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{{short description|Species of fig}}
The '''Udumbara''' ([[Sanskrit]]: उडुम्बर) is a flower from a species of [[Ficus]] (''Ficus racemosa'' Linn., syn. ''Ficus glomerata'' Roxb.) a [[deciduous tree]] native to [[South Asia]].<ref name="McCullough">{{cite book
{{Redirect|Udumbara||Udumbara (disambiguation)}}
| last = McCullough
{{Speciesbox
| first = Helen Craig
|image = Ficus racemosa fruits at Makutta (1).jpg
| authorlink =
|status = LC
| coauthors = Murasaki Shikibu
|status_system = IUCN3.1
| title = Genji and Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike
|status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). |author2=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group |date=2019 |title=''Ficus racemosa'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T145362959A145371147 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T145362959A145371147.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| publisher = Stanford University Press
| date = 1994
|genus = Ficus
|parent = Ficus subg. Sycomorus
| location =
|species = racemosa
| pages = 94
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| isbn =0804722587
|synonyms = ''Ficus glomerata'' <small>[[Roxb.]]</small>
}}</ref> It can also refer to the blue lotus (''nila udumbara'') flower. The udumbara flower appears in chapters 2 and 27 of the [[Lotus Sutra]], an important [[Mahayana]] [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist text]]. The [[Japanese language|Japanese]] word ''udonge'' (優曇華) was used by [[Dōgen Zenji]] to refer to the flower of the udumbara tree in chapter 68 of the ''[[Shōbōgenzō]]'' ("Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma‎"). Dōgen places the context of the udonge flower in the [[Flower Sermon]] given by [[Gautama Buddha]] on [[Vulture Peak]].
}}


'''''Ficus racemosa''''', the '''cluster fig''', '''red river fig''' or '''gular''',<ref name=EPPO>{{cite web | title = ''Ficus racemosa'' | url = https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/FIURM | publisher = [[European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization]] (EPPO) | access-date = 1 December 2020}}</ref> is a species of plant in the family [[Moraceae]]. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a large shrub, although older specimens can grow quite large and gnarled. It is unusual in that its figs grow on or close to the tree trunk, termed [[cauliflory]].
Udonge is also used to refer to the eggs of the [[Chrysopidae|lacewing]] insect. The eggs are laid in a pattern similar to a flower, and its shape is used for divination in Asian [[fortune telling]].<ref name="Kanji">{{cite book

| last = Hadamitzky
The fruits are commonly eaten as a vegetable after the seeds have been discarded, and made into stir-fries and curries. The fruits are a favourite staple of the [[rhesus macaque|common Indian macaque]]. It serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the two-brand crow [[butterfly]] (''[[Euploea sylvester]]'') of northern Australia.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia |url=https://archive.org/details/The_Complete_Field_Guide_to_Butterflies_of_Austra8lia |last=Braby |first=Michael F.|year=2005 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Collingwood, Victoria |isbn=0-643-09027-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/The_Complete_Field_Guide_to_Butterflies_of_Australia/page/n204 194]}}</ref>
| first = Wolfgang

| authorlink =
==In Hinduism==
| coauthors = Mark Spahn

| title = The Kanji Dictionary
According to the [[Shatapatha Brahmana]], the Audumbara tree was created from the force of [[Indra]], the leader of the gods that came out of his flesh when he overindulged in [[Soma (drink)|soma]]:
| publisher = Tuttle Publishing

| date = 1996
''From his hair his thought flowed, and became millet; from his skin his honour flowed, and became the aśvattha tree (Ficus religiosa); '''from his flesh his force flowed, and became the udumbara tree (Ficus glomerata)'''; from his bones his sweet drink flowed, and became the nyagrodha tree (Ficus indica); from his marrow his drink, the Soma juice, flowed, and became rice: in this way his energies, or vital powers, went from him.'' <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/satapatha-brahmana-english/d/doc63479.html|title = Satapatha Brahmana, Kanda XII, adhyaya 7, brahmana 1|date = 18 July 2013}}</ref>
| location =

