Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa)

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Peepul Tree and Fruit

***** Location: India
***** Season: All Summer
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation



Pipal, Peepul, Peepal, Peepil or Bo tree (Ficus religiosa)

Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa), a native tree of India, held sacred by the Buddhists, who believe that Gautama Buddha received enlightenment under a Bo tree at Bodh Gaya.
The Bo tree attains great size and age; the leaves, which hang from long, flexible petioles, rustle in the slightest breeze.
Pipal is also spelled peepul or pipul. All parts of the Pipal tree, including roots, bark, leaf and fruit, are useful. The botanical classification of the Bo tree is:

Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Urticales
Family: Moraceae.

Description of the Plant: Large tree. Flower color red. Flowers in February. Fruits in May / June. Widely found in uplands and plain area.

Plant Parts Used: Root / Bark / Leaf / Fruit.
© http://www.haryana-online.com/Flora/pipal.htm

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quote
Cotton Threads
of various colours like red, yellow and white are tied around Pipal tree trunks especially in Northern and Western parts of India. This ritual is performed especially on the Vat Savitri puja day (May – June). During Vat Savitri Puja, the Banayan or Pipal Tree symbolically represents Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The root of Vat Vriksha is Brahma, the stem is Vishnu and the upper part is Shiva.

The Pipal tree plays an important role in the famous story of Satyavan Savitri. It is believed that Satyavan spend his last moments under a Vat or Banyan tree on the full moon day in month of Jyeshtha. And Yamraj appeared here and Savitri pleaded with Yamraj under the Banyan tree.



In memory of this event, women go round the Banyan tree for 108 times tying threads and fast for the health and longevity of their husbands.

There are also other hidden symbolic meanings – one such meanings is narrated by Bhagwat Shah of Pushtimarg :

The Pipal tree represents the tree of life and is sacred in Hindu Religion. It supports life of all sorts and is famous for its long life. The pipal tree also has the property to purify air.

The cotton thread is just the opposite The cotton thread represents the fragile nature of life, love, trust, faith – and all things that go on to make up a relationship. A single thread may be weak, but, when it is wound 108 times around the trunk, it becomes strong. It is no longer so fragile and no longer easy to break.

By walking around the tree 108 times, the wife contemplates on these matters. Love can only be strengthened by trust, faith and desire to make it work! With each step, the woman strengthens her relationship with her husband. She prays not just for her husband’s long life, but an enduring relationship that will last beyond this life and into the next.
source : www.hindu-blog.com


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Bodh Gaya was the place, under the pipal or Bo tree, where the Buddha was enlightened after practising meditation for several years.

Nirvana Ceremony (Nehan-E　涅槃会)
a kigo in Japan




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Worldwide use

Japan

bodai no mi 菩提の実（ぼだいのみ）linden fruit
..... bodaiju no mi 菩提樹の実（ぼだいじゅのみ）
..... bodaishi 菩提子 (ぼだいし)
Tilia miqueliana. Lindenbaum
Ficus religiosa. Pepulbaum, Bo-Baum. Buddha-Tree

. WKD : fruit kigo for late autumn .


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figs, ichijiku　無花果
kigo for late autumn

118 Japanese haiku about the fig, ichijiku　!!! 　

Fig called "Chinese Persimmon" toogaki 唐柿　とうがき
Click HERE for photos.

Japanese sweet with figs, hororoishi　ほろろいし
Click HERE for photos.


kigo for all summer
aoichijiku, ao ichijiku 青無花果 (あおいちじく) green fig




BONSAI
Willow Leaf Fig (Ficus salicifolia)

Click for more photos !



無花果を裂けばほどなく雨の音
ichijiku o sakeba hodonaku ame no oto

preparing a fig
and shortly thereafter
the sound of rain

Oki Takako (Ooki) 大木孝子


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Mongolia 　


Buddha
merges in fallen leaves-
late autumn

- Shared by Zaya Nergui -
Haiku Culture Magazine, 2013



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Turkey　

Fig, Figs, Ficus carica


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

smoldering heat
the peepul tree covered
with suspended gold plates

Kala Ramesh, India, September 2006

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Buddha meditating
under great Peepul tree
sheltering each other

Aju Mukhopadhyay, India, October 2006


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autumn leaves
a million sunsets
in my ficus

Vidur Jyoti, India, October 2007


sudden shower
whole sky in a puddle
under the peepal


sacred thread
going around the peepal
her shadow

Vidur Jyoti, India, November 2007


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Peepal - ਪਿੱਪਲ -पीपल


drowsy dew-trickle
down the peepal leaves
jal-trang on the tin-roof

Hardilbagh Singh Gill



Jal-trang is a musical instrument.
The Jal Tarang (Hindi: जल तरंग, Urdu: جل ترنگ), Jaltarang, Jal-tarang, Jal-yantra, Jalatarangam or Jalatharangam,
is an Indian melodic percussion instrument. It consists of a set of ceramic bowls tuned with water. The bowls are played by striking the edge with beaters, one in each hand.
Jal-tarang finds its first mention in Sangeet Parijaat.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




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barren village -
a sparrow’s feather
under the peepal

dry sawan -
an empty swing
under the peepal

- Shared by Sandip Sital Chauhan -
Joys of Japan, August 2012


"The rainy season is beautiful;
the months of Saawan and Bhaadon bring bliss."
. Month of Sawan (Savan) in Punjab .


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Related words

***** Banyan Tree, Barh (Ficus bengalensis)

Banyan is viewed by Hindus as the male plant to the closely related peepul or bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa).

WKD : Banyan Tree


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