BETEL LEAF

One of the most important puja items in Hindu rituals is the betel leaf. Known as tambula in Sanskrit, the word owes its origin to the term ‘tamra’ that denotes copper which is red-colored. The red color is because of the catechu or kattha. In other regional languages in India the betel leaf is known as pan, nag ve, vetta or vettila. The betel leaf is used in pujas by Hindus for both spiritual and health reasons. The tambulam is traditionally offered by Hindus to guests after food because of its healthy properties and, therefore, after the neivedyam, tambulam is offered to the gods.

Spiritual side of the coin: The betel leaf is a symbol of freshness and prosperity. According to Skanda Purana, the betel leaf was obtained by the gods during the churning of the ocean for the nectar. The main reason that it is used in pujas, however, is that Hindus believe that different deities reside in the betel leaf.

Thus:

• Indra and Shukra are present in the top portion of the leaf
• Goddess Saraswati resides in the middle part
• Goddess Mahalakshmi resides in the lower tip
• Jyesta Lakshmi resides in the part that connects the betel leaf to the stem
• Lord Vishnu resides inside the leaf
• Lord Shiva and Kamdev reside on the outside of the leaf
• Goddess Parvati and Mangalya Devi live on the left side
• Mother Earth or Bhoomidevi lives on the right side
•  Lord Suryanarayana is there throughout the leaf

 The betel leaf is also one of the items in ashtamangalya (flowers, mangala ashtaka [rice colored with turmeric], fruits, mirror, dhoti, betel leaf and betel nut, lamp and kumkum and kajal [or kanmashi, a black ointment used to highlight the eyes]).

Betel leaves with holes, betel leaves that are dry and ones that are torn in the middle are not utilized in pujas. In south India, dakshina to priests and elders are given by keeping betel nut and a coin in the betel leaf. All pujas contain betel leaves and betel nuts.

Betel leaves are also used to adorn the mouth of the kalash pot because it purifies the water.

Health reasons: According to Sushrata, the greatest of ancient Indian medicine men and the world’s first-ever surgeon, the betel leaf preparation keeps the mouth clean, strengthens the voice, tongue and teeth and guards against diseases. It is also said to aid in digestion (saliva produced due to the chewing of the betel leaf helps in the digestion process of our body). The alkaline in the saliva helps in reducing the spread of cancer. Science has proved that cancer cells die when kept in an alkaline solution.

 The betel leaf contains a little bit of betel-oil (it is a volatile oil). It generates the spice and the taste that you feel when you chew the betel leaf. In ancient literature, this has been documented. It destroys foul odor too.

By itself, the betel leaf is a powerhouse of vitamin A and C. Further, it also contains plenty of calcium which reduces or even prevents osteoporosis.

The other ingredients used along with betel leaf are very useful too. Fennel and betel nut help speed up digestion. Nutmeg dries up the mucous. Kattha also helps in drying up the mucous. The betel leaf is also a great blood thinner. And cardamom and cloves help in reducing gas and acidity. Kattha and betel present in paan help all those suffering from cold and cough by controlling mucous production.

            Local Names

NAME	LANGUAGE
Paan	Assamese/Hindi/Oriya/Bengali
Tambula and  Nagavalli	Sanskrit,
Tanbul	Persian
Vetrilai	Tamil
Tamalapaku	Telugu
विड्याचे पान or "नागिणीचे पान"	Marathi
Naagarvel na paan	Gujarati
veeleyada yele	Kannada
Vettila	Malayalam
Malus	Tetum
Maluu	Khmer
Plū	Thai
Bulath	Sinhalese
Malu	Tokodede
Bileiy	Dhivehi
bulung samat	Kapampangan
daun sirih	Malaysian
daun sirih/suruh	Indonesian
Papulu	Chamorro
Ikmo	Tagalog
Pu	Lao
Trầu	Vietnamese
Gaweud/Gawed	Kalinga
Buyo	Bikol

SHAMI TREE

Shami, the sacred tree taxonomically known as Prosopis spicigera Linn, is sacred to Hindus who worship it before going on an important journey and on the occasion of Dushehra festival. They worship it to check bad impacts of Shani, as they believe. Religious Hindu ladies worship the tree regularly.

