said to have first appeared
floating on this mystic flower, and, indeed, it would seem that many of
the Eastern deities were fond of resting on its leaves; while in China,
the god Pazza is generally represented as occupying this position. Hence
the lotus has long been an object of worship, and as a sacred plant
holds a most distinguished place, for it is the flower of the,

"Old Hindu mythologies, wherein
The lotus, attribute of Ganga--embling
The world's great reproductive power--was held
In veneration."

We may mention here that the lotus, known also as the sacred bean of
Egypt, and the rose-lily of the Nile, as far back as four thousand years
ago was held in high sanctity by the Egyptian priests, still retaining
its sacred character in China, Japan, and Asiatic Russia.

Another famous sacred plant is the soma or moon-plant of India, the
_Asclepias acida_, a climbing plant with milky juice, which Windischmann
has identified with the "tree of life which grew in paradise." Its milk
juice was said to confer immortality, the plant itself never decaying;
and in a hymn in the _Rig Veda_ the soma sacrifice is thus described:--

"We've quaffed the soma bright
And are immortal grown,
We've entered into light
And all the gods have known.
What mortal can now harm,
Or foeman vex us more?
Through thee beyond alarm,
Immortal God! we soar."

Then there is the peepul or bo-tree (_Ficus religiosa_), which is held
in high veneration by the followers of Buddha, in the vicinity of whose
temples it is generally planted. One of these trees in Ceylon is said to
be of very great antiquity, and according to Sir J. E. Tennant, "to it
kings have even dedicated their dominions in testimony of their belief
that it is a branch of the identical fig-tree under which Gotama Buddha
reclined when he underwent his apotheosis."

The peepul-tree is highly venerated in Java, and by the Buddhists of
Thibet is known as the bridge of safety, over which mortals pass from
the shores of this world to those of the unseen one beyond. Occasionally
confounded with this peepul is the banyan (_Ficus indica_), which is
another sacred tree of the Indians. Under its shade Vishnu is said to
have been born; and by the Chinese, Buddha is represented as sitting
beneath its leaves to receive the homage of the god Brahma. Another
sacred tree is the deodar (_Cedrus deodara_), a species of cedar, being
the Devadara, or tree-god of the Shastr