asoka and nettilingam

ASOKA tree is short.  NETTILINGAM is LONG.  Asoka tree must be used for menopause and Gynecological problems.  But nettilingam must not be used for that.  

CAUTION. HENCE THIS ARTICLE.

அழகான அன்பான அசோகா
அடேய் நெட்டி லிங்க மடையன்
I am herewith give the difference of asoka and the nettilingam. don't call the nettilingam as asoka hereafter.

asoka flowers are beautiful crimson red in colour







nettilingam flowers are green in colour and give a hazy look during bloom



asoka seeds are like sabre beans (avaraikkay)

nettilingam seeds are like rose apple (navappalam) and like tender mangoes.


asoka tree is short

nettilingam tree is tall and grow in a single stem to height hence the name mast tree.

asoka leaves are dark and like mango leaves.

nettilingam leaves are wavy





as the flowers of asoka are giving happiness the name asoka (sorrowless)




in malasia nettilingam tree is used for funeral rituals.

Fact and fallacy about the Asoka tree

saraca asoca or the sorrow less tree is considered sacred. It also has several medicinal uses

saraca indica L. Caesalpinioideae caesalpiniaceae family.

The Saraca Indica trees are also a variety of the Flame of the Forest trees. This tree is such a tree that reduces the pain and sorrow of the people. People feel happy when they see the extraordinary beauty of the tree. Saraca Indica is actually the scientific name of the tree. It belongs to the family of Leguminosae and to the sub family of Coesalpineae. The Indian people call these trees in various names. Both the Hindi and Bengali speaking people call it as Asok, Asoka, and Vanjulam. Its Asok, Ashoka or Asogam in Tamil and Diyaratmal in Sinhalese. The Malayalam people call it as either Gapis or Tengalan.

There are some doubts and controversies over the origin of the name Saraca Indica. Sir W. Jones, who has given the honour by the Indian botanists, who stated him as "the most enlightened of the sons of men", expressed his farm view that the tree should retain its old Sanskrit name Ashoka. But someone can hardly claim this as an improvement of ones like Asoka.

The origin of the tree is India, Burma and Malaysia. This is a very slow-growing, small and evergreen erect tree that has a smooth and gray brown bark. The top of the tree is well shaped and compact. Usually, one can see the flowers almost throughout the year. But from the period of February to May, the plethora of orange and cherry clusters give the tree a view of absolute beauty. The clusters that stick very closely on to every branch and twig are consist of a lot of small flowers having long-tubes which open out into four oval lobes. They also have the appearance of Petals. They are of yellow when they are young, then they become orange and after that because of age and the effect of Sun`s rays, they get the colour of crimson. The flowers spread several long, half-white, half-crimson, stamens from a ring at the top of each tube. These give the flower clusters a hairy appearance. They also acquire a delicate perfume after the sun is set. The scimitar shaped pods are broad, stiff and leathery and their length is about 20 cm. The tree has a lot of useful medicinal properties as well. Some of the ailments of women can be cured with the juice obtained from boiling the bark. A pulp of blossoms can also be used as a remedy for dysentery.

Like Palas, Ashoka also have some religious values. People strongly believe that the founder of Buddhist religion and the doctrine of Nirvana, Sakyamuni, was born under an Ashoka tree. All the Buddhists worship this tree. It is respected by the Hindus as well because they believe that this is the symbol of love and also dedicated directly to the God of Love, Kama Deva. Because of this religious value, the Buddhists and Hindus plant the tree round their temples. Also on `Ashok Shasthi` day, the Bengali women eat the flower buds and the Hindu women strongly believe that they will be able to protect their children if they drink the water in which the flowers have lain.

We are often tempted to identify the tall, well-pruned trees in parks as "Asoka trees" but they are actually the `nettilingams' or the mast tree and known in botanical parlance as Polyalthia longifolia, of the family Annonaceae.