| pages = 783
In the [[Atharva Veda]], this fig tree ([[Sanskrit]]: ''Umbara'' or ''Audumbara'')<ref>[[Monier Monier-Williams|Monier-Williams, Monier]] (1899, 1964). ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 175, 186. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0175-ujjha.pdf and http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0186-udaya.pdf.</ref> is given prominence as a means for acquiring prosperity and vanquishing foes.<ref>See, e.g., Shyam Singh Shashi (1999), ''Encyclopaedia Indica '' (Anmol Publications), Ch. 9 "The Tree Cult," esp. pp. 241, 244-46. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Google Books" at https://books.google.com/books?id=jMmYDrm_7NAC&dq=%22Atharva+Veda%22+%2Budumbara&pg=PA245</ref> For instance, regarding an amulet of the ''Audumbara'' tree, a hymn ([[Atharvaveda|AV]] xix, 31) extols:
| isbn = 0804820589
:The Lord of amulets art thou, most mighty: in the wealth's
}}</ref>
::ruler that engendered riches,
::These gains are lodged in the, and all great treasures. Amulet,
::conquer thou: far from us banish malignity and indigence,
::and hunger.
:Vigour art thou, in me do thou plant vigour: riches art thou, so
::do thou grant me riches.
::Plenty art thou, so prosper me with plenty: House-holder, hear
::a householder's petition.<ref>[[Ralph T. H. Griffith]] (trans.) (1895-6). ''Hymns of the Atharva Veda'', pp. 236-7. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Sacred Texts" at http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/av19031.htm.</ref>

It has been described in the story of Raja [[Harischandra]] of the [[Ikshvaku dynasty]], that the crown was a branch of this ''Audumbara'' tree, set in a circlet of gold. Additionally, the throne (''simhasana'') was constructed out of this wood and the royal personage would ascend it on his knee, chanting to the gods to ascend it with him, which they did so, albeit unseen.

The tree has been worshipped as Abode under which Lord [[Dattatreya]] teaches that to teach first learn from others however small or big. There is always something to be learnt from One and to learn new things one has to learn to unlearn as per the time. The tree is seen planted in all the places associated with Lord Dattatreya who is seen as an icon Rishi a sage who represents all the three of the trinity of Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (Creator, Preserver and destroyer) needed for each one to learn by unlearning the obsolete. this is the plan of evolution in analogy. Its leaves are an indispensable part of many Hindu ''[[havan]]''s.


==In Buddhism==
==In Buddhism==
{{Main|Udumbara (Buddhism)}}
The udumbara flower is enclosed within a fig-like fruit structure. Because the flower was difficult to see, a legend developed to explain the absence of the visual flower: In [[Buddhist mythology]], the flower was said to bloom only once every 3,000 years. The symbolic nature of the udumbara is used in the [[3rd century]] Lotus Sutra to compare the unique occurrence of its bloom with the uncommon appearance of the Buddha and its doctrine:<ref name="McCullough"/>
Both the tree and the flower are referred to as the '''''Audumbara''''' ([[Sanskrit]], [[Pali]]; [[Devanagari]]: औदुंबर) in [[Buddhism]].<ref name="McCullough">{{cite book |last = McCullough
|first = Helen Craig
|author2 = Murasaki Shikibu
|title = Genji and Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike
|publisher = Stanford University Press
|year = 1994
|isbn = 0-8047-2258-7
|page = [https://archive.org/details/genjiheikeselect00mccu/page/94 94]
|url-access = registration
|url = https://archive.org/details/genjiheikeselect00mccu/page/94
}}</ref> ''Udumbara'' can also refer to the blue lotus (''nila-udumbara'', "blue ''udumbara''") flower. The ''udumbara'' flower appears in chapters 2 and 27 of the [[Lotus Sutra]], an important [[Mahayana]] [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist text]]. The [[Japanese language|Japanese]] word ''udon-ge'' ({{lang|ja-Hani|優曇華}}, literally "''udon''/''udumbara'' flower") was used by [[Dōgen Zenji]] to refer to the flower of the ''udumbara'' tree in chapter 68 of the ''[[Shōbōgenzō]]'' ("Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma"). Dōgen places the ''udonge'' in the context of the [[Flower Sermon]] given by [[Gautama Buddha]] on [[Vulture Peak]]. ''Udonge'' is also used to refer to the eggs of the [[Chrysopidae|lacewing]] insect. The eggs are laid in a pattern similar to a flower, and its shape is used for divination in Asian [[fortune telling]].<ref name="Kanji">{{cite book
| last1 = Hadamitzky
| first1 = Wolfgang
| last2 = Spahn
| first2 = Mark
| title = The Kanji Dictionary
| publisher = Tuttle Publishing
| year = 1996
| pages = 783
| isbn = 0-8048-2058-9
}}</ref>


