The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is believed that there is an imperishable, peepala tree that has its roots upward and its branches falling on the floor. It is believed that these leaves are the Vedic hymns and one who is familiar with the peepala tree is the knower of the Vedas!’ — Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 15.1
I am Peepala. In the Bhagavad Gita,Lord Krishna says,among the trees I am Ashwatha. I am the beholder of the Trimurti. Lord Brahma is my roots.Lord Vishnu my trunk and Lord Shiva my leaves.
There is an ancient story how this happened, a story as old as the hills.
The gods chose to hold their councils under the shade of my branches and that is how I came to be associated with spiritual understanding.
The Brahma Purana and the Padma Purana relate another equally delightful story about an ongoing fight between the demons and the deities when Lord Vishnu sought refuge inside me to escape a particularly dangerous demon.
Legend has it that Vishnu dwelled inside me for a long, long time until the demons stopped hunting for him and which is why devotees of Vishnu hold me in high esteem.
There is another story connected to Vishnu’s consort Goddess Lakshmi. The belief is that Goddess Lakshmi was worried about her husband’s long absence from home and came searching for him. When she discovered that Vishnu inhabited inside me, she insisted on joining him as well and now that both were together, they relished their stay and their tranquillity spread fragrance all around.
Soon the birds, the bees, the insects and the passing animals were drawn to their aroma and stopped beneath my shade to rest for a while. The humans wondered what was so special about me that everyone appeared so calm just being around me. Slowly, they began frequenting me too and over the years marked a special day of the week to celebrate me and the tradition has continued for generations.They consider it auspicious to worship me on Saturday because they are convinced it is the day both Vishnu and Lakshmi reside inside me even today.
In the month of Shravan if an unmarried woman ties a red thread around me, circumambulates sprinkling water and flowers, I am indebted to fulfil her desire for a suitable husband.I am indebted to grant a son to a married woman praying for a child too. I am worship. I am boon. The Skanda Purana considers me a symbol of worship and professes that if a family without an heir serves and regards me as son, I will carry forward the family legacy for as long as I live.
The Upanishads refer to me as a metaphor to explain the relevance of the body and the soul: the body is the fruit which we see outside while the soul is the seed, invisible and internal.
There is a third story popularised by the Brahma Purana, which tells about two daring demons,Ashwatha and Peepala. It is said that Ashwatha would take the form of a Peepala and Peepala would take the form of a brahmana and they harassed voyagers who crossed their path. Peepala, in the form of a fake brahmana, would advise people to touch Ashwatha and seek blessings, and when they did,Ashwatha would kill them!
They played this nasty trick on people for many years until they were punished by a very angry Lord Shani Maharaj, which explains why Lord Shani has come to be associated with me as well.
Initially I was exploited to drive away Lord Shani,but I decided to befriend him instead and today we are an extension of each other.
It is beneath my shade that centuries ago, Goddess Sita took refuge in Lanka and Lord Hanuman visited her carrying the ring of Lord Rama. I have witnessed the birth of Vishnu. The final journey, samadhi of Sri Krishna, after a hunter called Zaara, mistaking him for a deer, shot him with an arrow.
I am as old as the deities. I have been watching over the universe since Mohenjodaro, one of the cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation of 3000 BC-1700 BC and that is probably the reason why cutting me is considered ‘Panchapataka’ among the five deadly sins in Hindu religion, equivalent to killing a brahmana.