Aswattha

The Sanskrit term "Aswattha" is derived from the root aśva, meaning "horse," and sthā, meaning "to stand." This etymology is debated, with some scholars suggesting it relates to the tree's ability to stand even after being felled, or its association with the mythical horse-like charioteers, the Ashvins. The term is primarily found in Vedic and Puranic literature.

The Bo-frcc, the tree of knowledge, ficus religiosa. Aswins (Sk.), or Aswinau, dual; or again, Aswim-Kumarau, are the most mysterious and occult deities of all; who have "puzzled the oldest commentators". Literally, they are the "Horsemen", the "divine charioteers", as they ride in a golden car drawn by horses or birds or animals, and "are possessed of many forms". They are two Vedic deities, the twin sons of the sun and the sky, which becomes the nymph Aswini. In mythological symbolism they are "the bright harbingers of Ushas, the dawn", who are "ever young and handsome, bright, agile, swift as falcons", who "prepare the way for the brilliant dawn to those who have patiently awaited through the night". They are also called the "physicians of Swarga" (or Devaclum), inasmuch as they heal every pain and suffering, and cure all diseases. Astronomically, they are asterisms. They were enthusiastically worshipped, as their epithets show. They are the "Ocean-born" {i.e., space born) or Ahdhijau, "crowned with lotuses" or Pushkara-srajam , etc., etc. Yaska, the commentator in the Nirukta, thinks that "the Aswins represent the transition from darkness to liglit" — cosraically, and we may add, metaphysically, also. But ^luir and Goldstiicker are inclined to see in them ancient "horsemen of great renown", because, forsooth, of the legend "that the gods refused the Aswins admittance to a sacrifice on the ground that they had been on too fayniliar terms with men". Just so, because as explained hy the same Yaska "they are identified with heaven and earth", only for quite a different reason. Truly they are like the Rihhus, "originally renowned mortals (but also non-renowned occasionally) who in the course of time are translated into the companionship of gods"; and they show a negative character, "the result of the alliance of light with darkness", simply because these twins are. in the esoteric philosophy, the Kumdra-Egos, the reincarnating "Principles" in this Manvantara.

The Aswattha, the sacred fig tree, is more than mere flora; it is a profound cosmological metaphor deeply embedded in the Hindu psyche. Mircea Eliade, in his seminal work on the sacred and the profane, would recognize in the Aswattha a prime example of the axis mundi, the world axis, a point of connection between the heavens and the earth, the divine and the human. Its roots, plunging into the unseen substratum of existence, suggest the primordial source, the unmanifest from which all things arise. Its branches, spreading outwards and downwards, represent the manifest universe, the manifold forms of creation. This duality is not a conflict but a harmonious interdependence, a testament to the integral nature of reality.

The tree's association with knowledge, often likened to the biblical Tree of Knowledge, speaks to its role in spiritual awakening. To understand the Aswattha is to grasp the interconnectedness of all phenomena, the cyclical flow of time, and the ultimate unity underlying apparent diversity. The Ashvins, the twin Vedic deities sometimes associated with the tree, further amplify this sense of duality and transition, representing the dawn, the auspicious moment of transition from darkness to light, from ignorance to wisdom. The practice of circumambulating the Aswattha, or performing puja at its base, is not just ritualistic; it is an act of re-centering oneself within this cosmic order, of aligning one's individual existence with the universal rhythm. It invites contemplation on impermanence and continuity, on the ephemeral nature of individual lives within the grand, enduring cycle of the cosmos. The Aswattha stands as a silent, verdant sermon on the nature of being.

RELATED_TERMS: Kalpavriksha, Bodhi Tree, Axis Mundi, Brahman, Samsara, Tree of Life, Cosmic Tree