Plaksha

Plaksha, “the plaksha tree”

Grammar: masculine noun: the plaksha tree, and its wood.

Meaning: a sacred tree, the ruler of the trees, named with the aśvattha, udumbara and vaṭa in the rites of the temple and the yajña. It is distinct from Plakshadvīpa, the dvīpa named after it.

In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa names the plaksha in these places.

  • Ruler of the trees: after Hari and Brahmā consecrated Pṛthu as king, Prabhu Hari gave sovereignty to others in order: Candra over the brāhmaṇas and the herbs, Varuṇa over the waters, and so on; over the trees (vanaspatis) he made the plaksha ruler (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 19).
  • The dvāra-yāga: in the dvāra-yāga, the pūjā of the doors of the yāga-maṇḍapa, after worshipping the toraṇa-adhipatis, the guardians of the arches, one worships the trees in the directions beginning with the east: aśvattha, udumbara, vaṭa and plaksha (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 34).
  • The toraṇas: in the yāga of the ten dikpālas (guardians of the directions), the toraṇas (arched gateways) of the east and the other directions are of aśvattha, udumbara, vaṭa and plaksha wood (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 56). For the pratishṭhā, the doorways on the east and the other sides of the maṇḍapa are made, in order, of the wood of plaksha, udumbara, aśvattha and vaṭa; their names, from the east, are Śānti, Bhūti, Bala and Ārogya (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 95).
  • The kalaśas: in the kumbhādhivāsa, the east kalaśa for the abhisheka of Bhagavān Vishṇu holds the shoots of twelve trees: vaṭa, udumbara, aśvattha, campaka, aśoka, bilva, palāśa, arjuna, plaksha, kadamba, vakula and cūta (mango) (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 57). In the snapana-utsava, the bathing festival, the east group of nine kalaśas has a kumbha full of ghee in the middle and, in the others, the juice drawn from the bark of palāśa, aśvattha, vaṭa, bilva, udumbara, plaksha, jambū, śamī and kapittha (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 69).
  • Around the house: in the vṛkshāyurveda, the Āyurveda of trees, which Dhanvantari teaches, a plaksha to the north of the house, a vaṭa to the east, a mango to the south and an aśvattha to the west are auspicious (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 282).
  • Medicine: in the treatment of horses which Śālihotra teaches Suśruta, a wound from a blow, whether caused by vāta, pitta or kapha or by anger, is cleansed with a slightly warm decoction of aśvattha, udumbara, plaksha, madhūka and vaṭa made with much water (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 289).

Related terms: Aśvattha · Udumbara · Vaṭa · Toraṇa · Kalaśa · Plakshadvīpa

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 19, 34, 56–57, 69, 95, 282, 289