PARIJATA

This plant is no longer available on earth. It was a divine plant that grew in the gardens of Indralok. It became a source of tension between Indra and Krishna, and Lord Krishna finally brought this plant to earth at the request of his consort Satyabhama. This plant is said to have again ascended to Indralok when Lord Krishna left for his heavenly abode. The legend is as follows:

Indra planted the Parijata tree, one of the products of the churning of the ‘Ocean of Milk’, in his garden. Narada, who delighted in sowing discord, brought a flower of this tree to Dwarka and presented it to Krishna. He waited to see which of his wives Krishna would give the flower. Krishna gave it to Rukmani whereupon Narada went straight to Satyabhama; Krishna’s other consort wearing a sorrowful look. On her inquiry about why he was sad, the sage replied that he had presented Krishna with a flower of the Parijata tree thinking that he would present it to her, his favorite wife, but was grieved to find that he had given it to Rukmini instead. Satyabhama’s jealousy was roused, and she asked Narada what could be done to spite Rukmani. The sage advised her to ask Krishna to bring the Parijata tree itself to Dwarka and plant it near her abode.

After giving this advice he went back to the celestial region and informed Indra that thieves were about and that he should guard the Parijata tree with care. Satyabhama repaired to the ‘anger chamber’ and when Krishna came to her and tried to console her, she replied she would not be satisfied with anything less than the Parijata tree itself. Krishna proceeded to Amrawati with Satyabhama, stole into Indra’s garden and uprooted the Parijata tree. Mounted on Garuda, he escaped with the tree but Indra, warned by Narada, followed him. A battle followed and Indra was defeated and Krishna brought the tree to DwarkaNow he had to face the problem of fulfilling his promise to Satyabhama without offending Rukmani. He solved the problem by planting the tree in such a position that while its base and trunk lay within Satybhama’s garden, its branches extended over the adjoining palace of Rukmani, scattering flowers early in the morning.

Note: The parijata tree is believed to be ‘Har Singar’ (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) which shed its flowers at nighttime when they exhale exquisite fragrance