Pippala
Pippala
Pippala is a name used for more than one being, place and thing in the Purāṇas and Itihāsas. Each is listed below with where it is told; choose the one you are looking for.
People
- Pippala: the son of Kaśyapa, who did tapas for three thousand years, grew proud of his powers, and was sent by Brahmā in the form of a sārasa bird to learn from Sukarma, whose power came from pitṛ-bhakti alone. Padma Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 61–63
- Pippala (Rākshasa): the younger son of Kaiṭabha, a rākshasa who posed as a Sāman chanter at Agastya Maharshi‘s yajña on the Gautamī and devoured his own disciples, until Śani burned him to ashes. Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 48
- Pippalā (Sister of Viśvāvasu): the sister of the gandharva chief Viśvāvasu, who laughed at the ṛshis at their satra on the Gautamī, became the river Yakshiṇī by their śāpa, and was freed when her brother made the river join the Gautamī. Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 62
Places
- Pippalatīrtha (Pippaleśa): the tīrtha on the Gautamī next to Cakratīrtha, seat of Bhagavān Śiva as Cakreśvara and Pippaleśa, named after the pippala trees that reared the ṛshi Pippalāda, son of Dadhīci. Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 40
- Pippalatīrtha (North Bank): the tīrtha in the north of the Gautamī, known together with the Aśvattha tīrtha, named after the rākshasa Pippala whom Śani burned to ashes. Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 48
Things and ideas
- Aśvattha: the pippala, the sacred fig; the Brahma Purāṇa tells of the pippala standing on Mount Vipula, one of the four props of Meru. Agni Purāṇa; Bhāgavata Purāṇa; Bhavishya Purāṇa; Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 1, 18, 221; Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapters 33, 48
Named in passing
- Pippala, the ṛshi at the Gautamī‘s mouth: named with Gālava and Vāmadeva among the ṛshis who prayed to the Gautamī where she meets the sea; told on The Gautamī Meets the Sea and the Tīrthas at Her Mouth. Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 104