PARIJAT THE GRAND SYMBOL OF INDIAN MYTHOLOGY:Part I

Parijaat
Village Kintur, about 38 Kms. east of district headquarters  Barabanki was named after Kunti, mother of the Pandav. There are a number ancient temples and their remains around this place. Nearby a temple established by Kunti, is a special tree called Parijaat. There are a number of sayings about this tree, which have popular acceptance. One being,

Parijaat Tree
Arjun brought this tree from heavens and Kunti used to offer and crown Shivji with its flowers. The other saying being, that Lord Krishna brought this tree for his beloved queen Satyabhama. Historically, though these saying may have some bearing or not, but it is true that this tree is from a very ancient background. The following is said in the  Harivansh Puraan about Parijaat. Parijaat is a type of Kalpvraksh, it is said to be found 
only in the heavens and, whosoever makes a wish under  this tree, gets fulfilled. In the Religious and ancient literature, we find a number of references to the Kalpvraksh, but no description whatsoever of its existence can be found anywhere in the world,   except  for only  Kintur (Barabanki ). Whereby this unique  Parijaat tree of Kintur holds a special place in the world. In botanical  terms, PARIJAAT is known as Adansonia digitata and has been kept in a special category, because it does not produce either   its fruit or  its seeds, neither can its branch cuttings can be planted to reproduce a second Parijaat  tree. This is a unisex male tree, the botanist say, that  there is no such tree anywhere else to be found. 

Parijaat Flower
The leaves of this tree in the lower portion has five tips like the fingers of a hand, while at the upper reaches it has seven. Its flower is very beautiful and white in colour, on drying out it takes on golden tinge. This flower has five petals. This tree blossoms very occasionally, with very few flower, but when it does,  that is after the 'Ganga Dashehra', spreads its fragrance far and wide. The age of this tree is said to be 1000 to 5000 years. The perimeter of  the trunk of this tree is around 50 feet and height of around 45 feet. There is another popular saying that, its branches do not break or dryout but shrink and disappear into the original trunk. The nearby people consider it to be their protector and obliging, henceforth they protect its leaves and flowers at all costs. Local people hold it in high esteem, in addition to the large number of tourists who visit to see this unique tree.

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