In [[Theravada Buddhism]], the plant is said{{by who?|date=October 2020}} to have used as the tree for achieved enlightenment (''[[bodhi]]'') by the 26th [[Lord Buddha]], Konaagama ({{lang-si|කෝණාගම}}).
<blockquote>
As the Buddhas of the three periods of time</br>
In such a manner spoke the Dharma,</br>
So do I likewise now expound</br>
The undiscriminated Dharma.</br>
All Buddhas come into the world</br>
But rarely, and are hard to meet;</br>
And when they appear in the world,</br>
It’s hard for them to speak the Dharma.</br>
Throughtout countless ages, too,</br>
It’s difficult to hear this Dharma.</br>
And those who can hear this Dharma--</br>
Such people too, are rare,</br>
Like the udumbara flower,</br>
In which all take delight,</br>
Which the gods and humans prize,</br>
For it blooms but once in a long, long time.</br>
So one who hears this Dharma, gives joyful praise,</br>
With even just a single word,</br>
Has thereby made offerings,</br>
To all the Buddhas of the three periods of time.</br>
Such people are extremely rare.</br>
Rarer than the udumbara flower.</br>
All of you should have no doubts,</br>
For I am the Dharma King;</br>
I declare to the assembly:</br>
I use only the path of One Vehicle,</br>
To teach and transform Bodhisattvas.</br>
There are no Sound Hearer Disciples.</br>
Shariputra, all of you,</br>
the Sound Hearers and Bodhisattvas,</br>
Should know that this wondrous Dharma</br>
Is the secret essence of all Buddhas.<ref name="BTTS">{{cite web
| title = Chapter Two: Expedient Devices
| work = [[Lotus Sutra]]
| publisher = Buddhist Text Translation Society
| date =
| url = http://www.buddhistdoor.com/oldweb/resources/sutras/lotus/sources/lotus2.htm
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2008-02-28
}}</ref></br></blockquote>


==Uses==
Thich Nhat Hanh places the flower in the context of enlightenment:
[[File:LTM ficus.JPG|[[Lion-tailed macaque]] feeding on a fig|thumb|left]]
[[File:Pickled ficus racemosa fruits.jpg|thumb|Pickled and halved ''gular'' figs in Vietnam]]
[[File:Indian Giant Flying Squirrel captured at Polo Forests, Sabarkantha, Gujarat India.jpg|thumb|[[Indian Giant Flying Squirrel]] feeding on figs at Polo forest, [[Gujarat]], India]]