Majestic evergreen

Polyalthia longifolia Nettilingam

Native to southern India and Sri Lanka, Polyalthia longifolia is a tall, majestic evergreen tree with a straight trunk having shining, drooping leaves with a wavy margin. The trunk is slender with a compact symmetrical crown and the branches spread more or less at right angles from the stem, giving it a pyramidal shape.

The tall, straight trunks were formerly used for making masts in the days of sailing ships and hence the common name "mast tree."

The flowering season is from February to April, when star like green flowers appear, giving a hazy appearance to the tree.

The inconspicuous greenish yellow flowers found in fascicles are almost hidden amongst dense foliage. The clusters of ovoid fruits are at first green, turning fairly deep purple or black when ripe.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY The mast tree is often referred to as the Asoka tree

The soft and light wood is used for making barrels, packing cases, pencils, matches and for scaffolding and carriage shafts. In Malaysia, the tree is grown around cemeteries and is often associated with funerals and other mournful events.

Polyalthia longifolia is an excellent avenue tree planted in close rows. It is a favourite tree in the hands of horticulturists for manicured gardens and landscape architecture. Clamorous and squealing throngs of bats and flying foxes feed on the ripe fruits at night, dispersing the seeds. Festoons of leaves are often used to make arches or are strung across doors during religious ceremonies.

Then, what is the real Asoka? Saraca asoca of the family Caesalpiniaceae, is the `Asoka maram' which refers to the legendary Ashok Vatika, where Sita was kept in captivity. Native to India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Malaysia, it is also called "Sorrow-less tree" because ashoka means "sorrowless".

That is why the tree is regarded as a symbol of love and is dedicated to Kama Deva, who is known to kindle passion and love in the human heart.

Saraca asoca is a slow growing, small, evergreen tree with a smooth grey, brown bark. Though the flowers are seen throughout the year, it is from February till May that the profusion of orange and scarlet flowers transforms the tree into a startling beauty.

The clusters consist of numerous, long-tubed flowers, which open out into four lobes having the appearance of petals, which in fact is the calyx. At the summit of the corolla tubes, are the fairly long and conspicuous stamens.

These flowers are highly fragrant in the night. The young leaves are soft, red and limp and remain pendent even after attaining the full size. The red, straight pods are stiff, leathery and fleshy.

The bark of Saraca asoca contains the estrogenic compound ketosterol, which is effective against menorrhagia due to uterine fibroids and internal haemorrhoids and also enhances the restoration of the endometrium and stops bleeding.

Saraca asoca is a vital component in the ayurvedic medicine U-CAP, capsules used for uterine disorders.

The womenfolk of Chattisgarh boil the bark in cow's milk, add sugar and consume it once a day for three days and repeat the course after three months to prevent gynaecological disorders.

Numerous legends are attributed to this tree and it is sacred to the Buddhists and the Hindus who plant this tree around their temples.

Buddha is believed to have been born under this tree and Sita, wife of Rama, after abduction by Ravana, was confined in a garden among groves of Asoka trees. It is also seen sculpted on ancient Buddhist temples in Sanchi and Mathura.

Being a sacred tree, married Hindu women eat the flower buds of Saraca asoca on the "Ashok Shasthi day" to guard their children from grief and sorrow.

It is time we too spread the message of love by planting Asoka trees in our homes while our civic authorities fulfil their Singara Chennai mission by planting mast trees along avenues and in parks.

The leaves come in many different shades of green and have really pretty wavy edges.

Next time when you cross a nettilingam tree just call "adey nettilinga madaiya" and when you go to north india try to get the seed of the real asoka and try to plant it in Tamilnadu.  when it grows call it "oh, my dear Asoka"  ...  and call  that nasty tall Nettilingam tree as "Oh, fool the Nettilinga" 

அடித்த முறை நீங்கள் வட இந்தியா போகும்போது அசோகா வின் விதையையோ கன்றையோ கொண்டுவந்து தமிழ் நாட்டில் நடுங்கோ.

அது வளர்ந்ததும் "அழகான அன்பான அசோகா" என்று கூப்பிடுங்கோ. .. அந்த உயரமான அசிங்கம் பிடிச்ச மரத்தை பார்த்தா அடேய் நெட்டி லிங்க மடையன் என்று திட்டுங்கோ..

