Utpala

Utpala · ut-pala, “the water lily”

Grammar: neuter noun. Its synonym is kuvalaya; the blue kind is nīlotpala.

Meaning: the water lily (in Telugu, kaluva), a flower of the ponds, offered in pūjā and used in medicine.

In the scriptures: in his lexicon Agnideva gives utpala and kuvalaya as the words for the water lily. Beside it he names indīvara, the blue lotus; kumuda and kairava, the white water lily; nīlotpala, the blue water lily; and kokanada, the red water lily (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 360).

In pūjā. In the Kaumuda vrata, one fasts on Āśvayuja śukla ekādaśī. On the dvādaśī one smears the limbs of Śrī Mahāvishṇu with candana (sandal) and worships him with utpala and other flowers, offers a lamp of oil and food cooked in ghee as naivedya, offers him mālatī flowers too, and completes the vrata reciting “oṃ namo vāsudevāya”. One who keeps the Kaumuda vrata so gains dharma, artha, kāma and moksha into his own hands (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 198). In the list of the flowers that please Śrī Mahāvishṇu, Kṛshṇa-tulasī, white tulasī, kalhāra, utpala, padma and kokanada flowers give puṇya (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 202).

Among the gems. In the examination of gems, utpala is the last of the gems named to be worn; only gems that have lustre within, are clean and are well shaped should be worn (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 246).

In medicine. Dhanvantari uses utpala in many formulas:

  • Oil boiled in milk with śyāmā, yashṭi, haridrā (turmeric), lodhra, padmaka, utpala, candana and marica heals wounds (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 283).
  • Milk, mārkava juice, madhuka and utpala, cooked with oil until a quarter remains and used as nasya (nasal drops), lessen grey hair. Dhātakī, candana, madhuka, utpala, dāru and medā, mixed with ghee and applied, heal wounds. Samaṅgā, dhātakī flowers, lodhra and nīlotpala given with milk destroy the pradara disease of women. When there is fear of miscarriage, a powder with madhuka, white candana, padma, utpala, śarkarā and tila keeps the garbha (the child in the womb) steady (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 285).
  • If a woman’s garbha is slipping, she takes śarkarā, utpala flower, lodhra, candana and śārivā ground in rice-wash water. Kesara, the root of bṛhatī, gopī, tṛṇa and utpala, ground in goat’s milk, mixed with oil and eaten, make the hair grow and stop it falling (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 302).

Related terms: Kuvalaya · Nīlotpala · Indīvara · Kumuda · Padma · Kaumuda Vrata

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 198, 202, 246, 283, 285, 302, 360