Trishasti Shalaka Purusa Caritra Part 2

Author(s): Hemchandracharya, Helen M Johnson
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

Page 376

APPENDIX II
BOTANICAL NOTES P. 4. Kuśa is Poa cynosuroides, the same as darbha,
a grass used in sacrificial ceremonies. Its leaf has a very sharp point. It is considered very undesirable
in cultivated ground. P. 34. Dūrvā-grass is Cynodon dactylon, the vernacular
dūb. It is frequently grown over sacred places. It is
also an important fodder-grass. P. 39. Sāla, Shorea robusta, the śäl. Ordinarily covered
with a thick growth of creepers, to which reference is
often made. P. 51. Gośīrşa-sandal, a brass-colored, very fragrant
sandal (MW). P. 62. Arjaka, Ocimum gratissimum. Its blossoms grow
in clusters, the flowers in a cluster number from 3 to
8, and the clusters on a branch from 6 to 10. P. 72. Bimba, Cephalandra indica, a cucurbitaceous plant.
Its fruit is very red and smooth, and is commonly
used as a symbol of unsurpassable redness. P. 84. Ketaki, Pandanus odoratissimus, the screw pine.
It forms dense, impenetrable thickets. P. 84. Kurubaka, usually identified as red amaranth or
red barleria. Watt considers it to be Lawsonia alba, the henna plant. The kurubaka is said to bloom from
a woman's embrace. P. 84. Asoka, Saraca indica, a tree with beautiful red
blossoms which are very fragrant at night. It is
said to blossom from a woman's kick. P. 84. Bakula, Mimusops elengi, the Indian medlar. It
has white fragrant flowers. It is said to blossom from
the nectar from women's mouths. P. 85. Arka, the red-flowered Calotropis gigantea, the
swallow-wort. Its most common vernacular names