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Some of my friend's word in his site.

At this month's tree walk i learnt that the tree that i've always known to be the Ashoka isn't the ashoka after all! It really is the mast tree or the false ashoka, known to the botanically enlightened as the polyalthia longifolia. It is a really tall tree that can grow up to 60ft in height. It is pollinated by bats and is the host tree for the tailed jay butterfly. I must pay more attention to the ashoka trees .. oops false ashokas in my neighborhood to see if i can catch a glimse of either. 
http://ringsofsilverpv.blogspot.com/2009/08/false-ashoka-tree-mast-tree.html

the religions

THE RELIGIONS

One religion is coming in to existence only after some messiah come to this world and tell something

new to the people. If some hundred people are following him during his period after thousand years

they will become one lakh people as the population explosion is the only non stop nonsense that is

happening in this world.

But truly speaking nothing can be told new.

Everything will be told already.

If any thing is told as new it will be existing their in some other form. ...........ashokha.

The only difference may be in languages or in any rituals that are familiar to that area already.

If we go deep in to the root of those religions we can see certain fundamental policies that are

already existing in some other shape.

The story of two birds in a forbidden tree that the female bird has eaten the fruit and the male bird

is not affected by that had become the base of two major religions. In muntaka upanishad the birds

are adma and jeev. Later they become adam and eve. The piple tree sound is not changed much.

To save some people from the invasion of the people of another religion some has taken weapons

and they become a separate religion after six hundred years. The people who are coming for war

are also here. The people who are saved are also here. A third religion is coming into existence

with these already two. The turban and the knife are telling the history.

Two disciples learned something from a single guru (teacher). They teach them to their disciples.

In one hundred years two separate religions are coming in to existence at a distance of two hundred

kilometers. Both are not having god faith and pray only mirrors symbolizing that they are the

god themselves. They pray the light as god.

Buddha taught the meditation. In sanscrit it is “thyan”. As the people cannot spell it, it become “zen”.

Contradiction to this one scholar does meditation for some years. Nothing has happened inside.

He got angry. He teaches there is no god. Everything is only human. Some people follow

him and it becomes a sect now. They are not doing any rituals but their cursing of the god

itself become a ritual now.

I finish with a symbolic story. Let it not become a separate religion after hundred years,please.

Two disciples from two separate countries come to a teacher. The teacher teaches them “love is

god”. In one disciple's language it is“chang ching chang” and in another's language it is

“ching chang ching”. After ten years both go to their country and teach the policy. After thousand

years lakhs of people are following each religion. After another thousand years these two countries

are fighting at their borders to spread their religions in each others country. One man from the native

of that original teacher see this and cries chang ching chang and ching chang ching are same...both are

same.....both are same.........but nobody hear the cry.

time will change the root of a history itself

From http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130614204618AAf8Yr9

Meimadham was founded by Brammodhaya Meivazhi "Salai Andavargal". Brammodhaya Salai Andavargal was born in a small Village called Markampatty in Dindugal district on 1857. Brammodhaya Salai Andavargal was a good disciple to Pattaiyar who is said to have lived for almost 600 years. Pattaiyar had also been the Teacher of Vadalur vallal piran. Meivazhi Salai Andavar first started his Ashram in Madurai District in Tamil Nadu which was later taken over by British Government (during World War II) when India was ruled by British. Later he founded his Ashram in Pudukkottai District. Thereafter he gathered thousands of people as disciples from sixty nine castes from numerous religions who comply with devotion to the principles of Andavar, as demanded in most religions across globe.

