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Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion

Plant Life in South Asian Traditions

Edited by
Fabrizio Ferrari
Università degli Studi di Padova
Thomas Dähnhardt [+–]
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Thomas Dähnhardt is Lecturer in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion: Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures. Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.

Table of Contents

Preliminaries

List of Figures [+–] vii-ix
Fabrizio Ferrari,Thomas Dähnhardt FREE
Università degli Studi di Padova
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Thomas Dähnhardt is Lecturer in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion: Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures. Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.
List of Tables [+–] x
Fabrizio Ferrari,Thomas Dähnhardt FREE
Università degli Studi di Padova
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Thomas Dähnhardt is Lecturer in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion: Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures. Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.
Introduction [+–] xi-xxxix
Fabrizio Ferrari,Thomas Dähnhardt FREE
Università degli Studi di Padova
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Thomas Dähnhardt is Lecturer in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
The idea of this volume arose in the aftermath of the publication of Charming Beauties, Frightful Beasts: Non-Human Animals in South Asian Myth, Ritual and Folklore (Ferrari and Dähnhardt 2013). The growing number of publications on nature in the context of Indian religions led us to consider the possibility of extending our initial study to include plant life and the mineral world. This and the following volume (Ferrari and Dähnhardt 2016) are the result. Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion: Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures. Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.

Section 1: Nature, Landscape, Devotion

1. A Modern Kalpavr̥kṣa: Sathya Sāī Bābā and the Wish-fulfilling Tree [+–] 3-28
Antonio Rigopoulos £17.50
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Antonio Rigopoulos is Professor of Sanskrit and Indology in the Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

In Chapter 1, Antonio Rigopoulos explores the significance of divine trees in the construction of the charismatic persona of Sathya Sāī Bābā (1926–2011), the famous god-man of Puttaparthi in southern Andhra Pradesh. Particular attention is paid to the pārijāta, the tamarind tree as kalpavr̥kṣa and the vaṭa/bodhi tree, which in the saint’s hagiography are related to his advent, his miraculous powers and the meditative practice conducive to final liberation (mokṣa), respectively.
2. “Pagoda Tree”: Plants and Other Foliate Motifs on Indians Coins through History [+–] 29-54
Shailendra Bhandare £17.50
Ashmolean Museum (University of Oxford)
Shailendra Bhandare is Assistant Keeper (South Asian Numismatics), Heberden Coin Room, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.
chapter, Shailendra Bhandare examines the way in which the rich symbolism of trees and foliate motives appear on Indian coinage pertaining to two historical periods: ancient India (from c. the fifth century bce to the fifth century ce) and the Islamic period. This, the author argues, demonstrates an interesting continuity in the tradition of representation of Indian flora.
3. Divine Flora, Divine Love: The Place of Natural Scenery in the Ultimate Vision of Kr̥ṣṇa Bhakti [+–] 55-76
Graham M. Schweig £17.50
Christopher Newport University, Virginia
Graham M. Schweig is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies and Director of the Asian Studies program at Christopher Newport University, Virginia.

The last chapter of the first section investigates the wondrous and sensuous beauty of plants, trees, fruits and flowers in the Rāsa Līlā as described in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Graham Schweig explores the role of flora within the experience of devotion (bhakti) as expressed in the Vaiṣṇava narrative celebrating Kr̥ṣṇa, and the interdependent dialectical relationship between natural phenomena and the movements of the bhakta’s or devotee’s heart.

