शाल्मलिनामानि (Names of the cotton tree)

[Nityānanda Miśra]

Names of the cotton tree (Bombax ceiba L.) in Sanskrit

The cotton tree (Bombax ceiba L.), called ‘Śālmali’ in Sanskrit and ‘semal’ or ‘semar’ in Hindi, is well known in Sanskrit literature. One is nothing short of amazed on seeing the rich and diverse set of names used for this tree (first image) in Sanskrit. The names indicate a very close observation of nature by our ancestors. The below twelve names are from the Amarakoṣa (2.4.46) and Jain and Verma (2012).

‘kaṇṭakadruma’ (कण्टकद्रुम): “the thorny tree”. The stem of the tree has conical spines (second image)

‘devavṛkṣa’ (देववृक्ष): “the tree of the gods”. As per the Mahābhārata (XII.156.7, Gita Press edition), Pitāmaha (Brahmā) rested under a Śālmali tree after creating the worlds.

‘nirgandhapuṣpa’ (निर्गन्धपुष्प): “with scentless flowers”. The red flowers of the tree (third image) do not have a strong odour. The flower is beautiful but when it ripens, there are cotton fibres inside which cannot be eaten (sixth image). This led the great poet Sūradāsa to write the following powerful lines in his famous pada रे मन मूरख जनम गँवायौ—“यह संसार फूल सेमर ज्यौं सुन्दर देखि लुभायौ। चाखन लाग्यौ रुई उड़ि गई हाथ कछू नहिं आयौ॥” which translates as “This world is like the flower of a ‘semal’ tree. You were attracted by seeing the beautiful flower. But when you started tasting the [resulting] fruit, the cotton flew away and you did not get anything in hand.”

‘pañcaparṇī’ (पञ्चपर्णी): “five-leaved”. The tree has largely penta-foliate leaves (fourth and seventh images). Even the flowers (third image, also fifth image) have five petals.

‘picchilā’ (पिच्छिला): “having a gum”. This is one of the several feminine names of the tree. The bark of the tree exudes a dark-brown colored gum known as Mocharus (‘semal-gond’) in Hindi (eighth image). It is believed the gum is a result of the tree’s natural wounds caused by decay, insects, or a functional disease.

‘pūraṇī’ (पूरणी): Another feminine name which means “she who fills or completes”. I do not know why the tree is called so. Possibly because of its large size? The tree can easily grow up to 40 metres high and in some regions up to 50 or 60 metres high.

‘mocā’ (मोचा): Another feminine name which means “she who releases [gum/resin]”. The name Mocharus for the gum most likely comes from this Sanskrit name ‘mocā’.

‘yamavṛkṣa’ (यमवृक्ष): “the tree of Yama”. This name is possibly due to the long life of the tree. See comment on ‘sthirāyu’ below.

‘raktapuṣpa’ (रक्तपुष्प): “having red flowers”. The flowers are red in colour (third image). The flowers are indeed beautiful as Sūradāsa observed with the eyes of his mind.

‘śālmali’ (शाल्मलि): “he who covers and holds”. This is the most common name for the tree in Sanskrit literature. Source of the Hindi words ‘semal’ and ‘semar’.

‘śālmalī’ (शाल्मली): “she who covers and holds”. Feminine form of ‘śālmali’.

‘sthirāyu’ (स्थिरायु): “long-lasting, having a permanent life”. This name is due to the long life of the tree. As per an ancient half-verse, the tree was believed to live for 60,000 years in the forest: षष्टिः वर्षसहस्राणि वने जीवति शाल्मलिः.

The fifth image, from Jain and Verma (2012), shows various parts of the tree.

Reference: V. Jain and S.K. Verma. Pharmacology of Bombax Ceiba Linn. 2012. Heidelberg: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-27903-4.

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Nityānanda Miśra

[Nityānanda Miśra]

Posting the message again, as diacritics seem to have been messed up in the font displayed in the last post and some image numbers were mixed up. Apologies for the repeat post.  

Names of the cotton tree (Bombax ceiba L.) in Sanskrit

The cotton tree (Bombax ceiba L.), called ‘Śālmali’ in Sanskrit and ‘semal’ or ‘semar’ in Hindi, is well known in Sanskrit literature. One is nothing short of amazed on seeing the rich and diverse set of names used for this tree (first image) in Sanskrit. The names indicate a very close observation of nature by our ancestors. The below twelve names are from the Amarakoṣa (2.4.46) and Jain and Verma (2012).

‘kaṇṭakadruma’ (कण्टकद्रुम): “the thorny tree”. The stem of the tree has conical spines (second image)

‘devavṛkṣa’ (देववृक्ष): “the tree of the gods”. As per the Mahābhārata (XII.156.7, Gita Press edition), Pitāmaha (Brahmā) rested under a Śālmali tree after creating the worlds.

‘nirgandhapuṣpa’ (निर्गन्धपुष्प): “with scentless flowers”. The red flowers of the tree (third image) do not have a strong odour. The flower is beautiful but when it ripens, there are only cotton fibres which cannot be eaten (sixth image). This led the great poet Sūradāsa to write the following powerful lines in his famous pada रे मन मूरख जनम गँवायौ—“यह संसार फूल सेमर ज्यौं सुन्दर देखि लुभायौ। चाखन लाग्यौ रुई उड़ि गई हाथ कछू नहिं आयौ॥” which translates as “This world is like the flower of a ‘semal’ tree. You were attracted by seeing the beautiful flower. But when you started tasting the [resulting] fruit, the cotton flew away and you did not get anything in hand.”

‘pañcaparṇī’ (पञ्चपर्णी): “five-leaved”. The tree has largely penta-foliate leaves (fourth and seventh images). Even the flowers (third image) have five petals.

‘picchilā’ (पिच्छिला): “having a gum”. This is one of the several feminine names of the tree. The bark of the tree exudes a dark-brown colored gum (eighth image) known as Mocharus, called ‘semal-gond’ in Hindi. It is believed the gum is a result of the tree’s natural wounds caused by decay, insects, or a functional disease.

‘pūraṇī’ (पूरणी): Another feminine name which means “she who fills or completes”. I do not know why the tree is called so. Possibly because of its large size? The tree can easily grow up to 40 metres high and in some regions up to 50 or 60 metres high.

‘mocā’ (मोचा): Another feminine name which means “she who releases [gum/resin]”. The name Mocharus for the gum most likely comes from this Sanskrit name ‘mocā’.

‘yamavṛkṣa’ (यमवृक्ष): “the tree of Yama”. This name is possibly due to the long life of the tree. See comment on ‘sthirāyu’ below.

‘raktapuṣpa’ (रक्तपुष्प): “having red flowers”. The flowers are red in colour (third image). The flowers are indeed beautiful as Sūradāsa observed with the eyes of his mind.

‘śālmali’ (शाल्मलि): “he who covers and holds”. This is the most common name for the tree in Sanskrit literature. Source of the Hindi words ‘semal’ and ‘semar’.

‘śālmalī’ (शाल्मली): “she who covers and holds”. Feminine form of ‘śālmali’.

‘sthirāyu’ (स्थिरायु): “long-lasting, having a permanent life”. This name is due to the long life of the tree. As per an ancient half-verse, the tree was believed to live for 60,000 years in the forest: षष्टिः वर्षसहस्राणि वने जीवति शाल्मलिः.

The fifth image, from Jain and Verma (2012), shows various parts of the tree.

Reference: V. Jain and S.K. Verma. Pharmacology of Bombax Ceiba Linn. 2012. Heidelberg: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-27903-4.

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Nityānanda Miśra
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