Only 100 years back two disciples approaches a guru (teacher).
They are from two places only 100 kilometers away from each other in Tamilnadu of India. He teaches that there is no God and everything is only soul. To respect the soul he instructs to pray before a mirror. The mirror will reflect the person in front of it which emphasize that everyone must pray himself. One disciple is from Muslim community and another is from Hindu community. After some years both went to their places and teach the philosophy of mirror. Both are wearing white clothes, live a very simple life, feed the poor, and kind to mankind. But as these two teachers are from two separate religions there are certain small influences of their major religion making these two into two separate religions. Most of the people do not know that the origin of these two religions are from one. If this is the stage of 100 years then what about the story told 5000 years back that adma (soul)and jeev(life) are sitting in a fig tree which is forbidden by God can be changed into a new one which cannot be identified with the origin itself. The author of this upanishad is Pippala. He gets this name as he is eating only the leaves of the fig (piple) (ficus religiosa). Adam has become adma. Jeev has become eve. Piple has become bible. Pippala is 5000 years old. Christ 2000 years old. During the period of 3000 years this story has taken a new shape. No doubt about that. Upanishads are 10008. Each upanishad contains 100 stanzas in average. That means there are more than 10,00,000 stanzas. One among them is this symbolic story of adma and jeev which is only four lines. This story is told to explain that even though the adma (soul) is inside the body, it will not affected by the actions (including sex) done by the jeev (life). But this small stanza has grown into two major philosophies means that time can do anything. For detailed reading go to the pages “bible and piple” and “the religions” in http.www.ashokha.com

the desires,man(earth),pen(ladies),pon(gold)

THE THREE DISIRES

The three major desires that are controlling the human beings are man (the earth)(spell as run), pen (the ladies) pon (the gold).

In ancient days kings will spent their time in battle fields forgetting their

palace and the wives. This is the desire of earth (man asai) (asai -spell as in author) and the queens will have to spent their time with horse man or with her girl friends. Contradiction to this some kings spent their time in the backyard of the palace always with the queen and lost his country to his enemy and sometimes to the captain of the army of his own country. This is Pen asai (the desire of the ladies.)

Nowadays some people who are concentrating on earning money and going on purchasing lands

or buildings will forget their family and in some family the driver will become the villain.

In some other cases people will concentrate on increasing the bank balance and saving the money

by working hard in their business forgetting to come to their houses which will end in family problems. This is Pon asai (the desire of the gold.)

And some people as they cannot control their desire of the ladies (pen asai) spent all their money

to ladies and drinks. Some are even lost their wealth their fore fathers saved. Some people

with a desire of producing a cinema sell all their lands and buildings come to the capitals

lost everything and suffering a lot to run their day to day life even.

So have a balanced desires. Give equal importance to all the desires if you cannot control them.

Don't go beyond the limits. Give 33.3% importance to the three. Don't do the wrongs which are

classified by the society as wrong.

stress management 3

look at the picture. if there is a wavy movement you have stress. if the speed is high
you have blood pressure. consult a doctor.

stress management 2

look at the picture. if there is a wavy movement you have stress. if the speed is high
you have blood pressure. consult a doctor.

stress management 1

look at the picture. if it rotates you have stress. if the speed is high you have blood pressure.
consult a doctor.

how to save money

How to save money:
In Nagarathar (Chettiar) community of Tamilnadu of India there is
proverb about saving.
One forth to fixed assets. (ie:lands,buildings etc.)
One forth to liquid assets. (jewels, vehicles etc.)
One forth to business.
One forth in hand. (cash,bank balance etc.)
If this ratio is maintained there will not any sudden catostrophy in the life as it
has happened in the life of that NRI Indian who has killed himself after killing
five valuable lives. It is very shame to mention that he is a MBA gratuate.
My advice to the reader is that don't sell your house for investing in your business.
Even if your business is very prosperous now don't plan to expand it by investing
more by disposing your fixed assets.
During Harshad Mehta scam period in share market so many people (even some
Bank people) had purchased so many valuable shares (even like Unit Trust if India)
by selling their houses or vehicles. But when the market crashed some had finished
their lives for that.
Have a planned life. Have a happy life.
Another Proverb is “Irukkurathai vittittu Parakkurathai pidikkathe” which means
“don't catch the bird which is flying by leaving the one which is in your hand”