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Kalpavriksha
In India, coconut Tree is appropriately eulogized as ‘Kalpavriksha’ a mythological tree supposed to grant all desires or – “the tree that provides all the necessities of life.
It was a product of the churning of the ocean by gods and demons and ultimately it was taken to heaven and planted in Indra‘s garden.
Another legend says Coconut tree was created by sage Vishwamitra, to prop up his friend King Trishanku when the latter was literally thrown out of heaven by Indra .
The people of Kerala, have an interesting folktale that explains how the coconut tree came to be, and how the coconut got its face.
There was once a young fisherman who was unable to catch a single fish. He tried every way he knew, but none of them succeeded. The young man not only became poorer and hungrier, but also became the laughing stock of the village. This filled him with despair, and he decided to learn some magic that would help him to catch fish.
So, he went to a famous magician who taught him how to remove his head from his body. Soon the young man started going to the beach late in the evenings when all the other fishermen had returned to their homes with their daily catch. Then he would hide behind some rocks, take his head off from his body, and dive into the water. The fish, amazed at the sight of a headless man floating in the sea, would swarm around him curiously. Some of them would enter the man’s body through his neck. The man would then swim ashore, take the fish out, and replace his head. Then he would proudly go back to his village and show the villagers all the fish that he had caught.
After a few days, the villagers began to wonder how the young man was able to catch so many fish everyday without using fishing nets or rods.
One day, a curious little boy followed him to the beach and watched as he pulled off his head and dived into the water. The little boy quickly ran forward, picked up the man’s head, and threw it into a bush. When the man came out of the water, he could not find his head.
He searched for it frantically, but could not find it. Then, because his magic was running out, he threw himself back into the sea, and became a fish.
The curious little boy brought all the villagers to the beach show them the man’s amazing head. But when they got to the bush where he had thrown the man’s head, they found that it had already grown into a tall and slender palm with nuts on it.
Each nut had the man’s face on it. And, that is how the coconut tree was created.
In Vadakurungaduthurai, Lord Kulavanangeesar is believed to have taken the form of a coconut tree to help quench the thirst of a pregnant woman.
In Kerala, Goddess Bhagavati is believed to be the soul of the coconut tree.
One of the Goddess’s common epithets is Kurumba which means ‘tender coconut’.
During the naming ceremony of a child on the twelfth day after its birth, coconuts are given to all the women present. The guests also put a coconut each in the lap of the new mother with a blessing that her progeny should be healthy and prosperous. This was the practice in some regions.
In Gujarat the bride offers a coconut to the bridegroom and this coconut is preserved by him throughout his life.
Its fruit is a symbol of fecundity, so the women who nurse the desire for a son, are given a coconut as prasad (gift- holy food) by the priest. In other marriage rituals, it is bestowed upon women wishing to bear children and given as memento by the life partner, as proposal of marriage, welcoming of a bride, and to ward off evil.
At the beginning of any auspicious task or a journey, people smash coconuts to propitiate Sri Ganesha – the remover of all obstacles.
Hindus also break coconuts in temples or in front of idols in fulfillment of their vows and wishes.
During the annual Adi festival of Sri Mahalakshmi Amman temple at Mettumahadanapuram in Karur district, coconuts are broken on the heads of the devotees by the temple priests
See the Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vow9rBrEmZ0
(THIS POST IS FOR SHARING KNOWLEDGE ONLY, NO INTENTION TO VIOLATE ANY COPY RIGHTS)
In India, coconut Tree is appropriately eulogized as ‘Kalpavriksha’ a mythological tree supposed to grant all desires or – “the tree that provides all the necessities of life.
It was a product of the churning of the ocean by gods and demons and ultimately it was taken to heaven and planted in Indra‘s garden.
Another legend says Coconut tree was created by sage Vishwamitra, to prop up his friend King Trishanku when the latter was literally thrown out of heaven by Indra .
The people of Kerala, have an interesting folktale that explains how the coconut tree came to be, and how the coconut got its face.
There was once a young fisherman who was unable to catch a single fish. He tried every way he knew, but none of them succeeded. The young man not only became poorer and hungrier, but also became the laughing stock of the village. This filled him with despair, and he decided to learn some magic that would help him to catch fish.
So, he went to a famous magician who taught him how to remove his head from his body. Soon the young man started going to the beach late in the evenings when all the other fishermen had returned to their homes with their daily catch. Then he would hide behind some rocks, take his head off from his body, and dive into the water. The fish, amazed at the sight of a headless man floating in the sea, would swarm around him curiously. Some of them would enter the man’s body through his neck. The man would then swim ashore, take the fish out, and replace his head. Then he would proudly go back to his village and show the villagers all the fish that he had caught.
After a few days, the villagers began to wonder how the young man was able to catch so many fish everyday without using fishing nets or rods.
One day, a curious little boy followed him to the beach and watched as he pulled off his head and dived into the water. The little boy quickly ran forward, picked up the man’s head, and threw it into a bush. When the man came out of the water, he could not find his head.
He searched for it frantically, but could not find it. Then, because his magic was running out, he threw himself back into the sea, and became a fish.
The curious little boy brought all the villagers to the beach show them the man’s amazing head. But when they got to the bush where he had thrown the man’s head, they found that it had already grown into a tall and slender palm with nuts on it.
Each nut had the man’s face on it. And, that is how the coconut tree was created.
In Vadakurungaduthurai, Lord Kulavanangeesar is believed to have taken the form of a coconut tree to help quench the thirst of a pregnant woman.
In Kerala, Goddess Bhagavati is believed to be the soul of the coconut tree.
One of the Goddess’s common epithets is Kurumba which means ‘tender coconut’.
During the naming ceremony of a child on the twelfth day after its birth, coconuts are given to all the women present. The guests also put a coconut each in the lap of the new mother with a blessing that her progeny should be healthy and prosperous. This was the practice in some regions.
In Gujarat the bride offers a coconut to the bridegroom and this coconut is preserved by him throughout his life.
Its fruit is a symbol of fecundity, so the women who nurse the desire for a son, are given a coconut as prasad (gift- holy food) by the priest. In other marriage rituals, it is bestowed upon women wishing to bear children and given as memento by the life partner, as proposal of marriage, welcoming of a bride, and to ward off evil.
At the beginning of any auspicious task or a journey, people smash coconuts to propitiate Sri Ganesha – the remover of all obstacles.
Hindus also break coconuts in temples or in front of idols in fulfillment of their vows and wishes.
During the annual Adi festival of Sri Mahalakshmi Amman temple at Mettumahadanapuram in Karur district, coconuts are broken on the heads of the devotees by the temple priests
See the Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vow9rBrEmZ0
(THIS POST IS FOR SHARING KNOWLEDGE ONLY, NO INTENTION TO VIOLATE ANY COPY RIGHTS)