The [[Ovambo people]] call the fruit of the cluster fig ''eenghwiyu'' and use it to distill ''ombike'', their traditional liquor.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.newera.com.na/articles/48705/Ombike---a-potent-traditional-brew |title = Ombike – a potent traditional brew |last = Shaanika |first = Helvy |date = 26 October 2012 |newspaper = [[New Era (Namibia)|New Era]] |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121028101820/http://www.newera.com.na/articles/48705/Ombike---a-potent-traditional-brew |archive-date = 28 October 2012 }}</ref>
<blockquote>To see a fully awakened person, a Buddha, is so rare that it is like seeing an udumbara flower. In the Tu Hieu Monstery in Hue, there is a scroll which says: "The udumbara flower, although fallen from the stem, is still fragrant." Just as the fragrance of the udumbara flower cannot be destroyed, our capacity for enlightenment is always present. The Buddha taught that everyone is a Buddha, everyone is an udumbara flower.<ref name="Hanh">{{cite book
| last = Hanh
| first = Thich Nhat
| authorlink = Thich Nhat Hanh
| coauthors =
| title = Present Moment, Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living
| publisher = Parallax Press
| date = 1990
| location =
| pages = 28
| isbn = 093807721X
}}</ref></blockquote>


===Other uses===
{{Buddhism-stub}}
The bark of ''Ficus racemosa'' is used as a [[home remedy]]. In India, the bark is rubbed on a stone with water to make a paste, which can be applied to boils or mosquito bites. Allow the paste to dry on the skin and reapply after a few hours. The rough leaves of the plant can also be used to remove caterpillar bristles lodged in skin. A common folk remedy is to rub the affected area lightly with a leaf, which effectively dislodges the stinging hairs.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist|45em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{APNI | name = Ficus racemosa | id = 38551}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q713794}}


[[Category:Buddhist mythology]]
[[Category:Ficus|racemosa]]
[[Category:Flora of Australia]]
[[cs:Udumbara]]
[[Category:Flora of tropical Asia]]
[[es:Mitología budista]]
[[Category:Trees in Buddhism]]
[[fr:Udumbara]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[ja:うどんげ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[sv:Udumbara]]
[[zh:优昙婆罗花]]

Latest revision as of 13:40, 9 January 2024

"Udumbara" redirects here. For other uses, see Udumbara (disambiguation).

Ficus racemosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Genus: Ficus
Subgenus: F. subg. Sycomorus
Species:
F. racemosa
Binomial name
Ficus racemosa
Synonyms

Ficus glomerata Roxb.

Ficus racemosa, the cluster fig, red river fig or gular,[2] is a species of plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a large shrub, although older specimens can grow quite large and gnarled. It is unusual in that its figs grow on or close to the tree trunk, termed cauliflory.

The fruits are commonly eaten as a vegetable after the seeds have been discarded, and made into stir-fries and curries. The fruits are a favourite staple of the common Indian macaque. It serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the two-brand crow butterfly (Euploea sylvester) of northern Australia.[3]

In Hinduism[edit]

According to the Shatapatha Brahmana, the Audumbara tree was created from the force of Indra, the leader of the gods that came out of his flesh when he overindulged in soma:

From his hair his thought flowed, and became millet; from his skin his honour flowed, and became the aśvattha tree (Ficus religiosa); from his flesh his force flowed, and became the udumbara tree (Ficus glomerata); from his bones his sweet drink flowed, and became the nyagrodha tree (Ficus indica); from his marrow his drink, the Soma juice, flowed, and became rice: in this way his energies, or vital powers, went from him. [4]

In the Atharva Veda, this fig tree (Sanskrit: Umbara or Audumbara)[5] is given prominence as a means for acquiring prosperity and vanquishing foes.[6] For instance, regarding an amulet of the Audumbara tree, a hymn (AV xix, 31) extols:

The Lord of amulets art thou, most mighty: in the wealth's
ruler that engendered riches,
These gains are lodged in the, and all great treasures. Amulet,
conquer thou: far from us banish malignity and indigence,
and hunger.
Vigour art thou, in me do thou plant vigour: riches art thou, so
do thou grant me riches.
Plenty art thou, so prosper me with plenty: House-holder, hear
a householder's petition.[7]

It has been described in the story of Raja Harischandra of the Ikshvaku dynasty, that the crown was a branch of this Audumbara tree, set in a circlet of gold. Additionally, the throne (simhasana) was constructed out of this wood and the royal personage would ascend it on his knee, chanting to the gods to ascend it with him, which they did so, albeit unseen.

