Aśoka (Tree)
Aśoka · a-śoka, “without sorrow”
Grammar: masculine noun; a- (without) and śoka (sorrow, grief): “the one without sorrow”.
Meaning: the aśoka tree, whose flowers are offered in pūjā and whose worship takes away grief.
In the scriptures: the Bhavishya Purāṇa gives the aśoka its own vrata, and names the tree and its flowers in many rites.
Planting. One who plants the aśoka never has grief (Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 10–11). Tiṃtiḍī seeds are ground with sugarcane stalk, mixed in water and sprinkled, and the aśoka grows (the same chapters). It is among the trees that have no pratishṭhā (Bhāga 3, Chapters 14–17).
The Aśokavrata. Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches it. On the śukla pratipadā of Āśvina, the Aśoka tree with its fresh leaves is worshipped with gandha, pushpa, dhūpa, dīpa and saptadhānya, and with naivedya of fruits, coconut, pomegranate, laḍḍu and others. Arghya is offered to it with this mantra:
पितृभ्रातृपतिश्वश्रूश्वशुराणां तथैव च।
अशोक शोकशमनो भव सर्वत्र नः कुले॥pitṛbhrātṛpatiśvaśrūśvaśurāṇāṃ tathaiva ca |
aśoka śokaśamano bhava sarvatra naḥ kule ||O Aśoka tree, calm the śoka of all in my kula: father, brother, husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 9–10
The tree is wrapped with cloth and adorned with flags. One who does this never has śoka. A woman who keeps it with bhakti becomes most dear to her husband, like Damayantī, Svāhā, Vedavatī and Satī. Sītā, at the time of going to the forest, on the way, performed pūjā of the Aśoka tree with bhakti, with gandha, pushpa, dhūpa, dīpa, naivedya, tila and akshata, did pradakshiṇā and went on to the forest. The woman who worships it with tila, akshata, wheat and mustard, bows with the mantra, does pradakshiṇā and gives dakshiṇā to a brāhmaṇa, is freed of śoka, enjoys the happiness of the world with her husband for a long time, and at the end dwells in Gaurīloka. This Aśokavrata removes every kind of śoka and roga (Uttara Parva, Chapters 9–10).
The flower. Its flowers are offered to Brahmā (Brahma Parva, Chapter 17), and it is among the flowers approved for the pūjā of Bhagavān Sūrya (Chapter 115). Pūjā of Bhagavatī Devī in a clay form with aśoka flowers on Caitra śukla ashṭamī ends all sorrow (Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapters 7–8). It is the flower of Vijayā in the Saubhāgyaśayana vrata (Uttara Parva, Chapter 25), of Caitra, with mallikā, in the Ananta-tṛtīyā vrata (Chapter 26), one of the flowers of the pushpāñjalis (Chapter 41), and the fifth of the twelve flowers of the caturdaśīs (Chapters 96–97).
In other rites. The ground is cleansed with palāśa or aśoka leaves (Uttara Parva, Chapters 13–14). In the Kāmavrata one keeps nakta for a year from trayodaśī, and at the pāraṇā gives a golden aśoka tree with two cloths and dakshiṇā to a brāhmaṇa; all grief is removed and one attains Vishṇuloka (Chapter 121).
Related terms: Aśokavrata · Śoka · Karavīra
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 17, 115; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 10–11; Bhāga 2, Chapters 7–8; Bhāga 3, Chapters 14–17; Uttara Parva, Chapters 9–10, 13–14, 25–26, 41, 96–97, 121