Did you know that Kimshuka tree, Butea monosperma, one of the thirty-six sacred trees of India, blooming with the blazing red flame flowers, whose barks are used as a main component for agnihotra "Samidha Dhanan"?
Kimshuka tree, also known as Palash, with botanical name Butea monosperma, native to India and Asia, extensively used as a symbol of the arrival of spring and the colour of love with blooming and blazing red flame flowers, is a moderate sized deciduous tree. It grows slowly, creates a stunning specimen tree.
The name Kimshuka is popularly derived as 'kiṃcit śuka iva' (‘somewhat like a parrot’) because the flowers resemble the parrot’s red curved beak.
In English usage its names are Parrot Tree, Bastard Teak, and Flame of the Forest, while in Indian vernacular languages, it is known as: kiṃśuk or palāś in Hindi and Bengali, also ḍhāk in Hindi; bipornok in Assamese; muttuga, ಪಲಾಶ palasha, ವಾತಪೋಥ ಮರ vaatapotha mara in Kannada; kinsukam in Malayalam; dhak, palas in Marathi; kincukam, palasam in Tamil; kimsukamu, modugu chettu, palasamu in Telugu; Kimshuka in Sanskrit.
In religious parlance it is one of the thirty-six sacred trees, according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā, the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult. according to the Ṣaṭsāhasrasaṃhitā, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult —"According to the Kubjikā Kula teachings Kiṃśhuka are the most excellent Kula trees that give accomplishments and liberation. They are full of) Yoginīs, Siddhas, Lords of the Heroes and hosts of gods and demons. One should not touch them with one’s feet or urinate and defecate on them or have sex etc. below them." In Gita Govinda, its curved red flowers are described as lovegod, Kamadeva or Cupids fingernails. In Ramayana epic, Rāma and Lakhsmaṇa, assailed by the magic arrows of Indrajit, say the arrow “resemble flowering kiṃśukas”. In some states of South India, its flowers are specially used in the worship of Lord Shiva on occasion of Shivratri. In most of the South Indian Brahmin homes this tree is grown for Agnihotra ritual called "Samidha Dhanan", where barks of this tree is a main component for agnihotra.
In literature, it is associated with spring, especially through the poems and songs of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who likened its bright orange flame-like flower to fire. Kimshuka Tree is is also the main theme of the story from ‘Tales of All Times’ told by the Mother. The story is about a king whose four sons saw the Kimshuka tree one by one at different times, (ritus) seasons of the year; and each described it to their father glowingly in different ways.
Historically, the name Palash has lent its name to the town of Palashi, famous for the historic Battle of Plassey. It is also the State Flower of Jharkhand as its dry deciduous forests filled with Palash trees in full bloom give colour to the land. It is also known that In Bihar, these trees covered much of the Doaba area between the Ganges and the Yamuna, but these were cleared for agriculture in the early 19th century as the English East India Company increased tax demands on the peasants.
Plant botony wise, Kimshuka or Palasha is a deciduous tree that grows up to 15m high, has 3-foliate leaves, gummy bark, large bright orange red flowers in clusters, grows all over India up to 1250m elevation. In a completely leafless tree, the blossoms look like a net. The plant contains flavonoids and glucosides—butin, butrin, isobutrin and palastrin. Flowers contain butrin, coreopsin, monospermoside and their derivatives and sulphurein; also chalcones.
The tree parts are used for timber, resin, fodder, and dye. The flowers are used to prepare a traditional Holi colour called "Kesari". It is also used as a dye for fabric. The bark produces a crimson exudate that, when dried, hardens into a substance called "Butea gum" or "Bengal kino." The gum is considered valuable by druggists because of its astringent qualities and by leather workers because of its tannin.
In Indian Ayurveda, its roots are used in medicinal preprations to treat diarrhoea, wounds, hookworms, and liver disorders. Adivasis in India prepare a summer beverage out of tea of the flower which is considered to have medicinal benefits.
Narasipur Char