Section 2: Devotion, Ecology, Ritual

4. Perfumed Islam: The Culture of Scent at the Nizamuddin Basti [+–] 79-97
Mikko Viitamäki £17.50
University of Helsinki
Mikko Viitamäki is Lecturer of South Asian Studies in the Department of World Cultures at the University of Helsinki.
Mikko Viitamäki opens up this section with his study of ʿitr, volatile essential oils extracted from different plant material and widely used within the religious culture of Indian Sufis. From as early as the medical work of Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna, d. 1037), Sufis have contributed to create a culture of scent through which essential oils enable them to engage the olfactory sense in boosting their personal religious practice. Through his ethnographic fieldwork conducted at the Sufi shrine of Nizamuddin Auliyaʾ in Delhi, Viitamäki assesses an enduring tradition vis-à-vis the impact on the contemporary market where more affordable and long-lasting synthetic oils are available.
5. The Bodhi Tree and Other Plants in the Pāli Tipiṭaka [+–] 98-117
Antonella Serena Comba £17.50
University of Turin
Antonella Serena Comba is Research Fellow in Indology and Tibetology in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Turin.
In this chapter, Antonella Comba discusses the place of plants in the Pali Tipiṭaka. Although Indian Buddhists came to regard plants and seeds as insentient beings, the respect and love the Buddha felt for living plants was so deep that he did not allow monks to destroy plants, to pick fruits from trees, or to eat living seeds as these could generate new plants. Trees are ubiquitous in Buddhist narratives, and the forest is praised as the most suitable place for an ascetic to let go of any distraction and obtain awakening. Preaching the dhamma, the Buddha used many similes from the vegetable kingdom, because he was speaking to ascetics who like him were living in the forest and had direct experience of the inspiring power of that milieu.
6. Wood, Water, and Waste: Material Aspects of Mortuary Practices in South Asia [+–] 118-141
Albertina Nugteren £17.50
Tilburg University
View Website
Albertina Nugteren is an Indologist (classical and modern), and is Associate Professor in Religion and Ritual, Department of Culture Studies at Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
Albertina Nugteren’s chapter, which brings the second section to conclusion, maintains a focus on ecology but privileges an analysis of tradition and ritual praxis, namely the burning of bodies as part of the final sacrifice (antyeṣṭi). By relating prescriptive Sanskrit texts to fieldwork conducted in Nepal, the author explores the centrality of fire in Hindu funerary rites, the ongoing insistence on open pyres, and the religious symbolism investing in trees. The staggering quantity of dry wood required for such practices – preferably even enriched with rare woods such as sandalwood – is being challenged by today’s environmental realities, yet emerging alternatives such as electric crematoria are largely seen as clashing with a consolidated tradition.

Section 3: Ritual, Power, Myth

7. The Herbal Arsenal and Fetid Food: The Power of Plants in Early Tantric Exorcism Rituals [+–] 145-164
Michael Slouber £17.50
Western Washington University, USA
Michael Slouber is Visiting Assistant Professor of South Asian Studies in the Department of Liberal Studies at Western Washington University.
This chapter discusses early medieval Bhūta and Bāla Tantras. On the basis of unedited manuscript sources, the author describes the role played by plants in religion and life as seen through the lens of exorcism rituals. Datura, red oleander, mustard seeds, rice, sesame, garlic, fig, Flame of the forest, wood-apple: these and many more formed the basis of tantric exorcisms. Plants were used to attract, feed and repel demons. They were made into incense, oil, and weapons, as well as cakes, mannequins and medicines. Auspicious and noxious qualities of sacred plants and trees were infused into water, milk and cooling ointments, or made into sweet fragrances or foul-smelling fires. In short, the universe of early tantric exorcism ritual was suffused with plants whose powers resonate in contemporary exorcist practice across South Asia.
8. Tree-Hugger: The Sāmavedic Rite of Audumbarī [+–] 165-190
Finnian M.M. Gerety £17.50
Brown University
Finnian M.M. Gerety is a historian of Indian religions focusing on sound and mantra. After
earning a PhD. in South Asian Studies from Harvard University, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music; he currently teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University. Integrating the study of premodern texts with insights from fieldwork in contemporary India, Finn’s research explores how sound has shaped religious doctrines and practices on the subcontinent from the late Bronze Age up through today. His forthcoming book project for Oxford University Press, This Whole World is OM: A History of the Sacred Syllable in Early India, is the first-ever academic monograph on OM, the preeminent mantra and ubiquitous sacred syllable of Indian religions.
Finnian Gerety analyses the early use of the udumbara tree (Ficus racemosa L.) and its milky, sap-filled wood as a ritual object as well as offering. One rite centered on the udumbara that has received scant attention is the erection of the post of udumbara (audumbaryutthāpana) as described in the Sāmaveda. As his first act in the Soma sacrifice, the udgātar (lead singer) of the Sāmaveda raises the audumbarī, addresses it with mantras and offerings, wraps it with cloth and embraces it. Gerety analyses this rite of tree hugging with special reference to Jaiminīya texts. By advancing the audumbarī rite as the inauguration of the udgātar’s office, the SV texts present an arboreal embodiment of the musical qualities they most prize: swelling,sweetness, nourishment, and vigor. When the singer hugs the trunk, he actualizes this potency in his own performance.

