Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, bo tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipala tree or ashvattha tree (in India and Nepal). The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in four major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Hindu and Jain ascetics consider the species to be sacred and often meditate under it. Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment under a tree of this species. The sacred fig is the state tree of the Indian states of Odisha, Bihar and Haryana.
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In this Dossier
Ficus religiosa in the context of Parikrama
Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path along which this is performed. In Indic religions, the parikrama is typically done after completion of traditional worship (puja) and after paying homage to the deity. Parikrama must be done with dhyāna (spiritual contemplation and meditation).
In Hinduism, parikrama of religious deities in a temple, sacred rivers, sacred hills and a close cluster of temples as a symbol of prayer is an integral part of Hindu worship. Hindu temple architecture include various Pradakshina paths. There could a parikrama path surrounding the chief deity and several other broader paths concentric to the main path, although it is not uncommon to find non-concentric parikrama paths. At times the outermost parikrama path covers the whole village, town, city, thereby implying that the length of the path can stretch. Parikrama is also done around the sacred Peepal tree, tulsi (Indian basil plant), and agni (sacred fire or the fire God), and agni parikrama, known as Mangal phera, is a part of the Hindu wedding ceremony.
Ficus religiosa in the context of Tree (mythology)
Trees are significant in many of the world's mythologies, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. Human beings, observing the growth and death of trees, and the annual death and revival of their foliage, have often seen them as powerful symbols of growth, death and rebirth. Evergreen trees, which largely stay green throughout these cycles, are sometimes considered symbols of the eternal, immortality or fertility. The image of the Tree of life or world tree occurs in many mythologies.
Examples include the banyan and the sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil of Judaism and Christianity. In folk religion and folklore, trees are often said to be the homes of tree spirits. Germanic mythology as well as Celtic polytheism both appear to have involved cultic practice in sacred groves, especially grove of oak. The term druid itself possibly derives from the Celtic word for oak. The Egyptian Book of the Dead mentions sycamores as part of the scenery where the soul of the deceased finds blissful repose.
Ficus religiosa in the context of World tree
The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European, Siberian, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld. It may also be strongly connected to the motif of the tree of life, but it is the source of wisdom of the ages.
Specific world trees include Égig érő fa in Hungarian mythology, Ağaç Ana in Turkic mythology, Kenac' Car in Armenian mythology, Modun in Mongol mythology, Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, Irminsul in Germanic mythology, the oak in Slavic, Finnish and Baltic, Jianmu (Chinese: 建木; pinyin: jiànmù) in Chinese mythology, and in Hindu mythology the Ashvattha (a Ficus religiosa).
Ficus religiosa in the context of Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi
The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is a sacred Bo tree (Ficus religiosa) located in the Mahamewuna Garden, within the historic UNESCO World Heritage City of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is believed to be a tree grown from a cutting of the southern branch from the historical sacred bo tree, Sri Maha Bodhi, which was destroyed during the time of Emperor Ashoka, at Bodh Gaya in India, under which Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) attained enlightenment. In 236 BC, the Buddhist nun Sangamitta Maha Theri, a daughter of Indian Emperor Ashoka, brought the tree cutting to Sri Lanka during the reign of Sinhalese King Devanampiya Tissa. At more than 2,300 years old, it is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world with a known planting date. The Mahāvaṃsa, or the great chronicle of the Sinhalese, provides an elaborate account of the establishment of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi on the Island and the subsequent development of the site as a major Buddhist pilgrimage site.
Today, the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is situated on a high terrace, about 6.5 meters above the ground, and surrounded by 4 other lower-level terraces with Bo trees called "Parivara Bodhi" planted for its protection. The site is currently administered by the Chief High Priest of Atamasthana and the Atamasthana Palakasabha, the administrative body of the Atamasthana. It receives millions of pilgrims each year. The site is open to visitors and continuously hosts numerous acts of worship throughout the year. However, access to the uppermost terrace where the bo tree is located is restricted due to the old age of the tree and various acts of vandalism it has endured throughout history, including a terrorist attack by the LTTE in 1985, where around 146 pilgrims were massacred.