Shami is a Sanskrit word which means: one who removes or cleans, or suppresses. It is believed that the worship of Shami removes, cleans, or suppresses all the sins of a person. In ancient times, especially during the Epic age the Hindu warriors would offer prayers to this tree before proceeding to the battle field. The great Hindu Text Mahabharata has a legend that when Pandavas were exiled for 14 years, they had to spend one last year in disguise. It was during that period that they submitted all their arms to a Shami tree and received them back intact after the period of disguise was over i.e. after one year. They worshiped the tree and asked for power and victory in the ensuing battle that was fought in the battle field of Kurukshetra between Pandavas and Kauravas. Pandavas won the battle and hence it is believed that the Shami tree gives power and victory to those who pray to it. On Vijayadashami day people exchange Shami leaves and greet each other. This custom is popular in in Maharashtra and Karnataka states of India.

In Mysore of India, a Dushehra procession marches to a great Shami Tree (also known as Bani tree in the local language there) and the Maharaja performs royal prayer to the tree, carries a branch of this tree back to his palace. Bisnois of the Indian state of Rajasthan consider shami a sacred tree because the tree has proved itself to be a valuable source of food to them and of fodder to their cattle.

The worship of Shami is called as "Shami Pujan". It is done with recitation of the following prayer-

Shami shamyate paapam-

Shami shatruvinashanam,

Arjunasya dhanurdhari-

Ramasya priyadarsini.

Meaning: The Shami Tree cleans sins. Its thorns are redish in colour. It is lord Rama's favourite tree and in such a tree, pandavas hid their arms. O Shami, Lord Rama has worshipped you. I now embark upon my journey to victory. May you make it pleasant and free from obstacles.

Many communities in the central India worship shami during dushehra. They soak the leaves of shami in water and take bath with this water on the day before Deepawali.

Local names of Shami in india & around the world 

Language	Name
Arabic	Ghaf
Rajasthan	Khejri
Bishnois	Janty(जांटी
Punjabi	Jand
Sindh	Kandi
Kannada	Banni
Tanil	Vanni
Telugu	Jammi
Matarhi	Shami
Gujrathi	Sumri
Sinhala	Vanni-andara, katu andara

NEEM TREE

Neem is also called ‘Arista’ in Sanskrit- a word that means ‘perfect, complete and imperishable’. The Sanskrit name ‘Nimbi’ comes from the term ‘Nimbati Syasthyamdadati’ which means ‘to give good health’. ‘Pinchumada’ another name of Neem in Sanskrit mean the destroyer of leprosy and healer of skin infections. Its medicinal qualities are outlined in the earliest Sanskrit writings and its uses in Hindu medicine that dates back to very remote times. The earliest authentic record of the curative properties of Neem and is uses in the indigenous system of medicine in India is found in Kautilya’s “Arthashastra" around 4th century BC.

Neem's medicinal properties are listed in the ancient documents ‘Carak- Samhita’ and ‘Susruta-Samhita ’, the books at the foundation of the Indian system of natural treatment, Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the ancient Indian system of medicine, which emphasizes a holistic approach to human health and wellbeing. It is described in the Ayurvedic texts as ‘sarva roga nivarini’ (a universal reliever of all illness). Neem has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for more than 4,000 years due to its medicinal properties. Records show that the non-edible Neem oil was perhaps the oldest known medicinal oil. Almost every part of the Neem tree has been documented for some medicinal use. They are: Tonic and anti-periodic (root bark, stem bark, and young fruit), antiseptic and local stimulant (seed, oil, and leaves), stimulant tonic and stomachic (flowers), demulcent tonic (gum), and refreshing, nutrient, and alternative tonic (toddy). Neem bark leaves, and fruits have been used in Ayurvedic medicines for a long time and are described in ancient writing of Sushruta.

