Part 24 (1/2)

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 s.h.i.+va. 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'TAs.h.i.+.--A small yellowish or brown coloured flower without any smell.

It is supposed to be sacred to s.h.i.+va, 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 wors.h.i.+p. 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 s.h.i.+va.

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.