close proximity to the temple, and undoubtedly upon the very spot which has, from the time of Asoka's conversion (257 B.C.), been identified with the Enlightenment." Indeed, there is no good reason to question the assertion that the present tree is one of a succession of offshoots from the original Bo tree. The pípul (Ficus religiosa) has been deemed sacred by all classes of Hindus from time immemorial. It is found in all parts of the country, and in the most extraordinary places. It will take root under the most unpromising conditions, and may sometimes be seen forcing its way through bricks and mortar. "No wonder," says Colonel Sleeman, "that superstition should have consecrated this tree, delicate and beautiful as it is, to the gods. The palace, the castle, the temple, and the tomb, crumble to dust beneath her withering grasp. She rises triumphant over them all in her lofty beauty, bearing high in air, amidst her green foliage, fragments of the wreck she has made, to show the nothingness of man's efforts." Oaths are taken, and invocations made, upon the leaves of the pípul. A Hindu dare not lie within its shadow. The perpetual rustling of its leaves is to him a manifestation of the mysterious presence by which he believes it to be inhabited. The roadside idol and village deity are placed at the foot of the pípul, and the ground round about is kept swept and clear. |