The ‘Upavanavinod’, an ancient Sanskrit treatise dealing with forestry and agriculture, cites neem as a cure for ailing soils, plants and livestock. Neem cake, the residue from the seeds after oil extraction, is fed to livestock and poultry, while its leaves increase soil fertility. The ‘Brihat Samhita’ of ‘Varahamihira’, dated about 6th century AD, contains a chapter of verses on plant medicines. It recommends that the neem tree be planted near dwellings. Smallpox and chicken pox were cured or staved off with the use of neem leaves. Unani scholars knew Neem’s properties beneficial to human health and named it as ‘Shajar-e-Munarak’, or the blessed tree. Persian scholars called Neem “Azad dirakht-I-Hind,” meaning the noble or free tree of India

Neem in Hindu Mythology:- Neem is deeply imbued with spiritual meaning. Its curative properties were attributed to the fact that a few drops of heavenly nectar fell upon it. A lot of stories had been muttered in the past of Ancient Indian History consider Neem to be of divine origin. Few are here:

• Few drops of Amrita (Ambrosia, the elixir of immortality) was dropped on the Neem trees which was carried by The Garuda (part human and part bird: creature from Hindu Mythology) to the heaven.
• In other story, Amrita was sprinkled by ‘Indira’ (the celestial kind) on the earth, which gave rise to the neem tree and thereby bestowing upon it numerous of much properties of much use to humans better than those of ‘Kalpa-vriksha ‘, the wish-fulfilling tree.
• In another instance neem tree is related to ‘Dhanmantri’ (the Aryan god of medicine). The ancient Hindus believed that planting neem trees ensured a passage to heaven. It was believed that the goddess of smallpox, ‘Sithala ’, lived in the neem tree.

In Andhra Pradesh, south of central India, Neem in Telgu language is known as ‘Vepa’ or the purifier of air. Mere presence of the Neem tree near human dwellings is believed to materially improve human health and even act as a prophylactic against malarial fever and even cholera. In Uttar Pradesh in northern India, village surrounded with Neem trees, were frequently cited as proverbially free form fever, when the neighboring villages without Neem suffered severely (Mitra 1963). Belief in curative properties of Neem in some population in India is so strong that it defies explanation. In south India, people lay a patient suffering from smallpox, chickenpox, or even syphilis on a bed of Neem leaves and fanned with a Neem branch. The medicinal properties of neem help him to suffer less and regain his health sooner. The Khasi and jaintia tribes in northeastern India use Neem leaves for curing diarrhea and dysentery, while leaves and fruits are used in treating tuberculosis and heart diseases. Because of such diverse curative properties, Neem is appropriately known as “The Village Pharmacy” in rural India and has secured a place in the Indian Pharmacopoeia. The common preparations are the powdered bark, the fresh leaves, a decoction and tincture of powdered bark, and a poultice of Neem leaves. The bark is said to be astringent, tonic and anti-periodic, while the leaves are said to act as a stimulant application to indolent and ill-conditioned ulcers.

Local names of Neem in india & around the world

Language	Name
Hindi	Neem
Bengali	Nim, Nimgachh
Konkani	Beva-rooku
Marathi	Kadunimb
Gujarati	Leemdo
Tamil	Vembu, Vempu
Punjabi	Nimb
Malayalam	Veppu, Aryaveppu
Telugu	Vepa
Simhalee	Nimu
Oriya	Nimo
Kannada	Bevinmar, Kahibevu
English	Margosa, Neem, Indian Lilac
French	Azarirae d’lnde, Margousier
German	Indischer Zadrach
Persian	Azade Darakhte Hindi
Arabic	Azad Darkhtu Hind
Burmese	Tamabin, Kamakha
Malay	Dawoon Nambu, Baypay
Latin	Azadirachta indica A.
Farsi	Azad darkht 1 hindi
Singapore	Kohumba, nimba
Indonesia	Mimba
Nigeria	Don goyaro
Spanish	Margosa
Nepal	Nim
Portuguese	Margosa, Nimbo

website for the promotion of sacred Neem :- http://neemfoundation.org/