Section 4: Myth, Food, Nature

9. Caryota Urens: From Vegetable Manifestation of God to Sacred Tree of the Shamans of Odisha [+–] 193-210
Stefano Beggiora £17.50
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Stefano Beggiora is Research Fellow in the History of India, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Stefano Beggiora presents his extensive fieldwork among the Lanjia Saoras in the Rayagada district of southern Odisha. In particular, he discusses the ritual use of local palm wine (toddy) extracted primarily from the jaggery palm (Caryota urens L.). The custom of drinking this fermented beverage is a characteristic feature of the tribal culture of this region. Besides its social aspect, toddy is of central importance in a wide range of shamanic rituals and in the worship of ancestors.
10. Rice and Rice Culture. Cultivation and Worship of a Divine Plant in Western Odisha [+–] 211-240
Uwe Skoda £17.50
Aarhus University, Denmark
Uwe Skoda is Associate Professor of South Asian studies in the Department of Culture and Society at Aarhus University, Denmark.
Uwe Skoda discusses rice culture amongst the Aghrias, a local peasant community in Odisha. The chapter introduces various categories of rice and cultivation techniques, thus demonstrating the extensive agricultural knowledge of Aghria peasants. Furthermore it is shown how rice unites and synchronizes various human and earth cycles in its manifestations as plant, as food, and finally as the goddess Lakṣmī.
11. Agriculture, Floriculture and Botanical Knowledge in a Middle Bengali Text [+–] 241-269
Fabrizio Ferrari £17.50
Università degli Studi di Padova
The last chapter offers an overview of the botanical lore in Śūnyapurāṇ, a heterogeneous Bengali Śaiva text attributed to Rāmāi Paṇḍit and celebrating the god Dharmarāj, a figure overlapping with local forms of Śiva. In this work, Fabrizio Ferrari analyses the place of flowers in the worship of Dharmarāj, the birth of paddy (dhānyer janma) in the popular tale of the farming (kr̥ṣak) Śiva, and the auspicious song of the husking pedal (ḍheṅkīmaṅgalā), the vehicle of sage Nārada. The chapter naturally links with the preceding study and, by means of its focus on nature and devotion, also brings us full circle to connect with Chapter 1.

End Matter

General Index [+–] 270-278
Fabrizio Ferrari,Thomas Dähnhardt FREE
Università degli Studi di Padova
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Thomas Dähnhardt is Lecturer in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion: Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures. Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.
Index of Botanical Species [+–] 279-284
Fabrizio Ferrari,Thomas Dähnhardt FREE
Università degli Studi di Padova
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Thomas Dähnhardt is Lecturer in Hindi and Urdu Languages and Literatures, Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Plant life has figured prominently in Indian culture. Archaeobotanical findings and Vedic texts confirm that plants have been central not only as a commodity (sources of food; materia medica; sacrificial matter; etc.) but also as powerful and enduring symbols. Roots of Wisdom, Branches of Devotion: Plant Life in South Asian Traditions explores how herbs, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables have been studied, classified, represented and discussed in a variety of Indian traditions such as Vedism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, indigenous cultures and Islam. Moving from an analysis of the sentience of plants in early Indian philosophies and scientific literature, the various chapters, divided in four thematic sections, explore Indian flora within devotional and mystic literature (bhakti and Sufism), mythological, ritual and sacrificial culture, folklore, medicine, perfumery, botany, floriculture and agriculture. Arboreal and floral motifs are also discussed as an expression of Indian aesthetics since early coinage to figurative arts and literary figures. Finally, the volume reflects current discourses on environmentalism and ecology as well as on the place of indigenous flora as part of an ancient yet still very much alive sacred geography.

See also the two companion volumes :

Soulless Matter, Seats of Energy:Metals, Gems and Minerals in South Asian Traditions (published)

Charming Beauties and Frightful Beasts: Non-Human Animals in South Asian Myth, Ritual and Folklore (published)

ISBN-13 (Hardback)
9781781791196
Price (Hardback)
£70.00 / $100.00
ISBN-13 (Paperback)
9781781791202
Price (Paperback)
£24.95 / $29.95
ISBN (eBook)
9781781794494
Price (eBook)
Individual
£24.95 / $29.95
Institutional
£70.00 / $100.00
Publication
01/06/2016
Pages
326
Size
234 x 156mm
Readership
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Illustration
48 figures

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