties.[103]

DRONA.--A white flower with a very slight smell.

DOPATI (_Impatiens Balsamina_).--A small flower having a slight smell.

There are several varieties of this flower. Some are red and some white, while others are both white and red.

GA'NDA' (_Tagetes erecta_).--A handsome yellow flower, which sometimes grows very large. It is commonly used in making garlands, with which the natives decorate their idols, and the Europeans in India their churches and gates on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

GANDHA RA'J (_Gardenia Florida_).--A strongly scented white flower, which blooms at night.

GOLANCHA (_Menispermum Glabrum_).--A white flower. The plant is already well known to Europeans as a febrifuge.

JAVA' (_Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis_).--A large blood coloured flower held to be especially sacred to Kali. There are two species of it, viz. the ordinary Java commonly seen in our gardens and parterres, and the _Pancha Mukhi_, which, as its name imports, has five compartments and is the largest of the two.[104]

JAYANTI (_Aeschynomene Sesban_).--A small yellowish flower, held to be sacred to Shiva.

JHA'NTI.--A small white flower possessing medicinal properties. The leaves of the plants are used in curing certain ulcers.

JA'NTI (_Jasminum Grandiflorum_).--Also a small white flower having a sweet smell. The _uttar_ called _Chumeli_ is extracted from it.

JUYIN (_Jasminum Auriculatum_).--The Indian Jasmine. It is a very small white flower remarkable for its sweetness. It is also used in making a species of _uttar_ which is highly prized by the natives, as also in forming a great variety of imitation female ornaments.

KADAMBA (_Nauclea Cadamba_).--A ball shaped yellow flower held to be particularly sacred to Krishna, many of whose gambols with the milkmaids of Brindabun are said to have been performed under the Kadamba tree, which is in consequence very frequently alluded to in the vernacular poems relating to his loves with those celebrated beauties.

KINSUKA (_Butea Frondosa_).--A handsome but scentless white flower.

KANAKA CHAMPA (_Pterospermum Acerifolium_).--A yellowish flower which hangs down in form of a ta.s.sel. It has a strong smell, which is perceived at a great distance when it is on the tree, but the moment it is plucked off, it begins to lose its fragrance.

KANCHANA (_Bauhinia Variegata_).--There are several varieties of this flower. Some are white, some are purple, while others are red. It gives a handsome appearance to the tree when the latter is in full blossom.

KUNDA (_Jasminum pulescens_).--A very pretty white flower. Indian poets frequently compare a set of handsome teeth, to this flower. It is held to be especially sacred to Vishnu.

KARABIRA (_Nerium Odosum_).--There are two species of this flower, viz.

the white and red, both of which are sacred to Shiva.

KAMINI (_Murraya Exotica_).--A pretty small white flower having a strong smell. It blooms at night and is very delicate to the touch. The _kamini_ tree is frequently used as a garden hedge.

KRISHNA CHURA (_Poinciana Pulcherrima_).--A pretty small flower, which, as its name imports resembles the head ornament of Krishna. When the Krishna Chura tree is in full blossom, it has a very handsome appearance.

KRISHNA KELI (_Mirabilis Jalapa_.)[105]--A small tulip shaped yellow flower. The bulb of the plant has medicinal properties and is used by the natives as a poultice.

k.u.mADA (_Nymphaea Esculenta_)--A white flower, resembling the lotus, but blooming at night, whence the Indian poets suppose that it is in love with Chandra or the Moon, as the lotus is imagined by them to be in love with the Sun.

LAVANGA LATA' (_Limonia Scandens_.)--A very small red flower growing upon a creeper, which has been celebrated by Jaya Deva in his famous work called the _Gita Govinda_. This creeper is used in native gardens for bowers.

MALLIKA' (_Jasminum Zambac_.)--A white flower resembling the _Bela_. It has a very sweet smell and is used by native females to make ornaments.

It is frequently alluded to by Indian poets.

MUCHAKUNDA (_Pterospermum Suberifolia_).--A strongly scented flower, which grows in cl.u.s.ters and is of a brown colour.

MA'LATI (_Echites Caryophyllata_.)--The flower of a creeper which is commonly used in native gardens. It has a slight smell and is of a white colour.

MA'DHAVI (_Gaertnera Racemosa_.)--The flower of another creeper which is also to be seen in native gardens. It is likewise of a white colour.

NA'GESWARA (_Mesua Ferrua_.)--A white flower with yellow filaments, which are said to possess medicinal properties and are used by the native physicians. It has a very sweet smell and is supposed by Indian poets to form one of the darts of Kama Deva. See Sir William Jones's Hymn to that deity.

PADMA (_Nelumbium Speciosum_.)--The Indian lotus, which is held to be sacred to Vishnu, Brama, Mahadava, Durga, Lakshami and Saraswati as well as all the higher orders of Indian deities. It is a very elegant flower and is highly esteemed by the natives, in consequence of which the Indian poets frequently allude to it in their writings.

PA'RIJATA (_Buchanania Latifolia_.)--A handsome white flower, with a slight smell. In native poetry, it furnishes a simile for pretty eyes, and is held to be sacred to Vishnu.

PAREGATA (_Erythrina Fulgens_.)--A flower which is supposed to bloom in the garden of Indra in heaven, and forms the subject of an interesting episode in the _Puranas_, in which the two wives of Krisna, (Rukmini and Satyabhama) are said to have quarrelled for the exclusive possession of this flower, which their husband had stolen from the celestial garden referred to. It is supposed to be identical with the flower of the _Palta madar_.

RAJANI GANDHA (_Polianthus Tuberosa_.)--A white tulip-shaped flower which blooms at night, from which circ.u.mstance it is called "the Rajani Gandha, (or night-fragrance giver)." It is the Indian tuberose.

RANGANA.--A small and very pretty red flower which is used by native females in ornamenting their betels.

SEONTI. _Rosa Glandulefera_. A white flower resembling the rose in size and appearance. It has a sweet smell.

SEPHA'LIKA (_Nyctanthes Arbor-tristis_.)--A very pretty and delicate flower which blooms at night, and drops down shortly after. It has a sweet smell and is held to be sacred to Shiva. The juice of the leaves of the Sephalika tree are used in curing both remittant and intermittent fevers.

SURYJA MUKHI (_Helianthus Annuus_).--A large and very handsome yellow flower, which is said to turn itself to the Sun, as he goes from East to West, whence it has derived its name.