The tree has been worshipped as Abode under which Lord Dattatreya teaches that to teach first learn from others however small or big. There is always something to be learnt from One and to learn new things one has to learn to unlearn as per the time. The tree is seen planted in all the places associated with Lord Dattatreya who is seen as an icon Rishi a sage who represents all the three of the trinity of Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (Creator, Preserver and destroyer) needed for each one to learn by unlearning the obsolete. this is the plan of evolution in analogy. Its leaves are an indispensable part of many Hindu havans.

In Buddhism[edit]

Main article: Udumbara (Buddhism)

Both the tree and the flower are referred to as the Audumbara (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: औदुंबर) in Buddhism.[8] Udumbara can also refer to the blue lotus (nila-udumbara, "blue udumbara") flower. The udumbara flower appears in chapters 2 and 27 of the Lotus Sutra, an important Mahayana Buddhist text. The Japanese word udon-ge (優曇華, literally "udon/udumbara flower") was used by Dōgen Zenji to refer to the flower of the udumbara tree in chapter 68 of the Shōbōgenzō ("Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma"). Dōgen places the udonge in the context of the Flower Sermon given by Gautama Buddha on Vulture Peak. Udonge is also used to refer to the eggs of the lacewing insect. The eggs are laid in a pattern similar to a flower, and its shape is used for divination in Asian fortune telling.[9]

In Theravada Buddhism, the plant is said[by whom?] to have used as the tree for achieved enlightenment (bodhi) by the 26th Lord Buddha, Konaagama (Sinhala: කෝණාගම).

Uses[edit]

Lion-tailed macaque feeding on a fig
Pickled and halved gular figs in Vietnam
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel feeding on figs at Polo forest, Gujarat, India

The Ovambo people call the fruit of the cluster fig eenghwiyu and use it to distill ombike, their traditional liquor.[10]

Other uses[edit]

The bark of Ficus racemosa is used as a home remedy. In India, the bark is rubbed on a stone with water to make a paste, which can be applied to boils or mosquito bites. Allow the paste to dry on the skin and reapply after a few hours. The rough leaves of the plant can also be used to remove caterpillar bristles lodged in skin. A common folk remedy is to rub the affected area lightly with a leaf, which effectively dislodges the stinging hairs.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Ficus racemosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T145362959A145371147. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T145362959A145371147.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Ficus racemosa". European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. ^ Braby, Michael F. (2005). The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 0-643-09027-4.
  4. ^ "Satapatha Brahmana, Kanda XII, adhyaya 7, brahmana 1". 18 July 2013.
  5. ^ Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 175, 186. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0175-ujjha.pdf and http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0186-udaya.pdf.
  6. ^ See, e.g., Shyam Singh Shashi (1999), Encyclopaedia Indica (Anmol Publications), Ch. 9 "The Tree Cult," esp. pp. 241, 244-46. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Google Books" at https://books.google.com/books?id=jMmYDrm_7NAC&dq=%22Atharva+Veda%22+%2Budumbara&pg=PA245
  7. ^ Ralph T. H. Griffith (trans.) (1895-6). Hymns of the Atharva Veda, pp. 236-7. Retrieved 19 Nov 2008 from "Sacred Texts" at http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/av19031.htm.
  8. ^ McCullough, Helen Craig; Murasaki Shikibu (1994). Genji and Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike. Stanford University Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-8047-2258-7.
  9. ^ Hadamitzky, Wolfgang; Spahn, Mark (1996). The Kanji Dictionary. Tuttle Publishing. p. 783. ISBN 0-8048-2058-9.
  10. ^ Shaanika, Helvy (26 October 2012). "Ombike – a potent traditional brew". New Era. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012.

External links[edit]

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